Tag Archives: Health

Consider the Health of Your Liver

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Did you know that not only is the liver the second largest organ in our body, it is in fact very tolerant too? If no disease were to occur to affect the functioning of the liver, it would in fact work optimally right into old age. Considering the health of your liver now will do you great benefits in the long run, especially as many liver diseases can go unnoticed for a prolonged period of time, until it is quite far into the disease. To help you better understand how to loko after your liver, we will first look at what the liver does.

Liver Health – What is its function?

The liver is responsible for a huge number of different functions. It is amazingly the only organ that can repair and re-grow itself when damaged. Firstly, the liver is responsible for processing, eliminating and detoxifying the toxins and foreign matter that enters and builds up in our blood stream. It plays a crucial role in the digestive process and is important in producing bile. Bile is the cornerstone to breaking down fats – helping to prevent obesity for example. The liver helps to filter the blood of old red blood cells, any bacteria and other infectious organisms that should not be in our system. The liver also helps to regulate our blood sugar levels and is able to store any surplus sugar in a way where is able to be released quickly when needed. The liver also produces an excessive number of important proteins, hormones and stores vitamins A, D, E and K.

Liver Health – What can go wrong?

As mentioned earlier, liver health does not deteriorate due to old age but rather through illness and disease. Liver health can be compromised from external factors such as pollutants, lifestyle choices – fatty foods, alcohol, smoking and lack of exercise or side effects from certain medications.

Conditions that can result due to liver damage include:

  • Hepatitis
  • Viral hepatitis A, B, C and D
  • Autoimmune hepatitis
  • Cirrhosis
  • Alcohol liver disease
  • Gallstone and gallbladder disease

Symptoms that can result due to liver damage include:

  • Jaundice (Abnormal yellow discoloration seen on the skin and in the eyes)
  • Dark urine
  • Light-coloured stools
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Abdominal swelling
  • Abdominal pain
  • Itching of the skin
  • Vomiting blood or bloody/black stools
  • Fatigue
  • Loss of libido

Liver Health – What can you do?

If you ignore the health of your liver and problems start to arise – serious irreversible damage can occur if left untreated. A damaged liver that has no way of repairing itself can have debilitating effects on the quality of your life. There are not many effective treatments that can alleviate liver disease. The best medicine is prevention so start taking steps to ensure the health of your liver now. Use a holistic approach by eating fresh, healthy food; limiting your alcohol intake, no smoking or other drugs and exercise often. These measures go a long way to warding off many ailments including liver damage. Be your liver’s friend and with good support, you can help it work optimally throughout your life.

Which Foods Are Really Good for Your Health?

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Most of us are all too familiar with the phrase, ‘five fruit and veg a day,’ and while some of us will be conscious to match this in our diet everyday it can also become confusing knowing what is actually good for us. Which foods are in fact good for our health and which have high nutritional value. We have explored this question and come up with the following foods which tick all the right boxes. These foods are not only nutritious but versatile and easy to keep!

Health Foods #1 – Brown Rice

Brown, unrefined rice that has had the least amount of polishing and refining contains a vast quantity of nutrients. These nutrients include fiber, folic acid, potassium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, panthothenic acid, pyridoxine and low amounts of sodium. Rice is wonderfully easy to incorporate into a variety of dishes.

Health Foods #2 – Seeds and Nuts

Seeds and nuts are a great source for protein, good fats, some fiber and a host of minerals. A good note here is that the nutrients within nuts and seeds can be difficult for the body to absorb. However when combined with food high in vitamin C, then absorption is much easier.

Health Foods #3 – Garlic

Garlic is a long history in medicinal medicine due to its potent antibacterial properties. More recent research has uncovered garlic to be an effective treatment against heavy-metal poisoning. Other conditions that garlic is known to be good for include sinusitis, bronchitis and catarrh just to name a few. Remember the old wives tale of wearing a string of garlic around your neck to prevent getting sick with the flu? Not such a farfetched story in fact! Garlic is best when eaten raw and the nutrients are still intact. When adding to cooked meals try adding it just before serving to help keep its beneficial properties intact.

Health Foods #4 – Raw Honey

Raw honey is rich in nutrients including vitamin C, D, E and a few vitamin B’s as well. Honey also has a long line of traditional uses both medicinally and culinary; being particularly effective in treating coughs and colds. Recent studies have noted how honey has healing properties and can be useful in reducing scars and promote healing after an operation.

Health Food #5 – Cacao

Believe it or not be cacao in its pure form is known as a super food due to its high antioxidant properties – in fact it contains one of the highest amounts of anti-oxidant properties. Cacao provides other valuable nutrients such as mineral magnesium, some B vitamins and mono-oxidase inhibitors; these inhibitors allow for our feel good hormones, serotonin and dopamine to stay in our blood stream for a prolonged period of time. So the crack about chocolate making you feel good is in fact true! So to get the most out of cacao go for dark chocolate, preferably nothing less than 75%.

These are just a few examples of which foods are great for our bodies. Try incorporating these and other known health foods into your daily diet. It won’t be long before you start feeling the benefits of better health!