Preventive Health & Root-Cause Medicine

We think of the liver as the body’s main ☢️☣️detoxifier, and THAT it is for sure. Did you notice that the liver is also a storehouse with many rooms? We all have at least one junk drawer, or junk closet in our homes, right? If you were to take a tour of the liver, you’d find nicely organized “rooms” filled with glucose and glycogen (for energy), vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as well as helpful hormones and phytochemicals to be released and used as needed.

Deep inside the liver lies the body’s “junk closet” where it keeps it’s darkest stash of the truly “bad boy” toxins☢️☣️. The liver is not a hoarder… quite the opposite! It is doing its best job getting rid of trash and debris as fast as possible. Sometimes, either the liver can no longer keep up with what the body is exposed to, or the toxin is so nasty that the liver throws it immediately into the far corner of the junk closet.

What kind of junk might you find in the liver’s junk closet?
☢️Petroleum products (including those found in mainstream household cleaners and personal care products)
☢️Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides
☢️Aspartame (you may know this as the artificial sweeteners NutraSweet and Equal)
☢️MSG (monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer commonly found in Asian food, canned vegetables, soups, and processed meats)
☢️Viruses and virus waste materials
☢️Certain medications (including opioids)
☢️Toxic heavy metals

If the liver didn’t do this, we’d be a walking hot mess, and frankly, we probably wouldn’t live long or productively as the brain, heart and other organs wouldn’t be able to tolerate the exposure.

We are built incredibly uniquely, and our livers all work in varying degrees according to our genetics and epigenetics (the environment we are exposed to). Many people have genetics that inhibit methylation. Methylation is a chemical process that enables the body to receive, absorb, and utilize key nutrients we get through eating, drinking, and living in a “clean” manner…..ie: lots of fresh unprocessed foods and fresh filtered water and spending time in the sunshine!
Methylation occurs in the liver in tandem with the ileum (the last little bit of the small intestine). If either the ileum or the liver is impaired, methylation cannot occur efficiently. Vitamin B12 is critical to efficient methylation. If you have not yet incorporated 👉Young Living’s Super B👈 into your daily supplement routine, I encourage you to give it a try and see if you don’t notice a difference!

When the “junk closet” of the liver has hit its overflow and begun filling the hallway, the methylation process is affected. However, when you also add in a liver specific virus….one that is in the herpetic family (shingles, HHV-6, cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr)…. The real trouble starts. Viral waste buildup is one of the most problematic to the liver and B12 levels will slowly begin dropping in the body. Additionally, the liver’s “ junk closet door” has now burst open and virus byproducts are now in the bloodstream causing inflammation within the body, dermatoxin related rashes, and brain fog.

Major clues indicating the liver is waving the white flag are on today’s graphic, and there are many more. Remember, the liver performs hundreds (if not thousands! ) of tasks. If the liver fails to deliver and the task is incomplete, something didn’t happen in the body that should have. Slowly over time, these incomplete tasks will begin adding up until eventually you have a clue so big, you’ve had to make an appointment with your favorite health professional😬.

Other clues indicating significant liver burden include:
🔎Random aches and pains : The liver purifies blood and produces new blood. When not enough “clean” blood is available to reach tendons, muscles, and other tissue, it may result in decreased flexibility, pain in upper back, and even dry eyes!
🔎Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) : may show up as random pain in the back or on the upper right side of the abdomen, kidney, or shoulder blade (referred pain).
🔎Spider Veins: If the liver cannot properly clean the blood, then clotting issues near the surface of the skin result.
🔎Darker Urine (see a health professional please!)
🔎Darker Emotions: An unhealthy liver exacerbates predisposition to depression or negative mood swings.
🔎Gout
🔎Eczema, psoriasis, skin rashes, breakouts, or itchy skin
🔎Allergies and asthma
🔎Bad breath
🔎Fibromyalgia
🔎Fluid retention
🔎Headaches
🔎High blood pressure
🔎High cholesterol
🔎Erratic blood sugar or diabetes
🔎Compromised immune system (including autoimmune disorders)

Once the liver “junk closet” is full…. It’s full and unless someone starts a cleanup process, the spillage will only continue. Have you ever cleaned the house while someone went right behind you and tracked in more dirt, left dishes in the sink, and oh…. Forgot to flush all the toilets?😱 That’s what the liver feels like if it’s burdened to the point of overflow and someone decides to clean it up on the inside, but does not stop exposure to all of the petrochemicals (standard household, personal care, and skin care toxins), pesticides, processed foods, contaminated water, etc.

