Toxic Liver

Is life worth living? It all depends on the liver.”
– William James

Think about your body as you would your car. What if you never changed your oil or filters in your car? It’s the same thing with your body. Your liver could be likened to the oil filter in your car. What if it was never changed? We all know the answer— the car would eventually die. Why do we think we can go through life never cleansing our liver?

The liver is a prime place for the body to store toxins that can’t be excreted. Highly toxic chemicals can pass through the liver, including residues from pesticides and herbicides. And it doesn’t take a megadose of toxins or irritating substances to weaken the liver of some individuals. It can be damaged by a variety of chemicals, medications, alcohol, and viruses.

One of the most common medications known to destroy liver cells is acetaminophen (found in Tylenol™). Even when taken in recommended amounts, this drug can do great harm to the liver of some individuals. Fructose is another substance that can scar the liver. Especially avoid high fructose corn syrup; it is not just a natural substance made from corn, as commercials would have us believe. Also, agave syrup, which has been very popular as a natural sweetener, is very high in fructose. It is not a good choice in sweeteners.

Alcoholics are known to have bad livers because alcohol is a powerful liver toxin. Over time, heavy drinkers can develop severe scarring of the liver and loss of cells. Chronic heavy drinkers with damaged, poorly functioning livers are also at high risk of liver cancer. This is a result of the chronic scarring, inflammation, and exposure to toxins. But it may not be only heavy drinking that causes problems for some people. Researchers have found even small amounts of alcohol can cause fatty deposits in the livers of susceptible individuals as can eating too many sweets.

As a consequence of our modern diet, many people have considerable congestion and even stones in their liver. This may be true even though a person has not had a history of gallstones. Stones in the liver are an impediment to acquiring and maintaining good health, youthfulness, and vitality. They are, indeed, one of the major reasons people become ill and have difficulty recuperating from illness or recovering from disease.

A congested liver is one reason people have high cholesterol, even though they may eat a healthful diet and exercise regularly. Your liver creates more cholesterol that a normal diet contains. If you cut your cholesterol intake completely, your body would simply manufacture more. If you have high cholesterol, you may have a congested liver. As stones grow and congestion increases, the pressure on the liver causes it to make less bile. It could be likened to your garden hose containing pebbles or small stones. Much less water would flow through it, which in turn would decrease the ability of the hose to squirt out water. If you have liver stones or congestion, much less bile is “squirted out” and less cholesterol leaves the body, causing a rise in cholesterol.

Liver detoxing will help your liver become more efficient at performing all its functions, including making cholesterol and eliminating cholesterol. It’s one of the best things you can do to regain balance of your cholesterol Taking a cholesterol-lowering drugs will not get to the root of the problem.

Liver congestion, toxicity, and stagnation are quite common, yet conventional medicine has no way to measure this. Relying on blood tests for diagnostic purposes is inadequate. Most people who have a physical ailment have perfectly normal liver enzymes in the blood, despite suffering. Liver enzymes become elevated in the blood only when there is advanced liver cell destruction, as in hepatitis or liver inflammation. Liver cells contain large amounts of enzymes, and when they are ruptured, the enzymes enter the blood and signal liver abnormalities. By then, the damage has already occurred. It takes many years before such an event becomes apparent for most people. Therefore, cleansing the liver is an excellent preventative measure as well as being healing, restorative, and rejuvenating. Want to look younger? Do a liver cleanse.

It’s difficult to cleanse your liver if you have parasites in it. You won’t get out many stones or waste, and may feel sick. Embark on a parasite-killing program either before or during your liver cleanse. If you get the Internal Cleanse Kit, you will get parasite cleanse products with it.

Make sure you complete the colon cleanse before cleansing the liver. (You will get a free Colon Cleanse Kit with the Internal Cleanse Kit.)

One of the Best Anti-agers—Getting Rid of Toxins

Doctors Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen say, “Give your liver a break: We’ve long considered toxins — like pollutants in the air and chemical additives in processed foods — major agers, which is what we call things that make your body older faster. When you overload your body with toxins, your liver goes into overdrive trying to filter out the gunk. Over time, excess wear and tear on its filtering system accelerates aging.”

So what can you do about the toxins in your life? The doctors say, “Treat them the same way you treat toxic people (you know, the ones who drive you to eat that whole cheesecake): Avoid ’em whenever you can. When you can’t, help your liver dispose of the vandals.”1

Symptoms of a Sluggish Liver

If you have even a few of these symptoms, I recommend a liver cleanse.

