When it comes to your hormones, your liver is the most important (and often overlooked) place to start.
If you’re dealing with…
- Digestive distress, constipation, and bloating
- Sluggish energy all day and trouble sleeping at night
- Feeling hungover after only 1 or 2 glasses of wine
- Brain fog that makes it hard to focus
- Belly fat you can’t shake, no matter what you try
- Pre-diabetes
- Headaches or migraines
- Skin issues like eczema, dry skin, or age spots
- Chronic infections and feeling like you’re always battling a cold
- Cravings, especially mid-afternoon or late at night
- Anxiety, depression, and unstable moods
- Symptoms of estrogen dominance, including fibrocystic breasts, fibroids, intense PMS, heavy periods, and more (see the full list here)
… then it is guaranteed that giving your liver some extra attention is going to make a massive difference in how you feel and how your body functions.
Especially for women as you approach 40 and beyond, protecting and supporting your liver is a critical piece to ensure you make the transition to menopause with ease and grace.
Why?
Your liver’s primary job is to act as a filter to cycle out toxins, excess hormones, and other junk from your body and prepare them to be safely expelled. However, along with perimenopause come spikes and dips in hormone levels (especially estrogen), which increases the hormonal burden on your liver during this period.
So while it’s busy tackling the everyday toxins you encounter in food, water, air, skin contact, etc.… now it also has to up its game to ensure dangerous estrogens aren’t recirculating into your body.
When your liver fails to do this effectively, the most common result is estrogen dominance. Click here to learn more about this hormone condition that is an epidemic among women over 35.
Since your liver is SO important, here are 3 easy steps you can take to protect and support this vital organ…
#1 – Incorporate Targeted Nutrition
One of the biggest enemies of a happy liver is inflammation, and the biggest drivers of inflammation in your body are foods and toxins.
Eliminating inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and grains and replacing them with protein, fat, cruciferous veggies, and lots of fiber is a way to love your liver each and every day, protecting it from damage and ensuring it can continue doing its job as it should!
Most women get less than HALF the fiber they need every day, and your digestion may show it. Chronic constipation leads to toxins, hormones, and cellular waste not being eliminated from your body fast enough, meaning there’s a chance it could be taken back into your bloodstream (which leads to double the work for your already tired liver).
I created a delicious and simple daily fiber supplement to take away the guesswork and make sure the toxins get the heck out before they cause more damage. Essentially WholeⓇ Pure Daily Fiber is the safest and easiest way to quickly up your daily fiber quota, kickstart your digestion, and lower overall inflammation. Get it here! >>
Want more liver-loving food ideas? Check out this post!
#2 – Liver-Supporting Essential Oils, and Epsom Salt Baths
Essential oils and Epsom salt baths, can do wonders to reduce overall inflammation, speed up the detoxification process, and support your liver’s ability to function at its best.
Some of my favorite liver-supporting essential oils include Lemon, Helichrysum, Rosemary, Turmeric, and Frankincense. When you either apply these directly onto your abdomen around your liver (diluted with a carrier) the inflammation-fighting, healing properties of these oils will help soothe your liver and restore its effectiveness!
Epsom salts (or magnesium sulfate flakes) are a powerful detox aid, not to mention a fantastic stress reliever! Since stress compounds an already maxed-out liver due to the high levels of cortisol your body releases, investing in self-care AND supporting your body’s natural detox ability with an Epsom salt soak + liver-loving essential oils is an easy way to support this vital organ.
Liver-Loving Bath Soak
Ingredients:
1 cup sea salt
1 cup Epsom salts or magnesium flakes
1/2 cup baking soda
8 to 10 drops essential oils of your choice
(suggested oils: Frankincense, Lavender, Clary Sage, Ylang Ylang, Rosemary, or Helychrysum)
Directions:
Fill your bathtub with the hottest water you can stand. Mix together sea salt, Epsom salts, and baking soda in a small bowl. Add to the bath water. Blend essential oils together and add them to the bath. Stir ingredients with your hands. Soak in the bath for 20 minutes and rinse off in the shower. If you stay in any longer, your body may reabsorb the toxins you have released. Rinse off the remaining salt on your body in the shower. While showering, visualize the water washing away all mental chatter and stress of the day.
#3 – Daily Supplement Protocol
Not a day goes by without my husband and I investing in our health with supplements. You can bend over backward trying to get all the essential nutrients you need through food alone, but be real… you probably don’t actually have the time or energy to follow through with that route.
Supplements are the easiest and fastest way to experience massive health wins, with minimal effort on your part. In literally seconds every day, you can supply your body with the building blocks it needs to work its best—and your liver is no exception!
Here’s a daily liver-loving supplement protocol I recommend women stick to all the time, especially during perimenopause. Since your hormone levels are constantly fluctuating and toxins are virtually inevitable in the world we live in, EVERYONE can benefit from these key liver-supporting nutrients!
Dr. Mariza’s Daily Liver-Loving Supplement Protocol:
Activated B Complete — 1 capsule per day, with food
==> B vitamins protect your liver from damage and are key players in both major phases of detoxification. Activated B Complete is already methylated (activated), which means it’s easier for your liver to put to use immediately.
Magnesium Restore — 2 capsules per day, about a 1/2 hour to an 1 hour before you go to bed
==> Magnesium is essential for neutralizing and eliminating estrogen from your body. Plus, it enhances sleep and reduces stress so it’s a win-win for everyone!
Essentially Whole® Liver Support Blend — 1 capsule, 2x per day, with food
==> This is my own custom formula of optimal liver-loving ingredients that will keep it working its best for years to come while supporting Phase II detoxification (which ensures the junk gets OUT)!
Powerful ingredients like vitamin C, zinc, selenium, turmeric, green tea extract, and more provide antioxidants and essential nutrients your body needs to cycle out toxins and restore balance!
Get My Top Liver-Loving Recipes!
Filling your body with the right fuels has an incredible impact on your hormones and energy. Download my free guide to the best liver-supporting recipes by clicking the button below! Download Dr. Mariza’s Liver-Support Recipes
Many of the supplements you supply have lots of Vitamin C included plus you supply a Vitamin C boost product. Is it safe for people to use a mix of these products & get so much Vitamin C because a number of products have Vitamin C in them? Thank you.
Hey Penny! Vitamin C is water-soluble, which means that your body will just eliminate any extra, so it’s best to renew your supply on a regular basis and it is difficult to get too much. This should be fine, but talk to your practitioner as well with any concerns for your specific case.