Focus on Spring Cleansing

As we transition into spring, it's important to reassess our dietary habits and make any necessary changes. If you've been indulging in unhealthy foods over the winter months, it's time to shift towards a more natural, plant-based diet. A morning smoothie can be an excellent way to kickstart your day with a healthy dose of veggies, fruits, and fiber, all of which help the body in the cleansing process. The Liver naturally wants to cleanse in the springtime so it can remove any accumulated toxins that may have built up during the colder and usually less active months of the year. Cleansing is an important step to begin the process of rebuilding your body's organs and tissues, so it is important to ensure that your body's eliminative organs are functioning at their best.

I like to give my liver some extra herbal support in the springtime. The liver plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth flow of Chi (life force energy) throughout the body. A healthy liver during springtime can leave you feeling motivated, creative, and ready to achieve your goals. You may find yourself propelled towards positive changes in your life, with excellent self-discipline, organizational skills, self-esteem, and leadership qualities. However, if your liver is congested or overloaded, you might feel agitated, restless, and critical of others, making it hard for you to make decisions. Prolonged liver imbalances can cause symptoms of depression, low self-esteem, and a feeling of being victimized. You may also find yourself seeking approval, getting angry often, and struggling to commit to anything.

Physically a congested liver may give you symptoms of poor digestion, nausea, frequent headaches and muscle aches. In Chinese medicine, they recognize that the liver is in charge of the clean supply of blood to the tendons and muscles, if the liver is congested then the muscles and tendons will become achy from the buildup of toxins in the blood. This same clean blood supply also affects the health of the eyes. If the liver is congested it is common to find your vision change suddenly, burning eyes, dry eyes and blood shot eyes can be signs that the liver is congested. This is also often accompanied by headaches at the same time. Blurry vision or an increase in floaters along with dry eyes can indicate a weakened liver condition. Hormonal swings are worse when the liver is congested, as the liver cannot break down excess hormones properly. When the liver becomes overloaded, it is not uncommon for a feeling of hopelessness or a lack of motivation to arise, coupled with fatigue and morning grogginess that is very hard to shake off.

When your liver is congested, it can lead to various physical symptoms such as poor digestion, muscle aches, and frequent headaches. According to Chinese medicine, the liver is responsible for supplying clean blood to the tendons and muscles, and when it's congested, toxins can build up in the blood, leading to achy muscles and tendons. The liver's role in providing a clean blood supply also affects the health of the eyes. Congestion in the liver can cause sudden changes in vision, dry eyes, burning eyes, and bloodshot eyes. Headaches are often present too. If your liver is weakened, you may experience blurry vision, an increase in floaters, and hormonal imbalances due to the liver's inability to break down excess hormones. Long term liver congestion often creates feelings of depression (which does not respond to SSRI medication) , fatigue, a “what’s the use” attitude often sets in. The person may experience late night energy followed by “hung over” feeling in the morning.

The liver becomes congested due to many factors, primarily:

Lack of adequate water intake

Eating processed foods

Too much sugar

Poor digestion of foods directly overloads the liver

Lack of fresh vegetables, especially green foods which nourish the liver

High stress

Severe emotional distress

Exposure to viruses, cold and wind

Excessive intake of alcohol, smoking cigarettes

Exposure to toxins and chemicals in the work place or home. Think about cleaning products, new carpet, nail polish, hair spray, hobbies such as painting or re-finishing furniture.

Nourishing your liver:

Eat bitter greens such as dandelion, escarole, radicchio and spinach

Eat a diet of natural foods, low in fat, steamed, sautéed and not fried

Take 1-3 tsps. Of raw apple cider vinegar in 6 ounces water just before a meal (if poor digestion is suspected)

Drink a room temperature glass of water with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning (sour foods nourish the liver)

Take time to relax at your meals, eating slow, chewing your food well and not eating too much food at a given meal.

