Last Call…Your Liver
Speaks Up
Dear
YOU,
You just had to have that last cocktail
at the Christmas party, didn’t you? You ignored
your own slurred speech and stumbling gait that should
have signaled you’d had a few more than I could
detoxify during party time. What’s more, you
failed to notice that your jokes had stopped being
funny and your conversation made little sense.
That’s because your reasoning powers
(along with my detoxification capabilities) had drowned
in one of those martinis you’re so fond of. And
don’t pretend you didn’t notice how much
you were sweating. Maybe upstairs in the brain you could
pretend it was because of the heat, but your skin and
I, as we struggled with the toxic overload, knew it was
time to get out of the kitchen. And when are you going
to realize that while drinking seems like fun, it damages
me?
What you do to me, you do to your whole
body. If
you don’t have a healthy liver, all of your organs
are affected! My health influences your mood, your
ability to think clearly, how your immune system functions,
your energy level, your digestive health, your physical
health,
and even your longevity. So what do you say we work
together to make me the healthiest liver possible?
In the Best of Health,
Your Liver |
|
The Perils of Alcohol
Your
liver makes an important point. When you drink, alcohol turns
your world upside-down, blunting your central nervous system
and scrambling information from the sensory organs, especially
the eyes and ears. Soon you misjudge distance and height, lose
your ability to speak clearly, suffer blurred vision, become
unsteady and begin sweating. Essentially, alcohol anaesthetizes
the body, reducing pain even as it interferes with the brain’s
frontal cortex, which governs conscious thought. Thus, you lose
your inhibitions and behave in ways you often regret.
Alcohol
also increases urination, which in turn causes dehydration. Instead
of releasing fluid into the body where it is needed, the kidneys
send all liquid straight to the bladder—sending
you straight to the bathroom. Because water is not being released
into the bloodstream, the blood thickens and your blood pressure
rises, meaning you pay a hefty price the next morning. Dehydration
is blamed for the most common hangover complaints: headache,
dizziness, thirst, paleness and tremors.
About 90 percent of
the alcohol we drink is metabolized by the liver. The rest is
eliminated by the kidneys, breath and sweat. Ideally, the liver
can handle approximately 1 to 2 units of alcohol in an hour (a
unit is a half-pint of beer, a shot of liquor, or about 4 ounces
of wine). If you imbibe more than that (and at a faster rate),
you are literally forcing your liver to work overtime. As you
drink, the liver also releases glucose, which temporarily raises
your blood sugar and causes the pancreas to secrete insulin,
a substance that prompts cells to remove sugar from the blood.
As this cycle continues, your blood sugar continues to drop.
You feel shaky, begin to sweat and become dizzy and drowsy. Alcohol
also irritates the stomach lining and throat, which can lead
to retching, vomiting and heartburn.
Heavy Drinking
When you
drink heavily, acetaldehyde—a chemical produced when the
liver breaks down alcohol—can cause permanent liver scarring
and eventually even lead to cirrhosis (liver disease) as scar
tissue begins to displace normal liver cells. You won’t
even know you’ve damaged your liver until serious scarring
occurs. That’s because the process is slow and has no warning
signs in the beginning stages. Compromised liver function can
result in constipation, tight neck muscles, vision changes, anemia,
blood sugar problems, indigestion, headaches, high blood pressure
and flu-like symptoms.
Luckily, your liver is resilient.
Liver
Long and Prosper
 A
preventive approach to maintaining healthy liver function is
always easier than fixing the damage after the fact. Simple diet
and lifestyle habits can help support your liver and help this
busy organ with its assigned tasks. Boost your liver’s
health by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables; drinking plenty
of good, pure water; increasing your fiber intake; consuming
fermented foods such as kefir and yogurt that provide beneficial
intestinal bacteria; exercising regularly; having regular bowel
habits; and assisting the liver’s natural
detoxification process with natural herbal cleanses designed
to promote liver health. And this holiday season, when the alcohol
flows freely, feel free to just say no. |
