5 ways to protect your liver during the holiday season

Know thy liver…

Your liver is an organ of cleansing, balancing and detoxing.  

• It filters and eliminates toxins like alcohol, pollution, preservatives, and chemicals from your blood, acting like a giant filter, 
• It metabolizes fats, carbohydrates and proteins which helps to keep your weight stable
• Stabilizes your blood sugar and cholesterol 
• Produces bile to help you digest your foods 

Signs your liver is sluggish:

• Fatigue 
• Brain fog 
• Acne or other skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis 
• Love handles or weight gain around the waist 
• Irritability or mood fluctuations – feeling angry a lot 

5 things you can do to support your liver during the holiday season:

1. Stay hydrated

Especially if you are consuming alcohol or caffeine or both – for every ounce of alcohol or cup of coffee drink an extra 8 oz of water above your normal 1-2 liters of water per day.  Both alcohol and coffee are diuretics that cause you to get dehydrated – this makes it harder to excrete toxins from your body and puts more stress on your liver 

2. Eat foods that are high in choline

Foods like shrimp, egg yolks, salmon, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts – choline in these foods helps to remove fat from the liver.   (Also – remember that a cup of broccoli can offset the effects of one ounce of alcohol)

3. Take a digestive enzyme

The ingredients can help you break down your foods in your stomach and small intestine and take some of the burden off your liver 

4. Take a walk after a meal

This improves circulation, which improves your body’s ability to disperse fats throughout the body, and it also forces the body to use carbohydrates for energy instead of converting them into additional fats that can get stored in the liver.  

5. B vitamins

Help the liver to do its many jobs more effectively and can help offset the fatigue and brain fog that can accompany the overindulge in foods and alcohol.  

Watch the segment on Global TV.