Guide
An Ayurvedic Guide to Fostering Liver Health
In our culture, we give more importance to liver health. The attention towards the liver is also very important because it is also one of the most important organs in our body. Without the proper functioning of the liver, we can’t be able to live a healthy life. Not only liver, all the organs are crucial.
The liver endlessly works for detoxifying and filtering blood, which plays a major role in metabolism and digestion. It also produces protein, most important for hormones and enzymes, helps in the breakdown process, regulates glycogen storage, and recycles the tired blood cells.
The liver is a primary organ for detoxification; it protects the deeper tissues from blood impurities. Anyhow, the toxins like recreational drugs, alcohol, environmental pollutants create a great impact on liver health.
Gratefully, Ayurveda says that the liver has a remarkable ability to heal itself. If you want to repair your liver efficiently, then just take some rest, the liver itself performs all the process. Moreover, we have provided some guidance to encourage the overall liver health that you have to apply in your daily life.
Key Liver Functions
We have already known some major role played by the liver, but let’s understand the liver’s functions in detail. It is very easy to learn compared to other organs.
- Detoxification
We all know that the liver filters blood to remove the toxins from the blood. Naturally, the digestive tract breaks the food into small pieces for energy absorption. Then it enters into the bloodstream, plasma (rasa dhatu) and should be at the correct level. The nutritious food juices goes to the liver for the filtration process. The liver will remove bad toxins, so it does not enter into a broader circulation. The liver is also responsible for the breakdown of recreational drugs or prescriptions, chemical toxins, and alcohol.
- Metabolism and Digestion
The liver plays a major role in the metabolism of absorbed nutrients and digestion. It will convert complex substances like lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, into biotic molecules like cholesterol, glucose, lipoproteins, and phospholipids. Glycogen is the primary source of biotic energy and the liver also regulates the glycogen storage.
- Bile Formation and Secretion
Bile is defined as Pitta in Sanskrit. Bile is an alkaline fluid, which helps to integrate fat for regular digestion. The liver segregates bile and the gallbladder is temporarily stored. The gallbladder is the hanging present at the liver base. The gallbladder empties the stored bile juice into the small intestine after food digestion. With this, you can come to know that the gallbladder and liver are closely connected to each other.
- Break Down of Protein and Synthesis
Liver holds the first place in the body for the breakdown, synthesis and later transitiveness of protein. Our body tissues are mostly made up of proteins, but it is very important to neutralize the tissues. Ayurveda links the physical weakness of the tissues to the weak liver energy.
- Other Liver Functions
Liver also plays an important role in metabolism and fat storage, hormone secretions, red blood cell generation, regulation of pH level, blood pressure and blood volume regulation.
Liver And Ayurveda
Liver is closely connected with other organs, tissues, and also with the complete system of our body. From ancient times, Ayurveda reveals that these relationships help to understand to support liver health. Ayurveda said the liver is a hot, fiery organ that is closely connected with pitta dosha, Agni, and energy transformation. According to Ayurveda, the following substances are influenced by the liver.
Pitta Dosha
Pitta is a basic composition of water and fire elements. It is a source of our body heat. The gallbladder and liver are the important places for pitta. Moreover, pitta is emptied into the small intestine, which is a home for pitta. The flow of pitta from the gallbladder and liver into the small intestine is related to several bile organs. In Ayurveda, there are 5 different types of subtype pittas available – Ranjaka Pitta, Pachaka Pitta, Bhrajaka Pitta, Alochaka Pitta, and Sadhaka Pitta.
- Ranjaka Pitta
Ranjaka pitta is mainly located in the spleen and liver, and also the small amount of ranjaka pitta is located in the stomach. When compared to all subtypes of pitta, ranjaka pitta is closely related to the liver. Ranjaka means “to give color” in Sanskrit. Ranjaka pitta provides color to the tissues and blood. It also impacts the hair, skin, and eye color. This pitta also produces liver and bile enzymes and controls the transformation of plasma into red blood cells.
- Pachaka Pitta
Pachaka pitta is placed in the stomach and small intestine. The basic function of the pachaka pitta is absorption, digestion, and metabolism of the food. The pachaka pitta is closely related to the central digestive fire, which helps to regulate Agni in the body. This pitta represents the energy of heat, fire, and transformation and it is also connected with the liver’s digestive function.
