Healthy Skin/Liver

[Lozen]

This one's harder because the suggestions are SO different for deficiency and excess, but here's the common thread general guidelines for a healthy liver.

 

1. Diet: alkalizing. Dark green leafy vegetables, fresh sprouts (fenugreek, alfalfa and clover), beets and beet greens, virtually all fresh vegetables, whole grains, seeds (esp. sesame), and raw almonds. Herbs to include in a daily diet: parsley, watercress, nettle, mustard greens, amaranth greens, lambsquarter, clover blossoms, alfalfa, chickweed and cleavers. Fresh alkalizing fruits like lemons, grapefruits, cherries and apples. Avoid dairy except soured, cultured products like kefir, yogurt and buttermilk. Avoid cheese except for some low-fat varieties and cottage cheese.

 

2. Avoid the following foods if you have signs of liver imbalance: ALL alcohol, chocolate, sugars, butter, cream, rich fatty foods, full fat cheese, fried, fatty and oily foods, food preservatives and additives (read labels)

 

3. Liver tonics and formulas. You can use these even if you don't have liver problems. It is good to drink tonics in the autumn to build and fortify the immune system and then greens and barks in the spring to replenish the system and get the energy moving again. Spring and fall are traditional blood

purifying times. There are tons of tonics, I don't want to list her recipes b/c they're too complicated IMO, but most involve burdock root, dandelion root, red clover, nettles... of course you can use lemon juice with extra virgin olive oil and raw garlic or lemonade with maple syrup and cayenne

 

 

liver imbalances:

 

Liver deficienc people like me usually have signs of of hypoglycemia b/c the liver doesn't have sufficient fuel stored and can't respond to the brain's need for blood sugar. They eat simple carbs and not enough fat or protein which messes up their blood sugar level even more so they eat more sugar and carbs and the cycle continues until liver function becomes slow and languid, cellular wastes in returning blood circulate through the system longer, the inner environment is polluted with this metabolic waste, which stimulates a white blood cell response. The white blood cells, the main line of defense, react by chreating a chronic low level

agitation that often is the underlying cause of allergies, hypersensitivities, chronic asthma, hayfever, allergies, arthritis and exzema. Nutrients are poorly ingested and protein and cholesterol needed for cell regeneratioin is synthesized less efficiently. This causes tissues with the fastest rate of proliferation (such as the rapidly growing membranes of the cervix and uterus) and those under stress or injury to be deprived. Wounds heal slowly, menstrual cycles become painful, prolonged and the blood scant and thin, skin gets dry and flaky, sebacious glands don't get enough cholesterol to keep them well lubricated, and problems with blood sugar levels ensue. Raw or cold foods, dairy, fruit and carbs provoke deficient liver.

 

SOLUTION:The diet should include high quality protein, fats and oils, steamed vegetables, root vegetables, warming foods, etc. with less sweets, cold drinks, fruit juices, dairy, raw foods like salads and sweet juicy fruits. (There are herbs listed too but diet is more important.

 

Liver excess: symptoms include red-toned or easily flushed skin, yang-y stubbornness, outward expression, large frame, boisterous and loud, moist or greasy skin, very warm body, fingers and toes are warm, digestion is rapid, substantial and short menstrual cycle, wounds heal quickly, sweating is easy, tendency toward water retention, high blood pressure and gallstones.

 

SOLUTION: Decrease proteins and fatty foods and increase raw foods, fruits and juices, salads from dark green leafy veg, fruit salads, wand water. Decrease hot spicy foods with cool, liquid-y foods.

 

General guidelines for skin problems:

 

1. Alterative teas (but can cause a healing reaction so beware and start with mild ones).

 

2. Eat a simpler lighter diet that is eliminative and cleansing. You can eat fruit juices, raw fruits and vegetables for a yin/cooling/high sugar diet, or you can have mineral broths, miso soup and simple meals of grains and steamed root veggies. The fruit diet is good for general cleansing and lighening up the system if you feel sluggish, hot, heavy or weighed down; it is not good for people with colds, sinus infections, yeast infections or excessive yin (passive, cold, w ithdrawn) or recovering from a long-term debilitating

illenss. The second diet is good for yin type imbalances and restoring long-term vitality and for skin-related disorders (rich fruit sugars stimulate many skin problems; light simple meals of miso, veggie broths, grains like millet or brown rice, tofu and steamed veg are more balancing.) No matter what the diet, if suffering from a skin problem, reduce large/complex meals, high-sugar food (even natural sugar), and rich fatty food.

 

3. Nervines--see last post.