Love your liver

by JANE CLARKE, You magazine, Mail on Sunday
April 28, 2002

Lying beneath your ribs is your liver, the largest of your organs and one of

the most vital, manufacturing as it does substances that enable the blood to

clot effectively and others that regulate the digestion, absorption and

storage of nutrients.

People often only become aware of having a below-par

liver when a routine blood test flags up abnormally high levels of liver

enzymes, a tell-tale sign that the liver is working at a reduced capacity

and is struggling to perform its essential duties.

If this happens to you,

further investigation is needed to ascertain the cause, which may simply be

that your liver has become unequal to the task of coping with your eating

and drinking habits, particularly your consumption of alcohol, in which case

take it as an early-warning signal that you must start loving your liver.

Although traditional doctors often pooh-pooh the suggestion that your liver

has any impact on how you're feeling from day to day, Ayurvedic and other

Far Eastern practitioners make a direct link between feeling lethargic, fed

up or emotionally all over the place with an overloaded or sluggish liver.

They believe that if you cherish your liver by treating it to plenty of good

food and rest (and sometimes also natural remedies), your reward will be

improved moods and energy levels.

Even if your liver-enzyme level isn't raised, but you're feeling low and in

need of a boost, try staying off the alcohol for a few weeks, but if you

can't stomach the thought, at least avoid spirits, which have a higher

alcohol content and hit the liver harder than wine, and don't drink on an

empty stomach, which unleashes a rush of concentrated alcohol into your

system, making your liver work overtime.

Drinking a small amount of wine

with a meal is the best plan, because food slows down the rate at which the

body absorbs alcohol, enabling the liver to work at a comfortable pace.

Because caffeine can also irritate your liver, try drinking herbal tisanes

or water instead; drinking at least 2.5 litres of water a day will in any

case help your liver to rid itself of unwanted waste products.

Food-wise, focus on eating plenty of fresh vegetables, particularly carrots,

which seem to have a positive effect on the liver's health and performance.

The best way of giving your liver a hefty carrot hit is to juice them,

either on their own or with a flavour-enhancer like ginger or orange, and

I'd recommend having a small glass of fresh carrot juice every day for a

fortnight. Alternatively, include plenty of carrots in salads, eat them raw

as crudités or steam them to serve with your main meal (sweet baby carrots

are delicious when steamed and then drizzled with a little virgin olive oil

and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper).

Your liver will

also welcome plenty of fresh fruits, pulses and wholegrains or wholemeals

like rice, oats, pasta and bread.

There is one nutritional substance that should set the alarm bells ringing,

however: fat. Whether of vegetable or animal origin, fat is one of the

hardest foods for the body to break down and metabolise, which makes it even

more difficult for a stressed liver to deal with, triggering indigestion,

nausea, bloating, wind and a general feeling of heaviness (hence the

expression 'feeling liverish').

So avoid fried foods, cream, buttery

pastries, pâtés and cheese and instead keep your food light and simple.

Think along the lines of chargrilled fish and roast lean meats accompanied

by steamed young vegetables dressed with fresh herbs and a little olive oil

rather than dollops of béchamel-type sauces.

My parting tip is to try taking milk thistle, a herbal remedy renowned for

its liver-cleansing properties. And if you follow these liver-nurturing

strategies for as long as you can, it will be your mood and energy levels

that are raised, not your liver enzymes.

________________________________________

Recipe: WARMING CARROT SOUP

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped


1 clove garlic peeled and crushed


Dash of olive oil


2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped


6 medium sized organic carrots, peeled and chopped roughly into small pieces


1 medium sided parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped into small pieces


Grated zest and juice from one organic orange


1 bouquet garni


500ml chicken stock


Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Cook the onions and

garlic over a gentle heat for a few minutes until they're soft and turning

slightly golden, which should take approximately 3 minutes.

Add the bacon

pieces and cook for another five minutes, stirring well to prevent sticking.

Add the carrots and parsnips and cook until they're softened, which should take

about 8-10 minutes.

Add the bouquet garni, chicken stock and the orange zest, stir well and simmer

for about thirty minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni and add the orange juice. Puree in a liquidiser until

it's completely smooth. Place back in the pan, season with plenty of freshly

ground black pepper and sea salt to taste and gently reheat before serving.

Jane Clarke(BSc SRD), sees patients at her Nutritional Consultancy; 29 Frith

Street, London, W1V 5TL, Tel 020 7437 3767.

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