- Bhrajaka Pitta
Bhrajaka Pitta is placed in the skin. The basic function of this pitta is to maintain the skin texture, color, moisture, and temperature. It means the glow and appearance of the skin are related to the bhrajaka pitta. This pitta’s subtype also promotes digestion and processes the absorbed substance of the skin. It proves that the liver is connected with the skin and liver disorder is also one of the reasons for skin issues.
- Alochaka Pitta
Alochaka pitta is very important for visual understanding and is located in the eyes. This alochaka pitta helps to understand the color and light of our vision. This alochaka pitta has also supervised the color, glow, and crystalline of our eyes. It will clearly say the relationship between the liver and eyes. The liver disorder also affects the eyes, which causes eye sclera that turns yellow. Liver toxins may cause visual problems and sensitivity to light.
- Sadhaka Pitta
Sadhaka pitta is placed in the heart and brain. This pitta is responsible for emotions and conscious thinking. The disturbance of ranjaka pitta placed in the liver affects our mental state. It defines there is a connection between the liver and our emotions.
Agni
Agni is a sacred metabolic fire that has different functionalities, but it acts as a transformation vehicle in the body. Ayurveda describes forty special physiological indications of Agni. Five of them are represented as bhuta agnis that are placed in the liver. These bhuta agnis are responsible for the transformation of food into biotic substances. The digestive process breaks down the food into any of the most basic forms that are water ether, water, earth, fire, and air. This bhuta agnis converts those components into useful forms that are suitable for our body. These refined substances are available only during the circulation through tissues.
Liver Emotion Seats
Liver plays an important role in food digestion and nutrition; it is also critical for digestion. Liver is considered as a seat of hate, anger, and resentment. It is also related to irritation, envy, impatience, frustration, and excessive ambition feeling. Without any doubt, these emotions are due to the imbalance of pitta dosha. Liver is also related to healthy expressions, such as courage, willpower, contentment, confidence, enthusiasm, satisfaction, acceptance, cooperation, and surrender. You can also know the health condition of your liver with the flavor of your emotions.
Red Blood Cells
We all think that blood is a single structure, but Ayurveda divides blood into two different tissues. It is not because the tissues are physically separated, but it has a different function in the body, and the striking methodology is also different. The plasma (Rasa dhatu) is the cooling nutritious substance, which is related to the lunar and feminine energies. It gives nutrition to the body cells and is considered as slow, cool, and soothing. The red blood cells are the oxygen carriers in the blood that are related to solar and masculine energy. It is considered as sharp, hot, and penetrating.
Approximately, liver, pitta dosha, and rakta dhatu are similar, and these three have a strong relationship. Actually, the liver is a root of the channel system related to the blood’s oxygen carrier. It is responsible for the red blood cells until the bone marrow takes over it.
General Support For Liver
The liver performs as a basic organ for detoxification, and allows it to collect toxicity over time. Indeed, the liver is the only organ that regenerates the lost tissue naturally. 25% of the liver is able to get its full size and gives healthy function. Slowing the taxing input and allowing the liver to rest and reset will promote liver health. The proper support will allow healing of the liver by itself.
Supportive Fluids
Thick blood is very hard to detoxify and filter, so hydrating yourself is very important for liver health. Some fluids are more supportive to liver health.
Lemon Water
Drinking warm lemon water on an empty stomach in the morning will protect Agni and it helps to clean the toxins in the digestive tract that have been increased overnight. Even though the ascorbic and citric acid, the metabolized lemon water is alkalized, it soothes the collected pitta, cleanses and purifies the blood. Moreover, water is a strong source of antioxidant, which is important for liver stimulation and helps to promote liver detoxification by supporting the bile output.
Ingredients :
- 1/2 fresh lemon
- 2 cup hot water
- 2 cup cold water
Procedure :
- Mix 2 cups of hot water and cold water.
- Squeeze the fresh lemon juice into the water and drop the lemon peel into the water.
- Wait for a few minutes and drink 2-4 cups of lemon water on an empty stomach. Wait for 20 minutes before eating.
