The Search for Cures

The liver

 

"Is life worth living? Well, that depends on the liver." - Author unknown.

What is it?

Liver dis-ease is becoming more of a problem in our fast food society. It is said that even children are being diagnosed with a fatty liver. I would say that's mainly due to the habits of eating at places such as McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, etc. By the time they reach their thirties, they have a very serious problem.

With an ultrasound test or a simple blood test, you can get a reasonable idea of the state of your liver, however, it must be mentioned that blood tests do not always show the state of your liver in the early stages of dis-ease.

When I was diagnosed with a fatty liver, the doctor said it wasn't anything to worry about. A year later, another doctor said the same thing. How fatty my liver was and how long I had had it didn't seem to be any real concern.

How wrong they were.

A fatty liver is a symptom of liver dysfunction, and can have a drastic effect on your quality of life.

When we finally looked into it, we came across The Liver Cleansing Diet book by Dr. Sandra Cabot. On the back of the book was a list of symptoms which I was suffering.

I was overweight at 102 kilos.
I had abdominal bloating
I suffered from poor digestion
I was always fatigued, despite my better sleep.
I had drastic mood swings. I never knew how I would react from one minute to the next.
I suffered from Irritable bowel syndrome.
My metabolism was sluggish.
I had little or no immunity to colds or flues.
My cholesterol was too high.
I was suffering more and more from allergies.
I had high blood pressure.
I had Excessive body heat.
I had trouble losing weight.
And I was consistently a yellow colour, indicating jaundice.

The only symptoms I didn't have were Bad breath and a coated tongue, headaches, Gall bladder disease and Intolerance to alcohol. (Because I don't drink.)

I made a decision to change my diet and lifestyle. I quit my stressful job and followed the 8 week plan in the book.

Within a few days, the mood swings had stopped and my colour started to be more a healthy pink glow.

Within 3 weeks, I had lost 4 kilos and I was starting to feel better. After 5 weeks, I had lost 9 kilos and I went to the doctor to get another blood test for my liver function. When the results came in, she wanted to see me to ask what I had been doing. The liver had shown a dramatic improvement in just the past few weeks. She even urged me to tell others to encourage them to change their lifestyle.

It is important to note, however, that if the liver is badly overloaded, it can take sometimes months for it to start showing such results and is said that it can take two to three years to regenerate itself.

The Liver Cleansing Diet is certainly a good way to help your liver. It's not such much a diet as a change in your eating habits. And it's certainly not a diet in the way it restricts the amount of food that you can eat. It's also not a weight loss diet, though weight loss can be a side effect as your body normalises itself.

The important thing about the diet is that it helps your liver to cleanse itself of toxins and regenerate itself.

The liver has a wonderful capacity to heal and regenerate. The amount of time it can take, however, depends on the diet and how badly it has been damaged. It is said that it can take as long as three years to reverse the damage, but considering your liver is your first line of defence for you body, it's an investment in your long term health and longevity.

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, and also one of the most easily abused ones. It's your body's filtering system and everything passes through it. Little wonder it can become congested over time.

What's involved?

The basic principal of the diet is cutting out the things that cause the liver to be overloaded with toxins and fats. They include dairy products, sugars, margarine and red meat. It's worth mentioning that once your liver is sufficiently recovered, you can eat these things in moderation.

It is well worth investing on the books as they contain many balanced recipes and are delicious, too.

Here are a couple of links for further information.

Health Advisory Service. For information on the books and free newsletters.

Dr. Sandra Cabot's website (Dr. Cabot also offers to answer health questions you might have.)

 

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