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The liver has many functions, but the one I will concentrate on is its ability to neutralize toxins we eat. The liver is responsible for making sure that nutrients reach your cells and blood is free of toxins and pathogens. It does this by moving these contaminates out through your 5 channels of elimination - kidneys, lungs, colon, lymphatic system, and skin.

Of course, when these 5 channels become toxic, sluggish, or blocked, the liver itself becomes toxic and sluggish. This causes the liver to become inefficient, which leads to an unhealthy body.

Sluggish LiverAs the liver loses its ability to detoxify toxins, you will exhibit a variety of symptoms and various illnesses - constipation, high cholesterol, irritable bowel, asthma, skin rashes, high blood sugar, allergies. Other conditions related to a sluggish liver are:

* High blood pressure

* abdominal bloating

* pot belly, weight gain, cellulite

* elevated cholesterol

* brownish spots on your skin

* acne, pimples, eczema

* hot flashes, irritability, depression

* chronic fatigue syndrome

The liver is most affected by the foods we eat. What is especially deadly is eating food products that have "Hydrogenated Oils", which contain trans-fatty acids. The liver sees trans-fatty acids as a toxin and not as a nutrient. At least 40% of all the fat that you consume or more, if you eat junk food, contains hydrogenated oils :

Trans-fatty acids are deadlier than regular animal fat. Trans-fatty acids are associated with heart disease, breast cancer, and diabetes.

What a good liver does

The more junk food you eat the more you overload your liver. Its ability to process and create the nutrients that you need is hampered. Its ability to process and utilize fat is reduced.

If your liver is sluggish and overworked, it will store the fats you eat within its own cells, within the cells of your body and especially around your mid drift.

When your liver is working properly, some fats are eliminated through bile and out through fecal matter. If you eat plenty of fiber, this fat is absorbed by the fiber and held there until you have a bowel movement. If you do not eat enough fiber, this fat can be reabsorbed by the colon walls and routed back to the liver to be reprocessed.

So now you can see how important is it to reduce, from all sources, the amount of toxins that get into your body and to eat plenty of fiber.

Rejuvenating your liver

So what will it take to rejuvenate your liver so that it is not sluggish, not toxic, and functions like it should to help you maintain your weight?

There are three things that you need to do. These things take a lot of work. You have to be motivated to do them. Getting your liver back to health will takes some time since you need to remove the toxins from your liver slowly otherwise you will have side effects.

* Eat liver friendly foods

* Cleanse the liver

* Strengthen the liver

Eat liver friendly foods:

Prepare a liquid green drink for your liver first thing in the morning.

* squeeze the juice of one lemon into a glass

* add one tablespoon of chlorophyll

* add one tablespoon of aloe vera drink

* add 8 oz of distilled water

This drink helps to regenerate the liver.

* The lemon helps your liver regenerate and produce bile (healthy bile is necessary for breaking down fat so that fats can be absorbed properly into the liver.)

* Chlorophyll helps to detoxify your colon so fewer toxins get into the liver.

* The lemon and aloe vera help stimulate bowel movements.

The liver needs plenty of minerals. As you know minerals are obtained from fruits and vegetables. Once a day try to drink a vegetable juice. A juice that I enjoy is:

* Carrots

* Celery

* Apples

If you can't make your own juices, buy bottled. It is better to drink these than to not drink any vegetable juices at all.

Here are some foods to add to your eating habits. These foods are liver friendly and will help liver to get rid of its toxic condition and regenerate itself.

* beets, asparagus, broccoli,

* green and red cabbage, brussels sprouts

* carrots, squash, okra

* collard greens, mustard greens, kale, romaine lettuce, arugula

* cauliflower

* green beans

* peas

* tomatoes

* spinach

* potatoes, yams, avocado

* onions, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, olives, radishes

* eggs - two a day

* flax seed oil - two tablespoons a day

* olive oil

* apples, grapefruits, oranges, plums, cherries, peach, berries

* cranberry juice

* sesame seeds, cashews, almonds

* pumping, papaya, mangoes

* all lettuces except iceberg

* brown rice

* chicken, fish

* all legumes, sprouts of all types

* organic soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, rice milk, distilled water

* honey, maple syrup

Herbs to use as seasonings:

* basil, bay leaves, caraway,

* rosemary, dill, parsley, thyme

* oregano, tarragon, chives, cardamom

Add some of these foods, if you are not already eating them, to your eating habits and in next article, I will give you some herbal formulas for teas that you can drink daily for good liver function.

Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist.