Our livers have been our greatest advocates and our fiercest protectors for our whole lives. Our relationships with our livers are much like that of mother and child; a profound, unbreakable, inexplicable bond is forged, and the liver uses its 2,000 chemical functions to protect us at all costs. It neutralizes poisons, it processes toxins, it’s overworked, and underpaid, and does everything in its power to keep us safe, and young, and well. The liver fights for us at every turn, and we seldom acknowledge its efforts, as it is out of sight, out of mind. We drink champagne at the spa, we engage in “self-help” steak dinners, all while the liver grows old and sluggish, working, and exerting to keep us afloat, as we bog down our systems in an ironic attempt to self-soothe.
What We See vs. What Our Livers Get
We haven’t been taught to consider or value our livers because they’re not as obvious as our hair and waistlines, and skin. We have been conditioned to seek physical beauty— to fixate on calorie deficits and fad diets, to slather lotions and creams and serums, to experiment with brushes, and products, and to be mindful of damaging heat. We ingest and apply chemicals to enhance our appearances. We are clinically obsessed with our outsides, while deeply uninformed on our insides.
This lack of education and understanding is not your fault. You were never taught the value or most of the functions of your liver. It was never explained how to properly care for our emotional livers, for our loving protectors. Forgive yourself for not yet knowing better. The good news is, you can start to repair your liver at any time.
Medical Medium, Anthony William refers to symptoms as “lifesaving.” As a medical doctor, I’m always interested in getting to the root of discomfort. My many years of medical school paired with my experiences as a physician have inspired me to pause and go deeper into understanding the liver and how it affects overall quality of life. The notion of “lifesaving” symptoms has opened my eyes to the importance of liver health and upkeep. Our livers cannot verbalize if they are full of fat, or burdened by heavy metals, or filled with toxins to the brim. But the liver can communicate. It sends symptoms as messengers to alert us that the liver is tired, that it is struggling, that it is our turn to care for and support it. When our bodies feel “off,” it is an opportunity to discover how to make things right.
The better our livers function, the better we look on the outside. As we cleanse the liver of toxins and heavy metals, using food as medicine and eliminating foods and chemicals that burden our bodies, we give our livers the opportunity to loosen up fat cells and give the adrenals a rest. If diet and exercise aren’t producing desired weight loss, it’s a good time to check in with the liver. Through cleanses and mindful consumption of organic ingredients, liver damage from alcohol and prescription or recreational drugs can be mended, as well as mystery scar tissue, and myriad other symptoms. The cleaner and healthier your liver becomes, the more your skin will glow. You will de-age your skin, as you de-age your organ. You will lose weight more easily. You will build better muscle with enhanced nutrient processing. While focusing on mitigating symptoms and healing illness, you will find that how you look will be in tandem with how you feel. Focusing on what you cannot see will positively impact that which you can. Health and beauty go hand in hand.
From Healthy Liver to Holistic Peace
While we long to be attractive and well, we also yearn for peace. Anthony William offers that we seek peace in our minds, bodies, souls, and hearts. That we look for it among neighbors, among family, in the workplace. That we find ourselves wondering how to contribute to the planet, how to promote and create the peace we pursue. So many people travel far and wide to achieve this goal, to seek and spread peace, but the most meaningful and revolutionary thing we can do is to create peace inside ourselves.
The liver is responsible for chronic anger, aches and pains, sleepless nights, uncontrolled weight gain, insatiable hunger, irregular heartbeats, night sweats, mood swings, rashes, intestinal discomfort, backed up bowels, blood sugar spikes and drops, strokes, heart attacks, and even cancer. A tired, fatty, sluggish, neglected liver leads to chronic illness and disease. By focusing in and prioritizing the health of our livers, these symptoms and sicknesses will fade. When we are not hungry, or angry, or sickly, or foggy, we are not bogged down by discomfort. We are no longer reactionary as a result of pain. We are well-rested, and well-nourished. We are sturdy and we are calm. When the liver is at peace, we are, in turn, at peace.
A peaceful world cannot be cultivated by a sick society. For a radical shift, we must make a radical change. We must prioritize our liver health as individuals to create global peace as a collective. When we don’t have to worry about the discomfort of our symptoms, our time and energy become free to innovate and create. When we are kinder and gentler to ourselves, we can offer kindness and gentleness to others. In our pursuit of beauty, what is more beautiful than peace? Your spirit follows your mind and your mind follows your body. Give peace a chance.
Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with our livers.