Abdominal discomfort
Aches and pains
Brown spots on the face and hands
Dark circles under the eyes
Anal itching
Bad breath
Body odor
Sallow or jaundiced complexion
Whitish or yellow tongue coating
Digestive problems (belching and/or flatulence)
Dizziness
Drowsiness after eating
Fatigue
Frequent urination at night
Migraine headaches or headaches that involve a feeling of fullness or heaviness in the head
Inability to tolerate heat or cold
Sleeplessness (insomnia)
Irritability
Loss of memory or inability to concentrate
Loss of sexual desire
Lower back pain
Malaise
Menstrual problems
Nervousness and anxiety
Pain around the right shoulder blade and shoulder (also connected with gallbladder congestion)
Puffy eyes and/or face
Red nose
Small red spots on the skin (either smooth or raised and hard—known as cherry angiomas)
Sinus problems
Allergies
Candidiasis
Constipation
Hemorrhoids
Cellulite
Premenstrual syndrome

Benefits of Cleansing the Liver

Clearer, brighter complexion
Dark circles disappear from under the eyes
Some age spots may disappear
Digestion improves
Weight loss becomes easier; cellulite goes away
Energy increases
Sleep improves; need to urinate during the night improves
Aches and pains disappear
Headaches often cease
Memory improves
Mood is better, with a better sense of well-being
Allergies go away
Facial puffiness disappears

Notes

1 From The Juice Lady’s Living Foods Revolution

JOIN THE 30 Day DETOX CHALLENGE

Is Your Colon Toxic

Eating overly cooked food, fried food, junk food, spoiled food, refined foods, or sweets like cookies, chocolate, and ice cream, drinking coffee and alcohol, or taking drugs (prescription or recreational) can stimulate mucus secretion throughout the entire alimentary canal. This is normal; it’s the body’s natural way of protecting itself against the occasional encounter with spoiled or irritating food. But when we ingest these substances everyday, and for some people almost every meal, mucus and waste build up on the intestinal wall like crud builds up in the bathroom pipes. Pancreatic juices help to digest food and cleanse mucus from the intestines. However, continual poor food choices lead to constant mucus secretion, and the digestive juices cannot breakdown and eliminate all this overload of waste.

Mucous and waste buildup can interfere with nutrient absorption because it forms a hard, rubbery kind of layer in the intestinal tract. I was skeptical about this until I tried an intestinal cleanse program a number of years ago. I saw firsthand the truth of what I’d read.

95% of absorption of nutrients occurs in the small intestine. If it’s coated with this plaque, you’re not going to be absorbing a significant portion of the nutrients you eat. Also, this mucous and waste build up provides a hiding place and breeding ground for Candida albicans, and parasites. I struggled with parasites and candidiasis for years, until I discovered the effectiveness of intestinal detoxification using the Parasite Cleanse Kit and the Colon Cleanse Kit.

Living Foods As intestinal waste builds up, motility becomes less effective and material takes longer to pass through the digestive tract, which is called constipation. The longer the “transit time,” the longer the toxic waste matter sits in our bowel, which allows it to putrefy, ferment forming gases, and possibly be reabsorbed. The longer your body is exposed to putrefying food in your intestines, the greater the risk of developing disease. Even with one bowel movement per day, you will still have at least three meals worth of waste decaying in your colon at all times.

Disease usually begins with a toxic bowel. Those having fewer bowel movements are harboring a potentially fertile breeding ground for serious diseases such as cancer. Infrequent or poor quality bowel movements over an extended period of time may be very destructive to your health. It’s not hard to see why a clean intestinal tract is so important to good health. An intestinal cleanse program will help you reduce waste buildup in the intestinal tract and allow for more efficient absorption of nutrients.

From The Juice Lady’s Living Foods Revolution

SYMPTOMS OF A TOXIC COLON

The following symptoms are often associated with a congested colon and indicate the need to detoxify or cleanse your bowel:

Chronic Constipation
Gas & bloating
Diarrhea
Weight gain and inability to lose weight
Low energy or fatigue
Impaired digestion
Stomach pain
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Leaky gut syndrome
Acid reflux or heartburn (GERD)
Diverticulitis
Crohn’s disease
Swollen or protruding belly
Candida albicans ((yeast infection)
Parasites
Food allergies
Gluten sensitivity
Lactose intolerance
Hemorrhoids
Irritability, mood swings
Foul-smelling stools or gas
Frequent colds
Chronic headaches
Rashes, skin eruptions
Colon cancer

Take the Toxicity Quiz

Rejuvenating Power of Fasting

“Fasting is the food of the soul.”