If you have not yet ditched your liver saboteurs, I encourage you to begin today. 🌿Thieves Household Cleaner, the entire line of Young Living body and personal care, and Savvy Minerals cosmetics are all liver friendly! 🌿

Thankfully, the liver is incredibly resilient and forgiving with the right care and TLC, and is able to regenerate itself and regain function. It can do this even when it’s been compromised by more than 60%. The caveat to that factoid is this: permanent and thorough damage cannot be undone…..precisely the reason we want to avoid walking to the end of that road.
Happy liver, happy life!
xoxo~ liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
#loveyourliver

I’ve always thought it rather humorous that the liver is called the “liver”. A body can be kept alive for days (or even years) with an artificial heart or a “dead” brain, but if the liver were to shut down, a body would likely die within a day. We keep going because our liver helps us live! 😁

Tho it’s the largest internal organ (our skin is the biggest!) and an integral component of the digestive system, we tend to take its existence for granted…… until something goes very wrong. Just ask anyone who has advanced liver disease.
I’ve got some sad stats to share with you.  An estimated 10-30% of Americans have some form of liver disease, and most are unaware of their problem. Roughly 90% of us (myself included!) have overburdened livers. #thestruggleisreal
It didn’t used to be this way for the poor liver, but decades of polluted foods and beverages, pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide exposure, medication use, the air we breathe, the water we bathe in, and all the toxin laden skincare and standard issue household products have definitely taken their toll. Babies👶 are born with a chemical burden their livers negotiate from Day One. One study found over 280 toxins☠️ in the blood of umbilical cords of an average infant at birth.

To understand clues a burdened liver leaves us, it’s important to first recognize the profound multitasking machine that it is. 

In addition to being the primary detoxifier of the body, the liver also stores the worst☠️ of the worst ☠️toxic substances deep within itself. Animal livers do this too, and heaven knows, they are exposed to a myriad of toxins in commercial farming situations. Liver was a healthy organ meat for our ancestors, but not for us in the 21st century unless you are able to find a certified “clean” source (uncommon, but they are out there).

Other tasks the liver performs include:
*Vitamin and mineral storage system
*Storage and filtration of blood
*Secretion of bile (go back and review the gallbladder for more info on that task!)
*Conversion of sugars into glycogen (energy storage packets)
*Synthesis of serum proteins, albumin (which regulates blood volume), coagulation factors in the blood
*Filters and destroys bacteria 
*Helps maintain a balance of sex hormones in the body
*Helps maintain a balance of many neurotransmitters

Ultimately, there are well over 500 (some researchers have said as many as 2000! ) functions the liver performs. As the inner Sherlock Holmes within you may suspect, the clue possibilities are vast!

We’ll cover some very specific clues next week, but in the meantime, imagine what might happen within the body (and mind) if an impaired or sluggish liver shows up for work. Since 90% of us have overburdened livers, shouldn’t we be showing our liver some serious love and living like we care about it daily instead of remaining indifferent or flat out abusing it?

Use your “clean” alternatives! Thieves Household Cleaner is liver friendly, as are the Savvy Minerals cosmetics, shampoo, deodorant, body wash, toothpaste, hand soap, and  laundry detergent that Young Living has designed for us. #nolabelreadingnecessary 
Love your liver and it will reciprocate!
xoxo~ liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
#loveyourliver
#goodmedicineislovingyourliver

It’s always a pleasure and an honor to write for this online magazine! Christ centered goodness! 
Enjoy! 
xoxo~ liz

​Hyssop. It’s got an interesting aroma…. definitely herb-y in nature, and not common found here in the USA. Historically, hyssop has quite a tale to tell both Biblically and as an early BC/AD medicinal plant. Did you know that according to the World Health Organization, upwards of 80% of the world’s population still rely on traditional medicinal plants for primary healthcare needs? Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines produced from natural sources such as plants. Do some digging on hyssop. It’s an interesting one! 
Happy weekend friends! 
xoxo~ liz
#hegaveusallweneedinthegarden
#caringissharing 
#HYSSOP
#ThanksYL

The gallbladder is a literal bountiful bag of body clues!  It’s a small pouch that sits just under the liver, located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. It’s a little bag with a big responsibility! 💪

The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile produced by the liver. Bile digests fat and helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E & K) and fatty acids (think omega 3/ 6’s). It becomes extremely important to take a quality Omega-3 supplement if your gallbladder is MIA.  #Omegagize3forthewin.

