Your liver is one of the most important organs in the body. While you may know that the liver is something like your body’s filtration system, it also functions to perform around five-hundred other tasks, some better understood than others.
What the Liver Does
Everything we consume, including both food and drinks, eventually makes it to the liver. Whether it is a big steak or some vegetable juice, items go through our digestive system, are absorbed into the blood, and then heads to our liver. From there, the liver makes the decision what nutrients to keep and what can be turned into stool.
Not only does the liver filter the blood and separate what we need from what we don’t, but it also plays a critical role in how we digest sugars. One thing that many people don’t understand is that sugars come in more forms than just than common white crystals that you are used to seeing. Sugars are present in things like ketchup and, more importantly, relate closely to simple carbs.
The way sugars relate to simple carbohydrates is that after consuming a simple carb like, say, regular pasta, the food item is broken down in the digestive system and, by the time that bowl of spaghetti reaches your liver, it effectively just a bunch of sugar. This is part of the reason why items like pasta are believed to pack on more weight than complex carbs because they easily breakdown into sugar.
The important role the liver plays in the digestion of sugar has to do with converting sugar into glycogen. Sugar itself is not a usable fuel for the body. So, the sugar the liver converts “normal” sugars into glycogen, and it converts carb-based sugars into something called glucose. Then, when the body needs energy, the liver with converting the carb-based glucose again, this time turning it into usable glycogen, which can be absorbed directly by cells, tissues, fibers, and more in the body to be used as fuel.
Liver Cleanse
Like all critical organs, it’s important that we consider out livers and how we can better help them perform their vital functions. This is especially true when thinking about the liver because what the organ does impacts every part of your body, including your heart, brain, lungs, and everything else. If your liver is not functioning properly, your blood will effectively become poison to your system.
This is why a regular liver cleanse is so important.
Cleansing your liver may do a number of things for your health, including:
- Getting Rid of Excess Waste: Cleansing your liver with the right food or supplements may help the organ rid your body of waste.
- Increasing Energy: Cleansing your liver may give you an energy boost as your body will better absorb the right nutrients; they help you feel energized and vital.
- Improve Weightloss: A cleansed liver may enable you to better metabolize foods. This may speed up your weight loss.
- Strengthen the Immune System: The liver is an important part of your immune system. Ensuring your liver is functioning at full capacity is an important step toward getting sick less often and feeling good and healthy as much as possible.
Supplements for Liver Cleanse
Aside from a healthy diet, there are a number of supplements you can take, which may help cleanse your liver. These include:
- Amino Acids
- Ashwagandha
- CoQ10
- Milk Thistle
- Turmeric
- Zinc
Now that you know the liver’s primary function as a filtration system for your blood and body, hopefully, you will do your best to keep your liver in mind when thinking about overall health and will consider trying a liver cleanse using a healthy diet, a lot of water, and possibly one or more of the supplements above. If you have questions about a liver cleanse or about any of the supplements listed above, please consult your doctor.