Take a relaxed walk and enjoy the scenery, practice Qi gong exercise, yoga or dance

Find ways to express yourself creatively by journaling, finding new hobbies, sing or dance for fun.

Limit caffeine, moderate coffee intake is good to wake up the liver as the liver likes bitter foods. Excessive intake however, will weaken the liver. Dandelion tea or brewed Cacao are good caffeine free alternative which the liver loves.

Excessive work, inactivity, sitting in traffic jams, feeling stuck in your workplace and repressing your feeling all damage and weaken the liver.

Recommend herbal supplements for Congested Liver:

Chinese Tiao he Cleanse this is a 15-day cleanse to gently clean the liver, kidneys and blood. It is gentle enough to take while working but effective enough to make a difference in your liver health. Take 1 -2 packets daily, each packet contains: (2) Chinese Liver Balance TCM, (1)Cellular Detox, (1) Burdock (1) Black Walnut ATC - works on parasites, (1) Lower Bowel Stimulator and (1) psyllium hulls – a fiber

Note: Since cleansing increases bowel movements and urination. If your job limits your access to the bathroom, then start slowly with just one packet with dinner. This should result in a good bowel movement the next morning. Work up to 2 packets a day depending on your body. You could also take one packet daily during the work week and 2 on weekends. Most people can take 2 packets daily and still manage their job just fine, as this is a gentle cleanse.

If you feel your liver just needs a little support or continued support after a cleanse, consider one of the following products:

Chinese Liver Balance TCM 1 daily through 1-2 bottles. This is a great spring cleanse formula.

Milk Thistle Time Released or Milk thistle Combination 1-2 daily. This is a gentle choice for people with long term liver congestion or a history of use of medications or drugs.

Chinese Mood Elevator TCM 1-2 daily. This is a good choice if you feel your moods may be related to a sluggish liver. This formula gently cleanses the liver, improves circulation and digestion, improves sleep, and promotes a sense of wellbeing &vitality.

Note: the Nature's Sunshine TCM formulas are concentrates and come in a bottle of 30 capsules. 1 capsule is equal to ~4 of the regular strength capsules.

See these cleanse products on my affiliate site

ADD in some Greens –

I recommend you add in some greens like Alfalfa, Barley Grass, or Spirulina. Although any of green veggies will benefit the liver these are all Superfoods with a high nutrient content. They to build overall health in the body and alkalize the blood. Use the following guide choose the best one for you:

Choose Alfalfa: if you need more energy, tend to have sore joints, retain water, have heavy legs, or tend to have allergies.

Choose Herbal Trace Minerals formula if you want to target both building energy and gentle cleansing. This formula contains alfalfa, kelp, and dandelion

Choose Spirulina: if you have nausea, irritable bowel or vomiting often. Are exhausted or bothered by hot temperatures in the summer, cry easily, crave salt, have dry chapped lips, have weak muscles.

Choose Barley greens if you tend to have high stress (contains B-vitamins), need energy, have a weak immune system, and are exposed to a lot of toxins. Nature's Sunshine does not carry Barely greens but it is in their formula Energ-V which is a wonderful spring tonic formula.

Here is a link to my Nature's Sunshine affiliate site to view these products in a group.

Make some time for yourself to connect with the natural world by spending time walking in a nearby park, forest, or other wooded area. The exercise will help to improve the flow of life force energy through your body. In addition, connecting with nature helps to restore your liver's health and help rejuvenate your energy. Greet the spring season with hope and appreciation, as it brings an opportunity for positive changes in your life and improved well-being.

Blessings, Valerie

Disclaimer: Supplement recommendations are not designed to treat a disease condition. Discussions are for educational purposes only. Supplements should be used to nourish and strengthen the natural function of the various body organs and systems so that they will have a greater capacity to heal themselves. It is not intended to replace your doctor's recommendations. Any questions or concerns that you have regarding existing medical conditions, or the use of medications with supplements, should be discussed with your nutritionally oriented medical doctor.

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