Is your fatty liver making you sick & fat?
Your liver is important for weight loss. It needs to be functioning. If it is fatty and clogged with trapped fat, it isn’t going to function for your optimal health.
The liver metabolizes fats, carbs and proteins balancing out hormones. It produces triglycerides to produce energy. Detoxification is one of the liver’s main jobs. If it isn’t working then you are not detoxing. If you are not detoxing you will be hormonally out of balance. You will have insulin resistance and store fat instead of burning it. You could end up with a fatty liver.
What is fatty liver? The liver ensures that blood sugar levels remain constant. The liver removes sugar from the blood and distributes and stores it in the liver in the form of glycogen and triglycerides. With the deluge of too much glucose, the excess ends up causing the liver to swell and become fatty. This is non-alcholic fatty liver disease.
It isn’t fat that causes fatty liver. It is sugar and excess carbohydrates that turn to glucose in your blood. Fructose specifically causes a problem with your liver. The liver is the only place Fructose can be metabolized–think high fructose corn syrup, agave, fruit juice and alcohol. Too many of these things build up in the liver causing fatty liver over time.
With a diet that is high in processed inflammatory fats, sugar and carbohydrates, the liver becomes overburdened. You get obesity. You get fatty liver. You will store fat instead of burning it. Sugar in the blood will store in the liver. Your body has to create those dreaded triglycerides and then LDL cholesterol to then transport all the excess sugar as storage in fat cells throughout the body.
Your liver helps you convert food to fuel. It absorbs & filters everything you put into your body. It produces bile which is stored in the gallbladder that is essential for digesting and absorbing the fats in your diet. If you do not eat good fats, the bile ends up stagnating and creating stones. If you do not eat good cholesterol to help create HDL, your liver will have to work harder to create an inferior form of cholesterol that is more inflammatory. This is important for weight loss.
We want to eat to reduce this trapped fat in the liver and from being stored as fat in our body. An anti-inflammatory diet low in sugar like a keto, low-carb diet with clean proteins, low carb detoxifying veggies and low sugar, high polyphenol fruits support a healthy liver to help neutralize toxins and counters fatty liver. Quality pasture-raised animal fats and olive oil are fuel to combat inflammation.
Foods like whole eggs and liver have Choline which controls fat to help us increase our metabolic rate to burn fat. Coffee is amazing for liver health and is protective and adds thermogenesis for fat burning along with green tea. All of these improve liver enzymes and reduce oxidative stress and fat accumulation in the liver.
Chlorella and Spirullina enhance immune function and protect the liver against damage. They contain chlorophyll which aids the liver in removing toxins and harmful metals. Hydration is key for liver health. Using these greens in our water in the morning along with cod liver oil and olive oil is a good way to support the health of your liver.
Bitter herbs are good for the liver, detoxification and digestion. Bitter Herbs are milk thistle, ginger, dandelion, cilantro, garlic, and turmeric which are carminative and regenerative.
The best way to start your weight loss journey is to make sure your liver is detoxing and working. Following a Keto diet and practicing intermittent fasting helps to boost the immune system and stimulate autophagy, dna repair and improve insulin sensitivity. Studies show that 30-60 days on a low carb diet will help reduce fatty liver. Fatty liver is too much sugar in the liver. With a low carb diet you will be using up the stored fat in the liver and begin to burn fat for fuel.
Using castor oil packs, improving gut health, supporting stomach acid and optimizing bile flow are all important for liver health.
Don’t let your liver break down. Digestion will break down and then you’ve got gut problems. Weight loss is a whole body management system. It works together in symphony. You need liver health for weight loss.
Where are you in this cycle? Testing with functional labs can help you discover more underlying hidden weight loss blocks. Test don’t guess. If you would like more information on improving your health and maximizing weight loss, email me for more information on my program “Weight Loss Like a Lady Boss.” I am here for you.
Lori