Hold the onions! Let's talk "liver". No, not beef liver, but human liver and its relationship to weight loss. This king of the organs is so important in our battle of the bulge, it's worth spending some quality time discussing it.
According to the American Liver Foundation, the liver is responsible for the following functions (and more):
? to convert the food we eat into stored energy, and chemicals necessary for life and growth;
? to act as a filter to remove alcohol and toxic substances from the blood and convert them to substances that can be excreted from the body;
? to process drugs and medications absorbed from the digestive system, enabling the body to use them effectively and ultimately dispose of them;
? to manufacture and export important body chemicals used by the body, one of these being bile, a greenish-yellow substance essential for the digestion of fats in the small intestine.
It is the fourth function that we are mostly concerned with, but it cannot be viewed except in light of the others. What I mean is that the liver has the ability to do only a certain amount of work in a day. If it is damaged or busy removing contaminants from the body, there is not enough time for it to deal with the fats that we consume. If not dealt with immediately, excess fat will be stored away until it can be.
The bile produced by our liver is passed along to the gall bladder, which then releases it in order to emulsify the fat. An emulsion is simply the combination of two or more items that will not naturally mix on their own. Think of oil and vinegar. On their own they separate; if mixed with a chemical emulsifier, they can be "forced" to remain together in an emulsion.
What practical application can this have for you? This means that you need to make sure that your liver isn't working overtime to remove toxins and such from your system, and make sure that you eat things that will help the liver to work at its utmost efficiency.
In the avoiding toxicity category, here are a few simple suggestions:
1. Avoid unnecessary drugs. Medicines are chemicals and must be removed by the liver. If you don't take them, your liver won't waste time removing them.
2. Avoid drinking alcohol. Your liver will have to work to remove it from your blood.
3. Avoid absorbing chemicals into your body. Wear a mask when using aerosols, wear rubber gloves when handling liquid chemicals, and NEVER use a solvent to "clean" paint, ink, or other sticky contaminants from your skin. Doing so causes the solvent and the contaminant to be absorbed into your body.
4. Avoid steroids and other hormones whenever possible.
As far as consuming, or not, certain foods, here are some guidelines:
1. Eat lots of fresh, preferably organic, fruits. Do not eat the canned fruit in sugary syrup.
2. Eat lots of fresh, preferably organic vegetables. These can be juiced and seasoned if the raw veggies alone are not palatable.
3. Reduce (dramatically) the amount of processed (refined) carbohydrates such as pasta, pastries, bread, and most other commercially baked goods.
4. Avoid hydrogenated fats. If a fat can sit in a can for ten years and not go rancid, how can you expect your body to easily process it? Margarine, shortening and most oils should be avoided. Extra virgin olive oil is one exception to this rule.
5. Avoid dairy products ? especially those that can contain hormones and pesticides.
6. Avoid deep fat fried foods. Duh...
7. Try to drink a gallon of water a day. A reader once asked if lemon squeezed into water would help you lose weight. I read recently that fresh lemon juice helps the liver to produce bile, which is definitely advantageous.
8. Drink Aloe Vera gel or juice. Aloe Vera helps to cleanse the liver and to flush fat deposits from the liver.
9. Eat more fiber. Not only does fiber readily attach itself to fat and help to clean the digestive tract, but it also helps to sweep toxins out of your system, thus limiting their ability to circulate back into the blood.
Some of these tips may seem redundant or obvious but it's very important to think of them in light of your liver and its ability to metabolize fat. If you do all that you can do to make your liver as effective as possible, it will do its best job as a fat-removing machine. As we can see here, there is more to keeping our liver efficient than just eating the right foods!
Reference: www.liverfoundation.org The Liver Foundation
Michael Callen is the author of the Weekly Weightloss Tips Newsletter (ccwebgroup.com/tips) and the Chief Technology Officer for http://www.wellnesspartners.com, an online retailer of dozens of health and wellness products such as http://www.wellnesspartners.com, http://www.wellnesspartners.com, and Green Tea Extract.
professional maid services Deerfield ..Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of... Read More
Individuals who are interested in bariatric surgery need to be... Read More
Do you compete in sports for weight loss or fat... Read More
It is very tempting to try that fad diet that... Read More
Acupuncture for weight loss is a modern application of this... Read More
Fifteen Secrets of Safe and Easy Permanent Weight Loss Revealed!*... Read More
Weight loss specialists will tell you that attitude has a... Read More
Why Walking Could Be the Solution to Your Fitness Dilemma.Walk,... Read More
For a healthy body, it is very important to have... Read More
Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry,... Read More
When most people begin a Weight Loss program or diet... Read More
As I explained in the first part of this article,... Read More
Weight Watchers inspired me to change my eating habits, lose... Read More
How many of your New Year's resolution start out with... Read More
No One I Know Looks Like a Bathing Beauty, so... Read More
Cleansing: How to Kickstart your Alkaline LifestyleDue to the highly... Read More
With this key, I GUARANTEE YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE... Read More
I recently received the following email:Q. Five weeks ago, I... Read More
The market is flooded with weight loss supplements that make... Read More
My first article provided steps for fast healthy weight loss.... Read More
The confusion about eating healthy and dieting will now be... Read More
If your low carb diet is going nowhere, maybe its... Read More
On the road to weight loss, fitness, and health,... Read More
You have noticed your obese friend suddenly slimmer. You want... Read More
Gastric-bypass surgery is only the first step many morbidly obese... Read More
quick home cleaning Lake Forest ..Teenagers with body mass indices between 25 and 30 require... Read More
How much will power does it take in order to... Read More
Have you ever worried about something so much it paralyzed... Read More
In the early weeks after having weight loss surgery almost... Read More
Among the most popular forms of dieting is the South... Read More
The huge companies stealing your money by promising impossible results... Read More
WEIGHT LOSS:Nutrition and weight-loss researchers say that some supplements can... Read More
Lose a pound of fat? what does it take? Not... Read More
The pursuit of a healthier me (or you) shouldn't involve... Read More
No doubt about it, when we feel stressed we want... Read More
Once upon a time, I fretted about going to a... Read More
Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More
Losing weight doesn't have to be boring when you focus... Read More
Everyone is looking for the secret to losing weight. Everyone... Read More
It would not be surprising to hear your answer is... Read More
Developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet touts... Read More
It is very tempting to try that fad diet that... Read More
Before you even think of taking diet pills to lose... Read More
For people that are obese, losing weight quickly can seem... Read More
Do you want to lose weight? Of course you do,... Read More
Many Americans include health improvement in their New Year's Resolutions.... Read More
There have been many diets and weight loss plans that... Read More
We have missed the boat and your boat is sinking... Read More
You need to reset your weight-o-stat. No matter how much... Read More
Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of... Read More
Weight Loss |