Blue Water
Blue is a specific wavelength of water that has an excellent soothing effect on our body system. It is one of the ways to regulate pitta, especially in the liver. Drinking the cooling blue light-infused water will help to settle pitta.
Procedure:
- Fill the purified water in a clean glass bottle.
- Cover that bottle in blue cellophane that is commonly available in art stores.
- Keep that bottle under the sun for 2 hours, so that water can absorb blue light.
- Drink 1-3 cups of that water everyday.
This process will help to cool the blood and liver.
Cleansing
A proper cleansing process will strengthen Agni all over the system, and helps to remove toxicity that might affect your overall health. Cleansing is established as a powerful process of healing any type of injury. This therapy is more powerful for liver health because it has a great impact on the entire body.
Ayurveda lifestyle therapy and cleansing diet will remove toxins and excess pitta, vata, and Kapha from the tissues. This process may be uncomfortable for some people, but the result of this cleansing process will improve the power and sense of balance.
In the traditional Ayurveda, there are different ways followed for the cleansing process. The overall length, strength, depth, and intensity should be changed based on the individual constitution, level of strength, current balancing state, and age. It also comes under consideration based on the season and environmental influence.
- One-Day Digestive Reset
- Traditional Ayurvedic Cleanse
- Simplified Three-Day Cleanse
- Panchakarma
These are some of the powerful cleansing processes that you can choose to get the best result. You have to choose the cleaning process based on your lifestyle, personal needs, and your time. Doing the cleansing process with the help of an Ayurvedic practitioner will give a great level of personalized support and boost the benefits of the process.
Lifestyle For Liver Health
Both the liver and pitta have a close relationship, so the pitta-soothing process will help to remove heat from the physical and mental fields and give good support to the liver. The late spring and summer seasons are defined as pitta season. During this season, you can see the result of soothing pitta measures.
The pitta vitality and imbalance lead to show remarkable disregard for the requirement of the body. If you realize that you’re doing this kind of activity, then you should find out the antitoxin for those activities and follow it on a day-to-day basis. The following lifestyle techniques will help to calm and cool pitta throughout the body by supporting the liver.
Pitta Soothing Exercise
Usually, doing exercise will increase heat, but the incorrect exercise can easily trigger the liver and pitta. Pitta is very active in the mid-day atmosphere from 10 am to 2 pm, which is the hottest period of the day. So midday is not a good time for exercise.
Exercising in the morning or evening, especially from 6 am to 10 pm is more supportive for pitta. It is also important to do pitta soothing exercise to resist the accumulation of heat. Activities like hiking, walking, cycling, swimming, and yoga give more relaxation to the mind, and it is best to maintain the pitta balance.
Staying Cool
Usually, pitta has an intolerance to prolonged sun exposure, so it is better to avoid going out on hot sunny days and prefer to spend outdoors in the morning and evening rather than mid-day. When going outdoors on sunny days, wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothes that will cover your skin as much as possible.
The eyes and head are more sensitive to heat and light, so it is better to wear glasses and hats while going outdoors on sunny days. You can use cold water for a bath in the summer, and apply cooling essential oil like jasmine or khus on the head and other 6 chakra points will cool your body. Exposing your skin to cooling colors like blue, green, white, and purple will systematically soothe pitta.
Supportive Diet
The liver is directly connected with the digestive system. The liver’s basic performance is to filter and remove the toxins that we consume, so our diet is also having a great effect on liver health. The following diet will help to strengthen and protect the liver.
Foods For Liver Strength
If you want to take one effective step for liver health, it is better to concentrate on foods. There are a lot of foods that are helping to support and strengthen the liver. Bitter greens like beet greens, kale, dandelion greens, collard greens, comfrey leaf, and nettles are providing good support to liver health.
Green vegetables like carrots, beets, and apples have numerous amounts of chlorophyll that are more beneficial for liver health. Organic olive oil, sesame oil, and avocado oil will also strengthen the liver.
Pitta-soothing Diet For Liver
Pitta is closely related to the liver; the pitta-soothing diet supports liver health and cleansing during summer. Generally, pitta increases in the mild diet, nourishing, cooling, and dry diet. Increasing bitter, sweet, and astringent taste and reducing sour, salty, and pungent taste in the food will help in the pitta balance.
