Our Lovely Liver

Here are some signs your liver might be under pressure during menopause.

We all know that the best way to take care of your body is through diet and exercise, but are there any additional steps to maintaining a healthy liver?

Over time if we feel like giving up a little, and a little too often  we walk the path of non nutritional foods, and inactivity. This only adds extra strain to bodies which can lead to clogged organs. That’s why it’s important to detox your body from time to time to reset your system, and give it a good clear out.

That was me four years ago and if that’s you too,  I’d especially like to invite you on this path to make small step by step changes which will lead to great achievements to your health. 

The liver does a great job for us as it performs 100’s of functions, detoxifying the blood and cleaning up the consumption of alcohol and drugs.

Above all, why I'm so fond of keeping it healthy is the liver stores vitamins and iron and regulates cholesterol, hormones and energy and that’s a big yes for me especially as these are key components to keeping me healthy during menopause.

How often do you feel sluggish in your menopause, with the feeling of having zero energy that makes you want to crawl under a blanket and hope those feelings will go away by themselves. The concern is what are you taking under the blanket with you ? 

The reason I’m asking is the liver doesn't like to be overwhelmed by excess consumption of fatty foods and alcohol and doesn’t act kindly to prescription medication use either, as it struggles to take on the100’s of tasks we need it too. 

The problem we are causing  here is we are stopping blood from efficiently being filtered.

Let's make it abundantly clear that first and foremost the word on the tip of everyone's tongue during menopause is hormones. A focused reason to look after your liver during menopause is that it works to regulate the balance of hormones, such as sex hormones,  thyroid, cortisone and adrenal hormones. It transforms or removes any excess from the body. If the liver cannot do this properly, there is the risk of emotional imbalances. The liver helps to synthesize hormones and, of course, during menopause we need all the hormones we can grab onto. If our liver feels we are putting it under too much  pressure it can affect our hormonal balance drastically and dramatically, so let's stop today!

So it’s time to have a little look at some of the symptoms you might be getting during your Menopause that your liver is telling you it might be struggling a little bit and in need of little TLC.

 1 Skin The liver can affect our skin dramatically. I’m sure some of you ladies have noticed real problems with your skin during menopause. For me sometimes I was left wondering if I’m going back to my teenage years. One day I’d have clear skin and the next I'd have an abundance of spots, and dermatitis.

Why?

We are all taking in toxins, even with the cleanest diet and heavily protected skin. When our liver is overloaded with toxins, especially if our bowels aren't functioning well, from the foods we eat to lack of movement in our bodies, the liver will not be happy and will just throw all it can to give us unhealthy skin. This can be a whole range of skin conditions.

2 Bowels For some ladies in menopause , you might end up getting problems like irritable bowel syndrome  and diarrhoea.  This may be associated with liver function; if your bowel habits start to change, it may be an indication that your liver is struggling.

3 Sleep disruptions  This is extremely interesting to me  and something I didn’t know about until I was in my second year of my menopause research. 

To my surprise our  liver is at its most active during the early hours of the morning between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.

So,  if you are or have been in a place I was with extreme sleep disturbances during these hours and your liver is being overworked, the energy that your liver is using is enough to wake you up.  Ladies, we know how hard it can be to return to a comfortable slumber once we are awake until the liver clams down.

4 Nausea. In basic terms, bile helps to emulsify fat from the foods we eat in our daily diet. As a digestive compound it helps control cholesterol.  It is important for keeping our gut mobility working smoothly.  During our menopause if the production of bile decreases it can have quite an impact on our digestion.  It starts to slow everything down which causes some of our most uncomfortable symptoms like wind bloating and constipation. 

These were major factors for me at the start of my menopause. I’d done a little research on the role our liver takes so I knew it was time to take action and look after it.  The liver plays a significant role in supporting us through our menopause years.

