10 Signs That Your Liver Needs Detoxing
Your body is amazing. It does so much to keep us functioning every single day. When you think about the inner workings of our organs and all of our internal systems, it’s a lot to comprehend. Think of your liver and how it works hard to filter your blood to get rid of nasty substances that can poison us. In addition to protecting us from our own doing, it also helps carry away waste and digest fats. It’s easy for our liver to get tired over time, especially when we mistreat it.
Detoxing your liver is a great way to help reset it and keep it healthy from issues like fatty liver disease. If you’re feeling like your liver needs some help or perhaps know that your liver numbers are too low, a detox may be the solution for you. Take a look at these 10 signs your liver needs detoxing so you can be aware and respond accordingly!
10 Signs Your Liver Needs Detoxing
Your liver is a very capable organ, but it does work hard and when we fill our bodies with unknown toxins it can cause it to get overstressed. We lead busy lives and we have easy access to things like processed foods, pollutants, alcohol, and other things that are hurtful to the liver. We certainly don’t mean to mistreat our livers, but we do. Going through a detox may help you prevent fatty liver disease.
However, we need to be aware that our liver needs some TLC from time to time. In order for the liver to be able to properly detoxify our bodies, it may need its own detox. To know when to detox, take a look at these signs!
- Fatigue
- Digestive concerns
- Jaundice
- Weight gain
- Skin problems
- Allergies
- Hormone imbalances
- Bad breath
- Chemical sensitivity
- Joint pain
Let’s look closer at these signs.
1. Fatigue
Fatigue is a common sign of struggling liver function. There are many ailments that cause fatigue, but if you’re getting enough sleep and just still feel worn, there is a good chance it is your liver. This is particularly true when you’ve had a lot of alcohol or just been really hard on your body lately. The liver is forced to work extra hard in those times and it requires energy to get the work done.
If you’re feeling unexplained fatigue, it could very well be a sign that your liver needs some added love. It’s trying, but it’s just not cutting it. Try a detox or give your liver a break and see if it improves any.
2. Digestive Concerns
The liver plays a large role in your digestive health as well. That’s because those toxins and waste it clears from the body have to be eliminated in some way. In order for the waste to be excreted from the liver, your body produces bile. When the body can’t produce enough bile, then it cannot as easily absorb certain things (like fats) and you end up with digestive issues.
The bile that the liver produces is vital for your digestive system to function. If you’re dealing with digestive issues like abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas, bloating, and constipation regularly, it’s a sign that the liver is struggling. A day or two of these symptoms may not be an indicator, but if you’re noticing having troubles consistently or they come and go often, then you need to be aware.
The digestive system relies heavily on the liver and a healthy liver eliminates waste the best.
3. Jaundice
Jaundice is directly related to your liver working correctly. One of the jobs of the liver is to filter bilirubin out of your system. Bilirubin is a waste that leads to the breakdown of red blood cells. When bilirubin levels get too high, it leads to a condition called jaundice. Jaundice will cause the whites of your eyes to turn yellow and will also cause your skin pigmentation to start to yellow.
Jaundice can be a sign of liver failure at times. It also may be a sign that your liver just needs a boost and is struggling to get everything done. Jaundice is a more serious sign and if you do notice or experience jaundice, you will need to take action fairly quickly to protect your health. Many times, you can correct the issue, but it also may be a sign of something bigger so don’t ignore it. Liver detoxes may help eliminate this risk.
4. Weight Gain
It can be challenging to tie healthy weight specifically to the liver, but if you are gaining weight and there is no logical explanation for it, then it could be related to your liver health. Unexplained and erratic weight gain often comes either from bad habits or from underlying health conditions. Once you check your habits and determine that is likely not the cause of this weight gain, consider the liver as a possibility.
One of the functions of the liver is to help you balance your hormones and your insulin. When the liver is overloaded or struggling to work properly, it can lead to an imbalance in both of these areas. When your hormones and your insulin are off, this can lead to weight gain that just doesn’t add up based on your lifestyle.
