I've Fallen in Love with My Liver!

What??? Seriously, I've fallen in love with my liver and here's why.
The liver is an incredible organ. In fact, it's the second largest organ next to our skin. I've only recently started to fully appreciate my liver because as with many things, as long as it's not bothering me, why concern myself with it.
The thing is though, my liver is a total workhorse. It doesn't complain. It goes about taking care of me day in and day out, dealing with everything I send its way, quietly going about its business. Once I decided to pay attention to it, I became rather in awe of it.
The liver is the great detoxifier. In the words of Dr. Libby Weaver, "Detoxification is a process that goes on inside us, all day every day, and is essentially a transformation process in which any substance that would be harmful to you, if it were to accumulate, is changed by the liver into a less harmful form so it can then be excreted from your body and gone forever." Isn't that beautiful?
Liver function is very complex. One thing, among many, that I have learned about the liver is how it functions in a very orderly fashion. The liver will prioritize outside toxins like sugar, alcohol, caffeine, trans fats, pesticides, medication, skincare products, or infection over recycling what the body makes naturally like cholesterol and steroid hormones such as estrogen. And because things can't just hang around in the liver until it's their turn, the cholesterol and estrogen are sent back out into the body to try again after the alcohol or other toxins have been processed. You can see how this can create a build up of estrogen and cholesterol in the body which can be very detrimental to health.
Another interesting thing about the liver is if toxins are kept to a minimum, the liver can go about its business in fine fashion and life is good. But, if there are too many toxins then the liver can become congested and it starts working too hard. When this happens globules of fat can imbed where an active liver cell died from working too hard. All of this accumulated fat can also be the cause of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. 
The liver does so much to keep us healthy, but when it becomes compromised, it cannot work efficiently to process the toxins that we knowingly give it. As a result, metabolism and other body functions start to suffer. The good news is that things like blood cholesterol, estrogen levels, and weight can be reduced simply by starting to support the liver. 
Be a LIVER LOVER. Don't wait until you're experiencing symptoms to start thinking about what goes into your body. It appears that NAFLD can be reversed in its early stages, but why wait?
Cutting back on toxic liver loaders and adding in healthy lifestyle choices can make all the difference. Here are some things you can do now: 

• reduce or eliminate added sugars and include more nutrient dense foods and healthy fats
• reduce alcohol consumption
• think about the daily toxins you might come in contact with such as household cleaners and skin/hair products
• address stress levels
• make some form of movement/exercise part of your daily routine
• take a look at your thoughts and beliefs and remove the toxic ones

Are you a Liver Lover? What are you going to do today to show your liver that you love it?

Hugs,
Deborah