Have you been told you have a fatty liver, a swollen and enlarged liver, or are your hormones all over the place?

This info is especially for you if you find yourself feeling more irritable and frustrated than usual, if you’re waking up in the middle of the night between 1am and 3am, and your period is irregular or currently MIA.

Our liver health is so so important for our hormone health and overall health (because nothing is truly isolated in the body- it’s all connected!). The liver is not only needed to detox excess hormones like estrogen; however, is also needed to detox from environmental pollutants and toxins. Aside from detoxing- the liver has quite the job! It’s responsible for helping to keep our blood sugar stable, stores vitamins and minerals, filters our blood, and in Chinese medicine it also plays a part in supporting healthy blood circulation and lymph flow.

The liver is known as the “thief of the 5 organs” in Chinese medicine as when the Liver is out of balance or overburdened with toxins- it’s a guarantee that the other organ systems of the body will be affected and hindered as well. Therefore, we NEED a healthy liver to have good health and healthy hormones.

In Chinese medicine, the Liver is also heavily influenced by periods of stress, anger, frustration and our psychological state. Meaning, it can become out of balance due to strong and repressed emotions over a period of time from stressful situations. However, it works both ways. If our Liver is out of balance, emotions like frustration, anger, irritability (PMS), and even road rage will become more predominant.

The good news is we can use tools like acupuncture which affects the body and mind in order to address high stress levels and support our Liver health.

If you aren’t able to make it in to an acupuncture appointment or get a custom herbal Rx to address liver health and hormones, here are some tips you can try at home:

1. Eat more greens! This includes leafy greens, green vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and even certain superfoods like spirulina or chlorella. If you want to be a star student- sub your morning coffee for some matcha to help support your liver health. These foods help increase glutathione which is an antioxidant that supports Liver health, and all green foods from a Chinese medicine perspective help support the Liver.

2. Eat sprouts! Broccoli sprouts, mungbean sprouts, and really any sprouts or even micro greens can help support your Liver health.

3. Go for regular walks especially after meals or when you’re feeling stressed.

4. Check your personal care products and cleaning products to make sure they don’t contain toxins that can aggravate your liver. Use the EWG.org or the “Think Dirty” App as a resource to check your home products.

5. Include fresh squeezed lemon and citrus fruits into your diet.

6. Meditation, Yoga, Journaling, Therapy, and other ways to reduce your stress

7. Sweat! Exercise and get your sweat on or try to find a gym with a sauna. Sweating has so many health benefits but also really helps support your livers detoxification process.

8. Cut out or really reduce alcohol. Alcohol is a toxin that messes with our blood sugar, our hormones, and of course can cause longterm and irreversible damage to our liver. If you aren’t able to or don’t want to cut it out because you still like to enjoy a drink here and there- try reducing your intake to 2-3 drinks per month.

9. Come and see me for acupuncture and a custom chinese herbal prescription that will get to the root cause of poor Liver health. Addressing your Liver health is paramount to addressing underlying hormonal imbalances and to support your overall health.

If you are local to Longmont, Colorado, click here to book an acupuncture or herbal consult with me. I look forward to working with you and helping you to achieve your health goals!