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.
one time home cleaning Highland Park ..What is cellulite? Ask a doctor and he will probably... Read More
How many meals do you eat in one day?Close study... Read More
20 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT1. Take it one step at... Read More
Obesity raises the risk of various types of cancer. And... Read More
Have you ever wondered why diet books always seem to... Read More
Frankie saddled up to the bar at the We-Stuff-Em-All Diner,... Read More
Recently, a Japanese study showed dramatic results of organ fat... Read More
This year, we all made some of the typical New... Read More
Nitrates and nitrites are preservatives that are added to certain... Read More
Are you often overcome with an urge to splurge on... Read More
Digestion is a chemical process. Our body combines different types... Read More
Have you ever wondered where destiny would lead you? Have... Read More
Essential Fats for Weight LossOver the past few decades, the... Read More
No One I Know Looks Like a Bathing Beauty, so... Read More
Getting into a weight loss program or any type of... Read More
Dieters have long searched for secret paths to easy weight... Read More
I had some questions come in about Ephedra. So I... Read More
It seems everyone is looking for that magic bullet -... Read More
My first article provided steps for fast healthy weight loss.... Read More
Recently, I was reading about a diet plan where you... Read More
Many of us have tried losing weight in the past... Read More
Many people are under the impression that gastric bypass surgery... Read More
Some Say I'm Strange. I Prefer to Think of Myself... Read More
Doctor, Why Can't I Loose Weight and by the... Read More
More and more people are starting to recognize that they... Read More
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Well, to begin with, there isn't really any one Mediterranean... Read More
Among the most popular forms of dieting is the South... Read More
How to Break the Weighing HabitFace it, if you weigh... Read More
As I become acquainted with many of our LivingAfterWLS.com community... Read More
All Diets Are Based on the Same Premise: Eat Less... Read More
Losing fat in my opinion is not all that difficult.... Read More
I clearly remember how much I loathed having my picture... Read More
Must We Gain Weight Every WinterIt's that time of year... Read More
While it would be ideal to make all of our... Read More
Very few Americans are satisfied with their current weights. There... Read More
Are you trying to lose weight?If you are, STOP!Funny thing... Read More
What is "too young" to begin a weight loss program... Read More
Remember there's more to you than meets the eye. You've... Read More
The Liver The function of your kidneys is to filter... Read More
There are those that walk amongst us who have followed... Read More
We all encounter those hosts and hostesses who feel it... Read More
If only there were a 'better body boot camp', we'd... Read More
Fifteen years ago the doctor's suggested that we eat pasta... Read More
The Atkins Diet Seems To Never Go AwayFad diets come... Read More
Getting to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants... Read More
Are you one of the 90 million Americans who are... Read More
If you have been watching your weight all year, you... Read More
Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the... Read More
Are you weighted down with delusion, depression and on the... Read More
Changing habits is one of the most difficult challanges we... Read More
Weight Loss |