I’ve been thinking a lot about the liver recently. Not very glamorous I admit. More specifically, I have been thinking about the liver and hormone balance. Why? Because the liver and hormones are intimately connected.
Liver
The liver is the largest organ inside the body and weighs approximately 1.5kgs – or 3lbs in old money. Everything ingested into the body has to pass through the liver. The liver filters, detoxes, purifies, metabolises, stores, maintains and regulates – it is central to so many different functions within the body.
The Western lifestyle puts a huge toxic strain on the liver – it has to deal with:
Pollution
Poor diets/processed foods
Alcohol
Pesticides
Stress
Excess sugar consumption
Medications
Parabens, BPAs, petroleum and synthetics
So you can see the liver has a huge job to do and maintaining good liver health is essential to overall health.
Hormones
Hormones are chemical messages that control various functions within the body e.g. reproduction, body temperature, metabolism, stress, sleep.
Hormones are made within glands e.g. Hypothalamus, Thyroid, Pancreas, ovaries, testes.
The glands are part of the endocrine system.
The endocrine system is like a complex orchestra playing a beautiful symphony. When one part is out, it affects the whole.
Hormonal Imbalance
One of the most important functions of the liver is to break down and remove excess hormones from the body. If the liver is not working properly due to toxic overload, then it is unable to remove excess hormones. They are not metabolised and excreted as they should be but instead reabsorbed back into the body leading to imbalance.
What might hormonal imbalance look like?
Irregular, heavy or clotted periods
Poly-cystic ovaries
Fibroids
Severe mood swings, pre-menstrual tension
Hot sweats, night flushes
Unexplained weight gain/loss
Hair loss or gain
Digestive disturbances
Skin issues
Low libido
Sleep disturbances
Fatigue, anger, anxiety
Balancing Hormones Naturally
So hormonal balance starts with liver health. Here are some tips to shower your liver with love:
- Eat a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods –avoid commercially farmed meats and dairy, opting for organic, grass-fed where ever possible, choose wild line-caught fish over farmed, plenty of leafy greens and cruciferous veg, add in bitter foods such as rocket, watercress and nettle. Don’t forget good fats too.
- Avoid processed foods, excess sugar consumption, excess alcohol and caffeine.
- Look at your exposure to chemicals – look at your beauty products, cleaning products, exposure to plastic. Can this be reduced? Neal’s Yard is a great place to start for your beauty products.
- Look to reduce stress wherever possible – get a good night’s sleep, take a walk in nature, practise gratitude or yoga. Be kind to yourself.
- Deal with negative emotions – the liver is said to be the seat of anger. If you are harbouring any negativity, anger, frustration or past grievances, take the steps to deal with these emotions. Practice forgiveness. Homeopathy can be a big help here.
- Homeopathy and Homeobotanical herbal tonics – you knew I would say that though!
So if you are thinking your hormones are out of balance, maybe it’s time to give your liver a little TLC.
If any of this sounds familiar, why not book a free discovery call to discuss how together, we can get you feeling in balance once again.
Chelsea x
