Liver Health Part One

The liver is the largest organ in the body, it is responsible for processing toxins and it plays a key part in regulating glucose for energy metabolism. The liver is a very active organ that is involved in about 10,000 processes a second, a staggering number which is hard to comprehend. As such the liver can easily get overworked and compromised by stress, overeating, poor eating, stimulants and alcohol. Any combination of the above mentioned scenarios puts a huge stress on the liver. Overeating stresses the liver and when combined with alcohol this adds greatly to the stress.

Leafy Greens to Love Your Liver

To assist the proper functioning of the liver eat more leafy bitter greens, collard, mustard and dandelion greens are excellent choices. The liver is a fatty organ and it is very integral in processing fats. Eating healthy simple raw plant fats helps the liver function smoothly and nourishes the whole body. And, it is equally important to avoid rancid and unhealthy oils, especially those found in fried and processed foods.


With exception of coconut oil most if not all healthy fats go rancid rapidly when heated. This is important to know because overheated rancid oils are a major toxin to the liver and as much as we can avoid not ingesting these toxins the best. You are best to just not cook with almost all vegetable oils, some like canola can be ok but they are not that good for you and most are genetically modified. Healthy oils are really important piece to liver health and if you take anything away from this post I hope it is this fact. It is advised to use either coconut oil, high quality sesame oil or organic ghee (clarified butter) for cooking as these fats have a high heat tolerance.

 

Healthy Liver Foods

Foods that are good for the liver include burdock root, beets, greens and artichokes. Burdock is so wonderful for the liver and skin and is can be found in most health food. Burdock root has a mild sweet woody flavor prepare it by steaming or gentle sauteing, it pairs well with carrots and a little nama shoyu. Made popular by the macrobiotic diet enthusiasts, burdock is a common weed throughout the United States. Dandelion another common weed is also great for the liver and use beets to help purify the blood and keep the liver clean and healthy.

Easy Cleansing Burdock Recipe:
Julien one stalk of burdock and 2 medium carrots
1 tablespoon sesame oil

-Heat one tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet over medium
-Saute the burdock for 7 minutes stirring continuously, add the carrots
-continue cooking for 7 minutes stirring occasionally,
towards the end add a few dashes of soy sauce and sprinkle of cayenne.

Serve warm with rice or quinoa
This dish is warming tasty and very balancing to the entire body. This dish is a simple way to make the most out of burdock. Enjoy and stay tuned for Part Two of the Liver Health Series.