Campaigner and food writer Heather mills advises on how best to look after your liver...
Most people know that alcohol is a huge liver stressor, but not everybody knows life’s daily stressors deplete the
liver and put incredible pressure on it to work so much harder.
Your liver does most of its work at night. It’s about the size of a football and sits under your lower rib cage on the right hand side. It helps clean your blood of chemicals and makes liquid bile, which breaks down fat in the blood.
It also stores sugar called glucose, which gives you a quick energy boost, so it’s important to break the fast you have had while sleeping – gently. Simple and effective ways to give the liver a break are avoiding fats in the morning and high proteins, which generally contain fats too. Save these for lunch and dinner.
Keeping your blood sugar levels stable is key – that’s why grazing on healthy foods is so critical to healing. When your blood sugar levels drop and your liver’s glucose reserves are low, your adrenals are going to be strained and produce excess adrenaline to make up for it. This can be a big strain on your liver. You can also try adding a few drops of liquid zinc into a glass of water before going to bed – your liver will love it.
Nagging hunger usually happens when you’re not getting enough glucose or because you’re consuming too many fats in the morning that ultimately block glucose absorption and storage.
If you can focus your morning on fresh fruits and vegetables rich in natural glucose, it will give your liver a chance to collect and store the good sugars needed to keep your blood sugar levels stable and running efficiently.
Research some yummy smoothies made of fruit and/or vegetables that you love, and if you’re really ravenous, throw in some pre-soaked sugar-free and gluten-free oats in the blender.
If you are really depleted, it may take time – as it does to fill up an empty tank of fuel – so please be patient if fruit and vegetable juicing doesn’t fill you up initially. In time, your stomach will shrink and your energy will be boosted.