Once we make sure that the bowel is working well and is able to handle the increase toxin excretion encouraged during a detox we start to support detoxification via the liver.

The liver is one of the largest organs of elimination and does the lion’s share of the detoxification workload. This amazing organ metabolises toxins 24/7 and neutralises them so they are then safe to pass into the bowel. So if the liver isn’t working properly it puts pressure on all of the other organs of elimination.

The liver can easily become overwhelmed in a modern world due to exposure to chemicals, pesticides, stress, poor diet, alcohol, medications and overwork. So even if you think you have minimal exposure to toxins and a fairly clean diet and lifestyle, you still may need to detox.

Common signs of liver congestion 

• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Low mood, depression
• Irritability, crankiness, anger
• PMT or other hormone problems
•  Low grade nausea
• Poor morning appetite
• Sensitivity to foods
• Food /sugar cravings
• Weight gain, particularly around the middle
• Difficulty losing weight
• Unstable blood sugar
• Skin problems, rashes or itchiness
• Migraines, headaches
• Sensitivity to medications and alcohol
• Low libido

So as you can see, sluggish liver function can undermine your health in a number of ways. Luckily the liver is one of the only organs in the body that is able to regenerate itself, so even more serious (and surprisingly common) conditions such as fatty liver can be reversed with the right diet and supplement regimen.

Our range of pre-detox testing will identify potential problems with the liver and help us to focus our treatment on supporting liver detoxification.

Live Blood Screening

Live blood screening is a particularly useful tool in identifying liver problems and monitoring your progress throughout the detox. Small fat carrying molecules, called chylomicrons, are usually present in the blood after you eat, these are what I like to call the body’s ‘pizza delivery boys’. Their job is to collect fat soluble nutrients that have been digested from your meal and deliver them around the body. When their job is done they then present themselves to the liver, to ‘knock off’. If the liver is working overtime and too busy to process chylomicrons these will still be present in high numbers hours after you have eaten.

If you have signs of sluggish liver function a repeat live blood screening will be recommended at the end of your detox in order to ensure that you have achieved good results. In the case of people with fatty liver the detox program may need to be extended to fully support and heal the liver.