The Importance of the Liver to Our Health
The Liver is an important and vital organ. It is the body's primary filtration, eliminating many toxins from entering our bodies.
If the Liver becomes diseased, it can deteriorate other vital organs, such as the heart.
Fatty liver disease is linked to insulin resistance, obesity, and edema, just to name a few. A failing liver can increase the risk of cancer, too.
Liver Damage (Fatty Liver Disease)
Fatty liver disease is the usual way that a liver gets damaged. About 30% of all American adults have this disease. The percentage is even higher in adults over 70 years old. Some go for years without knowing they have this disease.
The most common type of fatty liver disease is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Causes of NAFLD (Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease)
It's well known that excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs (including medications) causes liver damage. But what causes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease?
- Excess fat in the Liver is often caused by regularly eating too many calories.
- It can also happen that one's diet is too high in fat, especially junky fats, putting extra stress on the Liver.
- Also, if you lose weight too fast, it can cause a form of starvation which damages the Liver.
- Eating excess sugar can contribute to the disease, too.
- Interestingly enough, drinking too much diet soda (even though there's no sugar or calories in it) can cause a fatty liver condition, too. It probably has to do with the chemicals in diet soda that tax the Liver too much.
- PFAS (Forever Chemicals): According to an article in Science Direct, PFAS is associated with higher instances of fatty liver disease. "We found that higher serum PFAS was associated with higher fatty liver disease risk and worse liver function. This was especially evident in those with liver disease risk factors, including heavy alcohol intake, obesity, or high-fat diets. Learn how to remove PFAS from your water.
Symptoms of Liver Disease
If you experience symptoms like the following before or in addition to the insulin resistance, obesity, and edema already mentioned above, do something about it. They could be, but not necessarily, an indication of liver disease. Also, someone with liver disease may not necessarily have these or any symptoms.
- Abdominal Pain or swelling
- Bloating & gas
- Bruising
- Dark urine
- Drowsiness
- Weakness
- Constipation or diarrhea
- High blood pressure
- Yellowing skin or eyes
- Acid reflux & heartburn
- Itchy skin or hives
- Inability to lose weight
- Nosebleeds
- Sensitivity to alcohol, chemicals, or drugs
The Remarkable Regenerative Power of the Liver
The Liver can regenerate itself like no other organ. Here's how the Liver heals and restores.
- Liver regeneration is the remarkable process by which the Liver can replace damaged or lost liver tissue and function normally after a massive injury. This unique ability sets the Liver apart from other organs in our bodies.
- The Liver is like a starfish in its ability to regenerate. No other organ in our bodies is quite like this.
- When a portion of the Liver is removed or otherwise damaged, the Liver's cells divide and regrow the lost tissue within days. The growing Liver can double its original size within four to six weeks.
- The Liver is the only internal organ that can regenerate, and it can even regrow to its regular size after up to 90% of it has been removed.
- What happens is that immature liver cells grow larger to replace damaged tissue. Sometimes, the Liver can regenerate this way in just a few days.
- According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, the Liver can repair itself completely, and within a month, the patient may show no signs of damage.
But I'm not telling you this to make light of Liver diseases. It's far better to prevent the disease than to treat it after the fact.
Natural Treatments for Liver Disease
- An article by Johns Hopkins says, "The most effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is weight loss, which has been shown to decrease the amount of fat in the liver and the inflammation caused by the fat." But watch out for how you lose weight. There are healthy and unhealthy ways. Learn more about the how and why of healthy weight loss. I suggest maintaining a healthy weight as a means of preventing liver damage.
- Intermittent Cold Exposure (ICE) is another way to bring improvements in both obesity and NAFLD.
- Regular sauna use is another natural treatment option.
- Exercise is also good.
- Liver Detoxification is another natural way to help heal the Liver. It is a process that helps remove harmful substances from the body, promoting overall health. The following section goes over ways to detoxify the Liver.
Natural and Inexpensive Substances for Liver Detox
- Potassium helps to cleanse the Liver. So, a diet rich in high-potassium foods like watermelon, tomato sauces, spinach, and bananas is beneficial if you're trying to detox your Liver.
- Believe it or not, coffee is another well-known substance that helps detox the Liver. I always make my coffee with alkaline ionized water, which makes it the healthiest and best-tasting coffee ever.
- Drinking lots of water is an effective way to help heal the Liver. It is one of the best liver detox methods. It also helps flush the wastes out ot the body.But make sure it's the right kind of water.
Hard Water (Not Soft Water) is Beneficial to the Liver.
Water plays a crucial role in liver health, but it must be ensured that it's the right kind.
A study of the right kind of water to heal liver disease found that water hardness was excellent and soft water was terrible. "Soft water was associated with a significant fivefold increase in the odds of hospital admission for alcoholic liver disease compared with hard water at 121% versus 87% of the national rate."
So many people have been fooled by the idea of the healthiness of pure water in the sense of stripping it of all its minerals. However, many studies show that hard water is healthier than soft water. Hard water has a positive influence on cardiovascular health, liver health, and general body health. Here are a couple of reports about it:
The Potential Benefits of Ionized Water in Liver Health
Is Ionized Water Healing for the Liver? Let's explore the potential benefits of ionized water for liver health.
My research page contains many studies showing the benefits of ionized water for the Liver. Ionized water benefits every organ in the body.
Specifically for the Liver, some compelling studies suggest that ionized water (electrolyzed alkaline water) and hydrogen water are helpful for liver regeneration and the prevention of liver disease.
- A controlled, randomized, single-blind human clinical study shows that hydrogen water alleviates liver injury due to chemotherapy.
- A 2018 study on mice shows or suggests that alkaline ionized water or hydrogen water may help reduce nonalcoholic liver disease. Using ionized water in their experiments, they found that "H2 has a surprisingly positive impact in preventing NAFLD (Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease)." [Note: H2 is a key agent in ionized water (electrolyzed alkaline water) and hydrogen water. They isolated that it's the H2 that is specifically responsible for the liver healing in the mice.
- This human study shows that drinking hydrogen-rich water reduces the stress markers connected with radiation therapy.
- This human study shows that hydrogen-rich water helps alleviate oxidative stress in patients with chronic Hepatitis B.
- Animal studies show that alkaline ionized water assists the intestinal environment and has beneficial health effects on cholesterol metabolism and liver protection.
Pivotal Role of Ionized Water
Ionized water has played a pivotal role in my life and in the lives of so many others.
Drinking ionized water is on the lines of what kind of air I want to breathe or the environment I want to live in for the happiest and healthiest life.
I look at drinking the right water the same way I look at breathing good fresh air: It's not a cure for anything in particular, but it's what the body needs to begin with.
Giving the body what it needs for life is the best way to prevent illness, either by being too healthy to become ill in the first place or by being so normally healthy that any illness sticks out like a sore thumb and so can be tackled head-on.
