HEALTY LIFE

The body relies on energy and nutrients supplied by a balanced diet to stay strong and healthy. Without adequate hydration, vitamins, minerals and other important antioxidant compounds, as well as fibre and nutrients supplied from a healthy, balanced diet, the body cannot remain healthy and active. Instead, it can become vulnerable to disorder and disease.
All energy entering the body in the form of food stuffs and hydrating liquids, work to supply each tissue of the body with the nutrients necessary for survival. Without Calcium, for example, the bones cannot remain strong. Without Magnesium, muscles cramp. Without water, the brain cannot survive. Without the brain, the heart will not beat.
Our body also relies on a healthy digestive system to properly absorb nutrients and to detoxify any potentially harmful foods or medicines. Without a healthy digestive system, the right nutrients do not make their way to the right tissues. So regardless of what you eat, your body will not thrive. Good digestion relies on a healthy digestive system, including a well-functioning stomach, liver, pancreas, small and large intestine.
After chewing and swallowing food, the stomach works to break down foods into absorbable and digestible nutrients. In the stomach, food is broken down by enzymes and acids in order to separate carbohydrates, proteins and fats, as well as ready vitamins, minerals and other key nutrients for absorption across the wall of the small intestine, into the blood stream. Once in the blood stream, nutrients travel around the body to other organs and tissues such as the bones, nerves and muscles.
The liver
One of the most important organs in the digestive system, the liver, plays a key role in the breakdown of fats and the production of cholesterol. Cholesterol does not just come from your diet - it is also produced by your body. The liver acts as a key organ of detoxification. It works to make potential toxins consumed by the body, ready for removal from the system. It also works to breakdown some nutrients and medications so they can be safely used by the body without the threat of harm.
For example, the liver helps the body to digest and utilise key nutrients such as sugar and cholesterol, as well as key chemicals such as medications, drugs and alcohol.
The effects of medication, drugs and alcohol
Unfortunately, the body cannot store some of the B Vitamins, so when too much alcohol is consumed and the balance of vitamins and water is disturbed, the body has difficulty digesting the alcohol effectively, leading to headaches, nausea and digestive disorders known collectively as a hangover. A good B complex vitamin, coupled with lots of water prior to and following the ingestion of alcohol can help.
When the liver is kept healthy, it works to remove otherwise harmful by-products from the body without causing harm to other organs or tissues in the body. An example of this is the way the liver helps to rid the body of alcohol.
The liver acts as the key organ of detoxification
When ingested, alcohol passes through the digestive tract into the blood stream and the brain and travels through to the liver. Once alcohol fuelled blood enters the liver, it relies on beneficial B complex vitamins such as B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (Niacin) and clean, fresh water to help breakdown and flush alcohol from the body through a process of detoxification.
After processing by the liver, toxic by-products are then removed from the body through sweat, faeces and urine. Some alcohol even leaves the body via the breath - this is the reason a breath test can be so telling after we have been drinking, even if it is carried out the day after drinking alcohol.
The benefits of vitamins
Vital nutritional agents such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other products are essential for the improvement and maintenance of our total wellbeing and state of overall health. These nutrients are broken down by the body and used to keep the total system strong. Each vitamin and mineral plays a role in keeping your body strong and healthy by supporting a process or encouraging the building of healthy tissues.
Vitamin C, for example, helps to not only support the immune system with the formation of important white blood cells, it also supports the building of strong and healthy mucosal tissue – the tissue that lines the walls of your lungs and respiratory system to keep it strong and free of infection.
The liver plays an important role in breaking down all our fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin E. Too much Vitamin A can actually cause liver disease, so it is important to read the label of all products containing Vitamin A to ensure you are taking a safe amount.
The good news is that there are a number of ways to preserve and improve the health of your liver to make sure your body can convert and rid itself of any food or medicine borne toxins quickly and effectively.
Preserving and improving your liver
Water – hydration is extremely important for
liver health (and kidney health). A good rule is that if you are properly hydrated your urine is clear and you urinate an hour after your ingestion of water. For most people, this amount of fluid equals around 2–3 litres per day, depending on climatic conditions.
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) – also known as St Mary’s Thistle, has remarkable liver tonic actions. It has been shown to regenerate liver cells. Interestingly, the liver is the only organ in the body that can completely regenerate itself, even after being damaged.
Bitter foods – includes herbs such as Burdock (Arctium lappa)* and dark green leafy vegetables such as Kale. Bitter foods stimulate bile flow. Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder and is excreted by the body to break down fatty foods. Good bile flow means proper digestion and less bloating.
B Complex Vitamins – consume a complex of all the B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12) when under stress or when considering causing some “voluntary damage” to your liver through the consumption of alcohol.