St. John Chrysostom

We kicked off our 30-Day Detox Challenge January 4 with a 3-day juice fast. It’s been an amazing journey for more than 150 of us.

The health benefits of fasting are numerous and significant. Often people say they experience benefits in just a few days such as greater energy, brain power, and vitality. Other important benefits include improved digestion, stronger immune system, better sleep, reduced inflammation, balanced blood sugar, improved circulation, weight loss, balanced hormones, clearer skin, and a greater sense of well-being. Long-term exposure to toxins has been linked to numerous types of cancer, diabetes, and other chronic, health conditions. Flushing toxins and waste away with a veggie juice fast is a super rejuvenator for your body.

Do you want to heal your body? You can rejuvenate your body from the inside out. It is said that only half of our cells are fully functional, another quarter are in the formative stage, and the remaining are sick or degenerating. Fasting takes care of the last quarter. “The diseased cells disappear [in a fast], and the healthy ones remain,” says Otto Buchinger. (From Wisdom From the Monastery)

30877912_l Juice fasting happens at our retreats. We begin with gourmet raw foods and Tuesday begin a juice fast for 3 days together. It’s very helpful to have a group to juice with. It’s also very helpful to have the juice made for you, along with not having any food temptations lying around. We’ve seen amazing healing take place at our Juice and Raw Food Retreats in just five days. People lose weight, look younger, get rid of pain throughout their bodies, and start healing more serious conditions. I invite you to join us in April for a life-changing week.

Look at what these people experienced with juice fasting and detoxing:

This is the 3rd week [of the detox] for me. I was so happy to look in the mirror and see ALL the cellulite in the back area GONE!! The skin is as smooth and toned as could be, without having worked out since we started. Wow, just wow! Keep up the work, everyone, it’s so worth it. Also, I am not weighing till monday but I can tell I’ve lost a lot. —Jonida

I have also lost cellulite but it was so hard to believe, I didn’t say anything (and I have a little more to lose). Thanks for mentioning this. It’s a confirmation for me! —-Nancy Jo

I began an enlightening journey juicing about 2 quarts a day. Every day. What happened? I became less hungry. That gnawing feeling of always being hungry left me. The cup full of vitamins I took 3 times a day dwindled down to about a tablespoon once a day. The pain I felt most of the time has lifted. I only want to eat meat once every three days now. I experimented to see what would happen if I used juice in place of different vitamins, to see if I could eliminate them. When I added more ginger, my sinus congestion left. I experimented to see if I was imagining the improvements. I deleted the juice for 2 days. The pain, lack of energy, hunger and sinus congestion returned. I went back on the juice and it went away again.

“I am a mother of 7. Between being pregnant and nursing it adds up to 14 years. Even though my diet has been very good all those years I see that I was so hungry for what I have found in juicing. It has become an ‘A’ activity for me. I am saving hundreds of dollars a month by getting my vitamins fresh in juice. Quite a concept. I am surprised…and delighted. ” —-Kathy

“What an amazing class. I would have never made it thru without Cherie’s guidance. The group experience was beyond helpful. People across the world took part. So much healing in people. People lost from 8 to 30 pounds and felt so much better. I lost the stubborn last 10 pounds that plague so many along with achy joints. Thank you, Cherie”. – B.W.

It’s Not A Weed To Your Body

The lowly little dandelion is something most homeowners detest. Popping up in our beautiful green lawn, we go after them with a vengeance. Hopefully, no one is spraying them with chemicals. But maybe we should be doing something more with them than throwing them away. My grandmother picked them and made tea by boiling them. I juice them—not for the taste, but for their health benefits. All parts for the dandelion have a bitter bite. This taste comes from their flavonoids that give them their blood purifying properties. These compounds work in the digestive system to increase the flow of urine. Unlike other diuretics, dandelion contains vast amounts of potassium that restore the mineral balance in the kidneys as toxins are flushed out. Healers also count on dandelion’s highly volatile and bitter constituents in the root to flush toxins from the system.

Dandelion is in most liver tonics due to its oils, the bitter resins that stimulate the digestive system. The fiber in the whole plant is described as viscous because of its astonishing ability to absorb and transport toxins from the bowels out of the body, balance intestinal flora, and soothe the digestive tract in the process.

Conditions Helped By Dandelion

Detoxification is the word most people think of with dandelion. There are few detox formulas on the market that don’t use of this plant. Dandelion can be your best friend when recovering from illnesses. It can revive you after a flu or a cold have taken their toll. People with liver conditions, skin conditions, changes in hormones such as menopause or adolescence and arthritis (including gout) can benefit greatly from dandelion.