This type of weight gain is most notable around your abdomen area. While that may not be the only area of your body affected, it may be a hint if your middle is growing and gaining excessively rather than an even distribution of weight across the body.
5. Skin Health
Remember how the liver is a vital organ that helps to weed out harmful toxins from your blood and other organs? It works very similarly to your kidneys in this capacity. The liver is going to make every effort to eliminate that waste, even if it can’t quite do it through normal means. One way the liver responds is to eliminate toxins through the skin. This is not the normal protocol for the liver, but if it has more toxins than usual and just can’t keep up with the demand it could happen.
Skin issues from the liver present in different ways. You may notice itchy skin that can’t be explained. However, some people also experience things like psoriasis, eczema, and acne as a result of the liver not functioning properly. These skin problems are not always from the liver function, but if you start experiencing them when you haven’t been diagnosed with a specific problem before, there’s a good chance it’s related to the liver. Detoxify your liver and see if this helps to clear things up.
6. Allergies
Allergy symptoms can also be related to a liver that is overwhelmed. We experience allergies from pollen, pet dander, and other types of exposures. Some of us are allergic to certain foods or items. Those are normal allergies. The liver can also cause allergy symptoms. While it’s not a direct allergy response, your body still experiences the normal side effects of allergies and it’s often miserable. Those of you with seasonal or everyday allergies already know the misery, right?
When this vital organ is struggling, it could potentially produce too much histamine. The excess histamine triggers your body to have an allergy reaction, which will likely include things like itching, sneezing, or congestion.
7. Hormone Imbalances
Hormonal imbalances wreak havoc on our bodies. They can make a person downright miserable. When you have a hormonal imbalance, it is almost always from health issues in your body. The liver works to metabolize hormones and if it can’t do that effectively, you experience hormonal problems from the lack of liver function. These may show up in irregular menstrual cycles, mood swings, or other forms of hormone struggles.
8. Bad Breath
Bad breath is the worst and it’s terrible when we can’t pinpoint the cause to address it. It’s one thing to have bad breath from eating onions or garlic or failing to brush your teeth that morning. It’s a totally different problem to have bad breath from liver health. Oral hygiene and our diet causing bad breath should be easily remedied by brushing, flossing, and rinsing.
When your oral care doesn’t seem to cut it for your breath, you need to consider that there is another issue contributing to your bad breath. It could be your liver. Yet again, this relates to the liver struggling to eliminate those toxins in your body. The toxins need to get out, but they are misdirected. They come out through your breath, leaving behind odors that nobody wants to deal with.
9. Chemical Sensitivity
Chemical sensitivity can be a huge issue. You may experience sensitivity from allergies or just because your nasal cavity is more sensitive. However, if you start to notice that you become more sensitive than usual or you develop a sensitivity at some point you never had before, consider this an indicator.
The sensitivity may be to cleaning products, but those are not the only chemicals you are exposed to. Things like perfumes, soaps, lotions, vehicle exhaust, and other fumes or chemicals you are around can cause you to react. This sensitivity could be a sign that your liver needs to detox. The reason you are more sensitive suddenly is because your largest organ is struggling to detoxify the toxins so you are on toxin overload.
10. Joint Pain
Finally, unexpected and unusual joint pain could be a sign that your liver needs to detox. If you have joint pain related to a disorder that you know of, then that is a separate issue. However, if you’re experiencing joint pain and stiffness, especially in the morning, this is a sign of excess inflammation. Normally, your liver would be working to eliminate toxins and reduce or avoid inflammation, but for whatever reason it can’t keep up. It’s time to take action, maybe with a liver cleanse.
Conclusion
Your liver works hard and that is why these 10 signs your liver needs detoxing is so important. With all that responsibility, there are times when the liver just needs a little extra help to prevent health issues. Take steps to detox the liver, learn what supplements can help you do so, and be proactive about caring for your health.
Check out our high-quality liver supplements to help support your liver and improve its ability to do its job.
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