Tag Archives: liver

supplements and vitamins

What Is The Harm In Taking Supplements And Vitamins?

Healthy Me, , , , , ,

Would you take prescription medication because you saw an advertisement on the television about it and you think it will help your health? Would you call up your medical doctor and ask if you could start taking a medication just because you heard it was a good prescription to take? If not – why not?

We are all aware that you should get a proper assessment done through your medical doctor, and then they usually suggest what prescription drugs you need to take based on your health issue right? Depending on how your body responds they may suggest blood tests to monitor your liver or kidney function as well once you start certain prescriptions because of the adverse effects these drugs can cause in your body.

Why should vitamins or supplements be any different? They are beneficial for various health issues, yes, however if your blood tests do not demonstrate a deficiency, then adding a vitamin or mineral supplement or herbal medication can also have adverse effects on your wellbeing. Many vitamins and herbs can have toxic adverse effects as well on the body, if not taken appropriately.  One might argue that foods have vitamins and minerals too, so should we not be concerned about eating foods too? Well, most foods do not contain isolated amounts of vitamins and minerals in high concentration like vitamin and mineral supplements do, so they are mostly safe to eat.

In practice, quite often clients come to me complaining of low energy and fatigue issues. A closer look at what they are eating and ingesting, they usually say – well, I started taking a high potency vitamin and mineral supplement to increase my energy and improved my diet, but still not feeling much better. Here is a classic example of why I suggest not to take vitamins and supplements without understand what your body’s needs may be. I have found that ingesting high amounts of certain vegetables and red meats can cause liver issues in men who already have a high concentration of iron in their blood, causing a condition called liver hemochromatosis.

Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease in which the body absorbs too much iron from the diet. The excess iron is then stored in your organs, especially your liver, heart and pancreas.  Unfortunately ingesting too much iron can lead to life-threatening conditions, such as liver disease, heart problems and diabetes and fatigue is one of the symptoms associated with this condition as the liver is unable to do it is job properly. This is just one example of how an excess amount of a nutrient can cause harmful effects on your body, if taken without knowing whether you needed to take this or not.

As a naturopath, I usually check for lack of nutrients and vitamins through blood tests along with routine blood tests, at our initial naturopathic consultation. I have regularly found that quite often clients lack or have high amounts of nutrients and vitamins that they were not aware of at all.  As naturopaths, we are trained in clinical nutrition, herbal medicine and are well aware of the interactions of drugs with vitamins and herbs. If you are thinking of supplementing your diet with additional vitamins and herbal supplements to improve your health and wellbeing or for any health issues, first please see a naturopath who can assess what your body’s needs are based on your health. Your body will thank you.

By: SUSHMA SHAH, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor.

How To Care For Your Liver

Healthy Me,

Your liver is a very important organ with some key functions which include:

1. Metabolizing carbohydrates – Your liver stores glycogen and is a main source of plasma glucose.

2. Fat metabolism – Fats are broken down by an enzyme called lipase. Your liver is central breaking down fat.

3. Protein metabolism – The liver is a major site for protein metabolism and and synthesis and break down of protein.

4. Bile synthesis – The liver secretes bile containing bilirubin, cholesterol, electrolytes, and bile salts. In disease, abnormal bile metabolism is the basis of jaundice.

5. Storage – The liver stores glycogen, iron, copper, and fat soluble vitamins, which can become dangerously excessive in disease.

6. DETOXIFICATION –  The liver is responsible for detoxifying many metabolites, toxins, hormones and drugs. Its function is often impaired by what we put into our body. Optimal liver function is key to keep us healthy, vital and energetic. As a Naturopathic Doctor, i find that a lot of health concerns related to the liver are mostly related to inflammation of the liver due to chronic alcoholism, virus and drugs as well, gallstones.

Its very important to care for your liver and here are a few ways of achieving this naturally:

Let Food Be Your Medicine

There are many healing foods for the liver that contain powerful medicinal properties – dandelion, beet, burdock, endive, artichoke, onion, garlic, radish, apples, lemon, rhubarb, apple cider vinegar, ginger, turmeric – all organic of course.