Dandelion is also useful for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and unstable blood sugar levels. This plant is full of bitter constituents that are not only excellent for stimulating the digestive system but offer anti-inflammatory benefits. Dandelion is also helpful as a lactation stimulator.

Liver Cleansing Cocktail

1 handful dandelion greens
3-4 carrots, scrubbed well, tops removed, ends trimmed
1/2 cucumber, peeled
1/2 lemon, peeled

Bunch up dandelion greens. Cut produce to fit your juicer’s feed tube. Tuck the greens in feed tube and push through with the carrot. Juice remaining ingredients, finishing with a carrot. Stir the juice, pour into a glass, and drink as soon as possible.
Serves 1

Note: Dandelion juice is a traditional remedy for cleansing the liver.

From Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life

12 Benefits of Detoxing Your Body

Boosts Your Energy

Rids the Body of Any Excess Waste and Toxins

Helps You Lose Weight

Improved Immune System

Healthier Skin

Say Goodbye Bad Breath

Promotes Healthy Lifestyle Changes

Clearer Thinking

Healthier Hair

Lighter Feeling

Anti-Aging Benefits

Improved Sense of Wellbeing

Just how toxic are you? Take the Toxicity Quiz.

I’m offering two ways to cleanse your body with me. Join the 30-Day Detox Challenge that Begins August 10.

Come to our Juice and Raw Foods Cleanse Retreat Sept 20-25. We will go through the cleanse together with vegetable juices, wheatgrass juice, and raw foods. Part of the week will be a 3-day juice fast. You will also have a chance to cleanse emotions and toxic thinking. This is a whole person approach to cleansing the body, soul, and spirit. Don’t miss this wonderful experience with my husband and I this fall.

How Toxins Make Us Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

In 2008 scientists discovered a surprising and disturbing fact: environmental toxins make you fat and cause diabetes(1). Inside your body, chemicals disturb your ability to balance blood sugar and metabolize cholesterol. Over time, the disruptions can lead to insulin resistance. Why hasn’t this been headline news? Most probably because there are no drugs to treat it. In fact, the drugs would only add to the toxicity. In our efforts to conquer the two biggest epidemics of our time—diabetes and obesity—we must turn our attention to environmental toxins that we put in and on our bodies.

It is imperative that you optimize your body’s ability to detox. If your body’s detoxification tools aren’t up to speed, waste will build up in your organs and tissues. Overtime, the damage is similar to what happens when trash collectors go on strike. The waste piles high, making the area smell and creating a breeding ground for illness. Do you remember the New York City Christmas Trash Collectors Strike of 1981? Trash mounded up in the streets, which attracted rats in droves and led to disease. Had it not been so cold, they would have had a major health crisis. When the trash was finally hauled away, with nothing left to feed on, the rats left.

We live in an environment steeped in chemicals that our bodies were not designed to process. For a disturbing look at the chemicals that invade our bodies, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. In the 2008 report, scientists at the CDC found that nearly every person they tested was packing around a host of nasty chemicals that included flame retardants stored in fatty tissue and Bisphenol A (2), a hormone-like substance found in plastics. Even babies were contaminated. The average newborn has 287 chemicals in her umbilical cord blood, 217 of which are neurotoxic (poisonous to nerves or nerve cells) (3).(4)

Notes

(1) Jones OA, Maguire ML, Griffin JL. Environmental pollution and diabetes: a neglected association. Lancet. 2008 Jan 26;371(9609):287-8.

(2) Lang IA, et al. Association of urinary bisphenol A concentration with medical disorders and loratory abnormalities in adults. JAMA. 2008 Sep 17;300(11):1303-10.

(3) Environmental Working Group “Study Finds Industrial Pollution Begins in the Womb” (www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/newsrelease.php)

(4) http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/20/how-toxins-make-you-fat-4-steps-to-get-rid-of-toxic-weight/

Are You Ready to Detox?

If you are ready to get rid of the breeding ground for illness and disease and to dump the toxins that make your cells fat, please join me for my 30-Day Detox & Weight Loss Challenge. It begins August 10. I’m going to do this with you. I’ll be coaching you all the way and giving you updates on what I’m doing. I’ll have teleconference calls with you as well. Your course materials will come via email. You’ll also be invited to our private Facebook page. You don’t have to purchase a cleanse kit to do this program. But if you want the added help and support of the herbal products, I’ve made the kits affordable with 25% off until the end of this month. Summer is the perfect time to cleanse. Sign up by August 1, and you’ll get the EARLY BIRD SPECIAL!!

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JOIN THE 30 Day DETOX CHALLENGE