What’s So Special About Your Liver?

LIVER, n. A large red organ thoughtfully provided by nature to be bilious with. The sentiments and emotions which every literary anatomist now knows to haunt the heart were anciently believed to infest the liver; and even Gascoygne, speaking of the emotional side of human nature, calls it “our hepaticall parte.” It was at one time considered the seat of life; hence its name— liver, the thing we live with.
— Ambrose Bierce
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce (1911), Vol. 7, The Devil’s Dictionary,

After all this time, we’ve decided to add a blog to our website. We could have chosen anything for our initial venture into blogging. Our newsletter readers know that we regularly write of radiation perils and protections, bio identical hormones, medical politics, naturopathic practice, prostate problems, heart health, flower essences, energy medicine, and much more. For the moment, however, we thought we’d address a practice basic to naturopathy.

Liver cleanses have always been paramount in naturopathic practice. The liver is a vital organ, meaning you can’t survive without a liver. It participates in detoxifying the myriad of toxins we encounter in the modern world; in metabolizing hormones; in balancing blood sugar and blood fat; in storage of vitamins and minerals. It is central to numerous other bodily processes.

The purpose of a liver cleanse is to promote optimal liver function. In doing so, we can have a profound positive influence on everything from general problems such as fatigue to specific problems such as uterine fibroids or thyroid imbalance.

Liver cleanses are generally done in the context of detoxification diets which attempt to remove unhealthful foods and allergens from the diet, while encouraging liver function with herbs, nutrients, juices, energetic medicines and/or powdered medical foods, and encouraging the elimination of toxins through colon cleansing. In physical medicine, castor oil packs are used to promote liver function. In energy medicine, homeopathic drainage remedies may be used. You may find kits of supplements which promote liver and colon cleansing at your local health food store. Or come on in to the office for an individualized program.

See upcoming blog entries for liver healthy recipes, instructions on how to use a castor oil pack, and more.