5 Mood swings, fatigue and brain fog Liver function can dramatically change our mood. It can really bring us down and be a key factor in keeping us flat. So, if we're getting  fatigue and brain fog, all these things put together can have a direct link to liver function. If your liver is helping to make and store energy, and it's really struggling, then that is going to cause these symptoms repeatedly.  If you're finding yourself in excess flatulence perhaps more than a joke whoopee cushion, your liver may be the reason why. The liver is clever and can stabilise our blood glucose levels, but if the liver is not working particularly well, our blood glucose levels can fluctuate. This is why we may have cravings and feel hungry more often than we should. That’s another t-shirt I've worn during this journey and the one I’ve  found the hardest, cutting out my cravings, but we’ll save that for another post. 

These are a lot of symptoms we could do without !!

Shall we detox that liver? 

I’m a believer in working slowly and gently in a chill way, for detox cleanses to support us for the more strenuous things we enjoy in life. I'd say hitting our insides hard isn't the right way.  I’m not in favour of severe liver detoxes because there’s a good chance they will make you feel sick, and you will end up giving up before you've even finished it. So, this is my gentle detox that's going to be kind to our liver with advice on good nutrition, drinks and one or two supplements.  This is what I do myself from time to time as part of my menopause routine.  

I’ll start with the words we don’t always long to see or here, avoid high sugar, high fat and alcohol. Foods to avoid are white bread, white rice and pasta, and please put down the cream cake. All these things cause stress on the liver and excess bloating 

Nowadays I seem to get bloated from even staring at a slice of white bread!

So it is time to try a diet rich in a selection of the following for two weeks with plenty of water, 6 to 8 glasses a day. Aim for two litres a day.

Look forward to a few treats after you’ve given your liver a little lick of kindness

Your liver loves antioxidants! Take in an abundance of coloured berries, frozen or fresh. Love those green juices and add a carrot or two, ginger and lemons... yes please, a big plus for me.  I love garlic too and my body has thanked me for it !!

Sulphur rich foods such as onions, cauliflower, egg yolks, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts you’ll be making whoopie cushion sounds for the right reason.

Lucious B vitamins. Think about getting lots of greens like asparagus and broccoli, spinach and luscious romaine lettuce  in your diet, add fish like salmon, trout and tuna.

Also, eat avocados and quality meats.

I like to keep a few light grains in my diet too,  my favourites are quinoa and brown rice. 

D-glucarate Glucaric acid is found in many fruits and vegetables though at its highest concentration in cruciferous vegetables like, broccoli and kale, as well as oranges, apples and grapefruit, squash, melons, cabbage and beansprouts. 

You can also also take supplements, which have been shown to prevent recycling of hormones and environmental toxins, which could help to promote healthy liver function. They may help promote liver detoxification and excretion of these potentially harmful substances.  Calcium D-Glucarate supplements may be something you’d like to try alongside your detox . 

If you are unsure a supplement is the right cause of action please seek professional advice before before doing so.  

My top two detox drinks 

Green Tea Try organic green tea, it's delicious and rich in catechins that have antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective (protects the liver) to help eliminate toxins. Check out Pukka Green Tea Collection here or our Vadham Organic Himalyan Green Tea

Dandelion tea  It is traditionally used to help increase detoxifying enzymes in the liver and has been often used as a tonic.  This can help clear certain medications this may be useful for most of us but as this is the case if you are taking prescription medication consider  asking for professional advice before taking it.  Are you ready to give Dandelion Tea a try? 

Milk thistle. Another team player that may reduce the effects of environmental toxins and drugs, as well as repairing and accelerating the regeneration of  liver cells.  As with dandelion tea, milk thistle may increase the clearance of certain medications so ask for professional advice if necessary before taking it.  Click here for Milk Thistle Drops.

If you consider taking supplements or anything you are unfamiliar with, consider seeking professional advice before doing so. This article does not constitute medical advice and is a comprehensive guide to the items that I take at times during my menopause. The  basis of this article being they have a positive impact on me and they may have a positive impact on you too.

Thank you for joining me at Meet Me in the Menopause...  please let me know how you get on.

This article was published by Petra for Meet Me In The Menopause