About the liver and body detoxification
The liver has many vital functions, including removing harmful waste products from the body, the storage of nutrients for timely energy release and maintaining vitality and well-being.
We are continually exposed to toxins – in the air we breath, in the water we drink and bathe in and in the food we eat. Our bodies are therefore continually trying to remove these toxins through our natural detoxification systems.
The primary detox organ in the body is the liver. Vital for cleansing the blood of impurities and keeping the body working well, it performs over 500 functions, including: cleaning the blood of toxins and chemicals, excreting wastes via bile, acting as a ‘factory’ for proteins and cholesterol, converting excess glucose to starch and excreting bile for fat digestion.
Every toxin we are exposed to (whether eaten, inhaled or absorbed) arrives at the liver. Such toxins include metabolic end products, micro-organisms, contaminants, pollutants, insecticides, pesticides, food additives, drugs and alcohol.
Working with the body’s other detoxification systems, the liver converts these toxins into a form more easily excreted.
The liver works in harmony with the body’s other detox organs
Waste products are eliminated from the body via the:
- gallbladder: using bile and bowel actions
- skin: through sweat
- kidneys: through urine.
If one of the body’s detox systems is over-burdened, this also places strain on the other systems, which include the digestive system, urinary system, lymphatic system, lungs and skin.
Top tip: Alcohol is a hormone disruptor because it taxes the liver, which is responsible for eliminating excessive or waste hormones from the body. If the liver is busy dealing with breaking down alcohol, it is unable to fulfil the important role of ridding the body of waste hormones.