Additionally, without a gallbladder, vitamins A,D,E &K become poorly absorbed from foods, and it is prudent to supplement with these vitamins as well. #MasterFormulaandSuperDforsupport  A well functioning gallbladder also helps the body excrete fats and fat soluble toxins. Fat soluble toxins☠ are sadly found in common household cleaners, personal care products, food, beverages, and even in cosmetics. To keep the ☠toxin load☠ down, make the most of your Thieves Household Cleaner (All things Thieves really! ), the wonderful personal care products Young Living has available for us, and the Savvy Minerals cosmetic line. There are hundreds of fat soluble toxins to avoid, and Young Living has done the hard work so that our bodies may enjoy a decreased toxic burden!

Gallbladder removal is THE most common surgery in North America. Gallbladder  symptoms (clues🔎) don’t evolve overnight…..there are years of foundational “sludge”  building up beforehand that may have been unintentionally ignored.  Most people are under the impression that if the gallbladder is removed, the pain will stop.While the immediate pain will likely go away, it will ultimately be replaced with a different set of pain points and problems. 

People without a gallbladder become even more prone to digestive problems. If the offending diet and lifestyle is not altered, gallstones can still occur..…. they just stay in the liver.. Risk of developing fatty liver dis-ease is also greater in people without a gallbladder. In the absence of a gallbladder, bile slowly trickles into the intestines and never becomes concentrated enough to digest fats well. Often this results in diarrhea, nausea, bloating and heartburn-like symptoms.

If your detective gears are moving, you’ll have just read a wealth of clues 🔎for those people who may be missing their gallbladder and are still struggling. Here’s the biggest clue of all…. A gallbladder’s health is dependent upon the liver’s health….. So while the gallbladder became the “fall guy”, the liver was (and still is!) actually screaming for some support. A poorly functioning liver will produce sludgy bile. That’s as gross as it sounds. Sludgy bile eventually will eventually cause stones or, like a sewer pipe, a significant clog.

A compromised diet is at the heart of most gallbladder dysfunction:
💥Having a diet high in sugar and high fructose corn syrup (learn to look at labels… sugar and HFCS hide everywhere!)
💥Having a diet high in “modern” grains. This leads to fatty liver (we will talk about that soon), which will eventually lead to an unhealthy gallbladder too. There is some pretty compelling research linking gluten intolerance to gallstones. This is another reason Gary was so adamant about getting us our YL Einkorn products!
💥Having a diet high in “bad fats”. (think processed food/ “fast” food) 

Other clues indicating an unhappy gallbladder is on the horizon:
🔎Regular use of Aspirin (we have many natural alternatives friends ….. Use them!)
🔎An existing or suspected diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, SIBO, or candida overgrowth. Remember, the liver is an important part of the digestive system, and all parts are ultimately affected when one part begins to falter. The majority of people with gallbladder dysfunction have had poor digestive health for years and have not modified their diet and added supportive digestive enzymes (Essentialzyme-4!) and probiotics.
🔎Gout flare ups
🔎Seemingly common bouts of “food poisoning”. This is a sign of weakened bile flow. Strong bile flow kills pathogens and assists in a healthy and harmonious digestive tract.
🔎Common “strep” infections. (“common” is a relative term…. In this case, even once a year would be considered common)
🔎“Hot flashes”. We often only think of this clue as hormonal, but there is a correlation between a toxic liver and a gallbladder that can’t keep up with eliminating the toxins.
🔎A mysterious “come and go” chronic pain  in the abdomen or rib cage area. (The gallbladder doesn’t usually have gallstones at this point, it has toxic sludge that has become so heavy the gallbladder actually droops from its original position putting pressure on some very sensitive nerves around the liver. The “drooping” also causes a pulling on the neck of the gallbladder)
🔎Chronic constipation and “slow GI” transit time.

The gallbladder really is the “canary in the coalmine” when it comes to liver health. Ultimately….. If the liver ain’t happy, the whole body ain’t gonna be happy eventually either. 
Consider starting and ending your day drinking a glass of water with a few drops of YL lemon or lime vitality oils to support “decongesting” lymphatic tissue. Other ways to support healthy lymphatic drainage include lymphatic massage, dry brushing, exercise, eating fresh fruits and leafy greens, drinking plenty of water, deep breathing exercises on the regular, avoiding “reloading” with toxins, and wearing loose clothing that is not binding.

These health clues are sooooo important friends. There’s no sense crying over spilt milk or a missing gallbladder! Work with what ‘cha got! 😘  You didn’t know. But now you do, and the good news is you now know you’ve got some serious but entirely doable work to give your liver its best life, so that you can lead your best life too! And thank the good Lord (and Young Living) we’ve got the tools to do it!  
xoxo~ liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
#loveyourliver
#Godgaveusallourorgansforareason
#thegallbladderneedslovetoo