The amount of people who are struggling with decreased liver function growing, it is important to address the issue of having a congested liver.
These days, it is hard to avoid toxins. They are in your food, the clothes you wear, your personal care products, the products you use to clean our home, throughout your home and even in the air you breathe. After being exposed regularly to so many toxins, it is no surprise that many people are dealing with higher levels of toxins in their bodies.
The more toxins your body is exposed to, the harder your liver has to work to remove them. If the liver struggles to keep up with the demand for detoxification, it may become sluggish and congested, as its ability to filter toxins diminishes.
If this happens to you, you may begin to see signs that your liver is not functioning optimally. These signs come as reoccurring health issues. They may begin as minor issues, but as the toxic load increases, the health issues can become nagging, chronic complaints.
What are the signs your liver may be congested or sluggish?
- Poor digestion- one of the functions of the liver is to produce the bile and bile salts necessary for digestion. Bile assists in helping the body to breakdown fats, as well as to absorb fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. When the body isn’t producing enough bile and bile salts, digesting fats will become difficult. Acid production will increase in the stomach in order to assist in breaking down fats, and indigestion may occur.
- Hormone imbalances- The liver is vital for the breakdown and removal of hormones in the body once they have served their purpose in the body. Without being able to fully remove excess hormones, they can build up in the body. This can lead to symptoms such as high blood pressure, bloating, weight gain, fatigue, sleep problems, low libido, low immune system function, cravings for junk food and mood issues.
- Weight gain- when toxins build up in the body they can cause an imbalance in blood sugar and hormones which can ultimately cause the pounds to add up…even if you are eating well and exercising regularly!
- Skin problems- If toxins are building up in your body because they are not being filtered out properly by the liver and other detoxification pathways in the body, then you may start to see skin problems such as acne, rosacea, rashes, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema.
- Fatigue- if you are feeling drained and fatigued, even if you are getting plenty of sleep, it may be your body telling you that your liver is not functioning properly.
- Bad breath or a white coating on your tongue- The tongue is a great indicator of the state of your health and if you have a white coating, it could suggest that your liver is sluggish. The white coating and bad breath are a sign that you are not digesting food well, and as a result, bad gut bacteria such as Candida can spread and an overgrowth can occur. Since the liver is connected to good digestion, when it is sluggish, it can contribute to these symptoms.
- Chemical sensitivities- Do the smell of certain perfumes or cleaning products give you a headache or make you anxious or irritable? Are you a lightweight when it comes to drinking alcohol? These are chemical sensitivities and they are often found along with having too many toxins in your liver.
- Cravings- When you begin to crave sweets and highly processed carbohydrates, this may be caused by hormone and blood sugar imbalances that are common when the liver is not working effectively.
- Gallbladder problems- The gallbladder and liver are connected. The liver produces bile and bile salts that are necessary to break down dietary fats. That bile is then stored in the gallbladder, where it stays until the next meal when it is needed. But if there is not enough bile being produced, then it will be much more difficult for your body to break down fats. When the gallbladder isn’t functioning properly, you can experience health issues such as nausea, indigestion, abdominal bloating and an intolerance to fatty foods as well as an increase in abdominal pain.
- Pain in the right upper portion of the abdomen- As the liver becomes more congested, inflammation occurs and with inflammation comes pain. The pain caused by an enlarged liver usually can be felt in the area where the ribs end on the right side of your abdomen.
Many of these symptoms can be disruptive to everyday life, and some can ultimately become life threatening if not dealt with in a timely manner. If any of your symptoms are severe, please seek medical attention to rule out any life threatening health issues.
If left unresolved, a congested liver can become non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can further compromise liver function. Fatty liver disease was typically a disease found in alcoholics, but in recent years, more people are being diagnosed with it, without being alcoholics. 3 million people in the US are currently living with this disease.
A congested liver can be reversed by natural methods and function restored, with proper detoxification, and nutrient support. Since each person is an individual, there is no “one size fits all” protocol to re-balance the liver and rest of the body. Learning how to test clients to know if their body is detoxifying optimally can boost your business and help you to get better results with your clients.
