Our liver is the primary filter of our body. Good health is impossible without proper function of the liver. Unfortunately, over time, we so abuse it and so overtax it that illness is the inevitable result. As part of a program to rebuild and repair the liver, we must:
- Remove all the excess fat from the liver
- Get bile flowing freely again
- Eliminate toxic waste that our livers have filtered out
- Dissolve and pass out the accumulated gallstones that are stored in our livers
- Regenerate the damaged and destroyed cells of the liver
Next to the skin, the liver is the largest organ in the body. In many ways, it is the most important organ in the body, and the last to be considered when it comes to health. In addition to being large, the liver is also a complicated organ involved in at least 200 separate functions. Generally speaking, the liver performs a vital role in regulating, synthesizing, storing, secreting, transforming, and breaking down many different substances in the body. Specifically, some of these include:
- Regulation of fat stores
- Cleansing the blood and discharging waste products
- Neutralizing and destroying poisons
- Protein metabolism, including manufacturing of new body proteins
- Metabolizing alcohol
- Managing chemicals and drugs in the blood
- Aiding the digestive process by the production of bile
- Helping the body resist infections by producing immune factors and by removing
bacteria from the blood stream - Storing vitamins, minerals, and sugars
- Production of quick energy when needed
- Controlling the production and excretion of cholesterol
- Maintaining hormone balance
- Regenerating its own damaged tissue
The liver is so important to our well-being that many healers maintain that most diseases cannot develop in the body (that, in fact, no form of cell degeneration can occur) if the liver is functioning in an efficient, healthy manner. Conversely, an unhealthy liver is very likely at the root of most serious health problems.
By doing a liver cleanse detox, we’re talking about inducing the liver to purge all of the fats, old cholesterol deposits, gallstones, poisons, drug residues, and toxic waste stored therein. Probably nothing else you do (including even the bowel cleanse and detox) will make a greater difference in your overall health.
One should note that it is highly recommended that you do a colon cleanse detox before doing the liver cleanse. When the liver dumps, it dumps through the bile duct and out into the colon. If the colon (the drain pipe if you will) is plugged, the waste backs up into the blood stream and can make you feel extremely ill. This is the reason that the “Miracle Doctors” always start with the colon detox. It’s the prerequisite for all the other cleanses in the body—and, of course, can also produce dramatic healing in its own right. David Christopher M.H. from the School of Natural Healing maintains that all disease is a result of constipation. Constipation can occur in any area of the body.
There are many things that can harm the liver including the obvious offenders such as alcohol and drugs. What many people are not aware of is the effects that anti-depressants have on the liver and how they contribute to the continuous cycle of depression. When the liver is not functioning correctly it will cause the body to fall into a depression. The patient then takes anti-depressants which damage the liver and cause the depression to deepen, thus taking more anti-depressants etc. etc. The best way to pull out of this spiral is to detox the liver, cleanse the bowels and slowly decrease the intake of anti-depressants.
There are many herbal aids to help you transition off anti-depressants and other drugs of that nature, such as
- St. Johns Wort
- Kava Kava
- Alfalfa
It is also important to get enough oxygen to the brain, either by way of exercise or herbal formulas such as Dr. Christopher’s Memory Plus formula, or Brighter Days. There are essential oils that also are effective in treating depression such as, Lemon, Jasmine, Frankincense, and Eucalyptus. These oils stimulate blood flow and increase activity in the emotional regions of the brain. One other very important factor is our diet. We take in so many chemicals, toxins and dead inorganic foods into our systems which create an imbalance in our bodies. Once this imbalance is righted, we will find we no longer suffer with depression. Finally, we need to realize that we are three fold beings, physical, mental, and spiritual. We need to feed all three aspects of ourselves to create a truly healthy balance in our lives. Take time to attend to all three areas and move towards wellness and health. Put a smile on your face, a cup of tea in your hand, a spring in your step and take a walk in the sunshine!!!
For directions on how to detox the liver and cleanse the system please go to the RECIPES page.