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Articles > Our Liver: The gateway to health, vitality and beauty

Our Liver: The gateway to health, vitality and beauty

The liver is a main organ of the human body and is nothing short of a miracle. It is involved directly or indirectly in all physiological processes and fulfils more than 500 functions! The liver acts as a purification plant for the body and a storage and manufacturing organ for nutrients and vitamins. The liver produces bile, which is indispensable for digestion, metabolizes fat, carbohydrates and protein and stores them as energy reserves. The liver also involved in inactivating spent hormones like oestrogen, corticosteroids and other steroids. This is why a healthy liver helps to mitigate hormonal upheaval experienced by many women in the form of PMT or distressing symptoms during peri-menopause. Herbs and vegetables that taste bitter stimulate the liver through a reflex via the taste buds and support it in the fulfilment of its myriad of functions.

In our modern, rather toxic world I cannot stress enough the importance of the liver in detoxifying our body. It plays a central role in the elimination of drug residues and protects our body from disruption due to pollutants, artificial food additives and other potentially poisonous substances. However, continuous exposure to these substances will put the liver under stress from constant over-work.

An overloaded or weak liver can manifest many unpleasant symptoms: general discomfort in the digestive system, loss of appetite, diarrhoea or constipation, bright stools, inability to digest fatty foods, bloating, a feeling of fullness, indigestion, tiredness, the need to sleep a lot and not wanting to get up in the morning, a yellowish looking unhealthy skin, depression, irritation (feeling liverish), an itchy skin (also around the anus), feeling pressure in the right upper abdominal cavity, thirstiness, headaches and general susceptibility towards disease. A specific sign of an under-functioning liver is waking up at night between 12 midnight and 3am. In cases where the diagnosis of general malaise has proven to be elusive then a detoxification regime with liver strengthening herbs is an excellent first step on the road of recovery as it opens the gateway for healing. There are a number of great liver cleansing diets available that will additionally to cleansing herbs, support a liver detoxification through food.


More and more people are aware of the importance of their liver as a gateway to good health, vitality and beauty. The liver is always a good place to start in any health-improving program. In fact, if the liver is not in good shape the rest of the body is not going to improve satisfactorily. If somebody experiences general malaise of unknown origin, it is recommended to take a liver cleansing herbal formulation for 4-6 weeks before reassessing the situation again. A medicinally active liver tea is of great value as its active constituents are of much better bioavailability than pill or tablets providing excellent absorption and therefore immediate improvement of the discomfort. Additionally to the therapeutic effect it provides a quantity of liquid to help with the flushing of the toxins.

In Europe spring and autumn were the times when people would traditionally drink a course of liver cleaning herbs for 4-6 weeks. A herbal tonic containing Globe Artichoke leaves, St Mary's Thistle seed, Calendula, Dandelion root, Fennel seed and Peppermint was said to get rid of feeling sluggish. As our western lifestyle is very taxing on our liver taking a course of cleansing liver tea is a wise tradition to follow. This health giving practice is a valuable tool in any liver cleansing program.

Chronic un-wellness of the liver, past infections of the liver and degenerative complaints such as arthritis, skin conditions, digestive dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease and auto-immune diseases all benefit from liver strengthening herbs. The proper functioning of the liver is essential for the recovery from or the management of these deep-seated chronic conditions.

Liver herbs are beneficial to help support general digestive function and specifically the function of liver, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen. Nausea, bloating, belching, difficulties to think straight and itchiness of the skin, also around the anus, can all be signs that the liver is functioning below par and needs support.

Diet and questionable lifestyle choices (e.g. consumption of too much fat, sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, recreational drugs and smoking) compromise the health of the liver and lead to a build up of cholesterol and wastes. Changes to these habits are indispensable for achieving long term health improvements. The medicinal herbs Globe Artichoke leaves, St Mary's Thistle, Calendula, Dandelion root, Fennel seed and Peppermint help to cleanse the body of cholesterol, toxins & wastes and spent drugs. This herbal combination is highly beneficial in supporting a healthy liver function, resulting in a feeling of increased vitality and wellbeing.

Where synthetic medication needs to be taken, then liver supporting herbs can help to mitigate side effects like nausea, itchiness of the skin and sluggishness. Many drugs are then better tolerated as the body has the improved ability to cleanse itself from the spent drugs thanks to the liver strengthening herbs.

PMS and dysmenorrhoa (painful periods) may be caused by an imbalance of female hormones. The liver is the key organ to clear spent hormones. The better the liver is able to fulfil its metabolising function, the better the body can keep a hormonal balance. Treating a sluggish liver will improve hormone clearance and therefore reduce symptoms. Further, a recent study has shown that women who take the contraceptive pill tolerate this synthetic regime better when taking liver strengthening herbs.

A healthy liver is equally important for a smooth transition to a new hormonal regime in menopause, as it is needed to break down hormonal surges. It is therefore beneficial to drink regularly liver supporting herbs during the time of peri-menopause.

It is beneficial to include the medicinal herbs Globe Artichoke leaves, St Mary's Thistle, Calendula, Dandelion root, Fennel seed and Peppermint in a continuous health maintenance regime. This vitality enhancing therapeutic tea can be drunk on a daily basis, first thing in the morning before breakfast for best liver cleaning effect.