Eat Well and Think Well

Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds – raw food contains enzymes that help with digestion / assimilation, and the fiber is needed for optimal absorption. At least forty percent of the diet should be raw. And stop consuming things that are toxic to the liver such as sugar, saturated, hydrogenated or rancid fats, fried foods, alcohol, caffeine, pesticides, drugs, food additives.

Eliminate Anger, Hostility, and Frustration

Anger, and toxic stress (chemical and / or emotional) have detrimental effects on the liver and gall bladder. The liver reacts to negative emotions the same as it does toxins. Be grateful for what you have, and let go of resentment.

Get Moving and Laugh More Often

The body needs to move to eliminate toxins – find something you like to do that moves you and do it regularly. And find a way to get laughing like you really mean it.

Give Your Stressed Liver What it Needs to Regenerate

From the bitters, to tonics, to single herbs, vitamins, minerals, & amino acids, the liver needs them to function properly.

Eat When Relaxed and Don’t Stuff

The digestive system does not work well when body is stressed, so it is not a good idea to eat in a hurry or when you are upset. Eat only when you are hungry – your body tells you what it needs – and never stuff yourself full.

 By: Sushma Shah – Naturopathic Doctor at the Natures Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Liver Cleanse

Healthy Me,

A lot of people talk about liver cleanses and detoxing the liver in the Spring.

Why is it important to do liver cleanses or a liver detox?

Lets first talk about what the liver does for our body. The liver’s main job is to make sure that the body absorbs everything it needs and eliminates everything it doesn’t need – it is a major organ involved in digestion by emulsifying fats and assimilation, and it is vital in helping the body to eliminate toxic wastes as well break down our key reproductive hormones especially estrogen.

The liver performs over 500 known functions. That’s a lot of work for one organ to do even under the best of conditions; but unfortunately most people’s liver is not in good shape because of the stress filled world they live in, our diets and the toxins we are exposed to on a day to day basis.

Food additives, pesticides, pollution, drugs, anger, processed food – especially white flour, refined sugar, saturated, rancid and hydrogenated fats, smoked meats and alcohol are toxic to the delicate operation of liver cells. A three to seven day vegetable juice fast would help to quickly relive the body of much waste however if the other organs of detoxification are not functioning well, doing just any cleanse might be harmful for your body. Talk to you naturopath before starting any cleanses or detox. Click here for more information on detox / cleanses.

If your nourish your body well, and keeping your cleaning crew working properly and staying in a positive state of mind and let go of anger with various stress management techniques– your liver will keep you being a happy liver!

Here are a few simple suggestions you can try at home to improve the state of your liver as well, detoxify it gently:

1. Have 1/2 lime squeezed with warm water on rising

2. Mixed any fresh squeezed citrus juice – grapefruit, orange, lemon or lime – to make 300 ml (11oz) of juice (the more sour the better – as bitter tasting fruit and vegetables stimulate bile flow). This mixture can be watered to taste with distilled water. You can have this first thing in the morning before breakfast with some warm water.

3. Have more bitter vegetables such as dandelion in your salads as these help stimulate release of bile from the liver.

4. Have more liver cleansing foods such as beet roots and carrots, and avoid alcohol, caffeine and meats for the first few weeks of the Spring and the Fall.

 

To eliminate small gall bladder stones, use the recipe above the with the following steps:

1. Finely grate one or two cloves of fresh garlic and a small amount of fresh ginger – press to make juice – add this juice to the water and citrus juice mixture.

2. Pour 300 ml (11oz) of high-quality, cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil into a warm glass.

3. Every 15 minutes swallow 3 tablespoon of citrus juice mixture and 3 tablespoon of olive oil. Relax in between doses by lying down with a hot water bottle over liver area – this helps to release any sediment or small stones (gall stones)

Please talk to your naturopathic physician before attempting any cleanses or detox.

BY: SUSHMA SHAH, NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR AT THE NATURE’S INTENTIONS NATUROPATHIC CLINIC