Bitter taste is more supportive for liver health because it naturally has cleansing and cooling properties. If your food digestion leads to excess pitta, then you should add green vegetable juice and raw vegetables in your food to strengthen your liver. Avoiding alcohol, prescription or recreational drugs, and tobacco will prevent your liver from any additional toxicity and are supportive to liver health.
For the liver’s true rest, it is better to reduce the consumption of oil, refined sugar, and fat, which is the primary food that makes the liver react directly for metabolism. Ghee is the safest fat for the liver to digest, and it helps to restore the synthesized function of the liver. While detoxing the liver, you should eat more ghee than other fats and oils, but use ghee at a moderate level.
Moreover, add some soothing pitta spices, favor cooling, and garnishes like fresh cilantro, ground coriander, cumin, fennel, mint, turmeric, and lemon in your food to support proper liver function.
Ayurvedic Herbs For Liver Health
Most of the herbs in ayurvedic pharmacy are effective in soothing pitta, blood cleansing, clearing stored heat, detoxifying the liver, and encouraging bile flow. Most herbs are bitter in taste. Aloe vera and ghee is used as a carrier for delivering the liver-cleansing. The following formulas and herbs are worthy for the liver.
- Blood Cleanse
The blood cleanses tablets are more useful for resetting the bloodstreams. The formula for the blood cleanse tablet is the combination of several ayurvedic blood purifying herbs. This formula has a natural propensity to the blood, lymph, and liver. The blood cleanses tablet will remove the natural toxins and excess heat from the tissues and organs.
- Liver Formula
The liver formulates tablets will help to refresh and detoxify the liver. The formulation of the liver tablet is a combination of bitter, cleansing, and pitta-soothing herbs. These tablets are very supportive for liver health.
- Kutki
Kutki has a good amount of cleansing property that has a great effect on both gallbladder and liver. Consuming kutki helps in the proper bile flow and healthy liver function. This herb is also very supportive to the spleen. Consumption of kutki will help to balance Kapha and pitta and supports the immune system for proper functioning.
- Phyllanthus Niruri
Phyllanthus Niruri is one of the traditional ayurvedic herbs to support liver function. It is not the only resemblance of the liver, but also has the light, dry, cooling, bitter, cleansing, and soothing properties that will help to pacify both Kapha and pitta. Consuming this herb is more supportive for the digestive system when producing excess heat. It will help to detoxify, cleanse, and strengthen the gallbladder and liver.
- Giloy
Giloy is famous for its immunity-boosting property. The medicinal properties of giloy will help to purify the kidney, blood, and liver. It is also effectively calming, cooling, and soothing the excessive pitta.
- Turmeric
The properties of turmeric are strongly related to the skin, blood, liver, and digestive system. It will detoxify the entire body and provides good support to the tissues and organs. You can use the turmeric powders in cooking. Turmeric extract and turmeric tablets are also available in the market.
- Chyavanprash
It is an ayurvedic jam made from herbs. Amla is the main base of this jam. This herbal jam will ignite Agni, and helps to balance bolsters, stress, immunity system, and pitta. It also helps to improve liver, blood, and digestive tract health. Consuming 1-2 tsp of chyavanprash per day will help to promote body health.
- Triphala
Triphala has a great ability to detoxify, cleanse, and soothe the digestive tract by nourishing, replenishing, and renovating the tissues. It will help to balance agni in the body and helps to remove ama.
Triphala will support the positive subtle essence of Kapha (Ojas) and gives strength to the entire body system. In summer or in case of excess heat or high pitta, you can make sense of amla, one of the ingredients in Triphala. It has the ability to remove excess heat from the digestive tract.
Consuming this herb half an hour before going to bed will help to clean the digestive tract. You can take 1-2 amla or Triphala tablets with warm water. You can also prepare tea by using this herbal powder. Just add 1/2 tsp of amla or Triphala powder in the boiled water and allow it to boil for 10 minutes. Then cool it and drink. Amala extract and Triphala extract are also available in markets; you can also try those extracts.
- Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is well-known for its cooling properties, and it has the ability to balance pitta both externally and internally. Aloe vera gel is long known for its regenerative capacity and supports the natural healing function in the digestive tract, especially when your body is affected by excess pitta and heat.
For good liver health, you can eat 2 tbsp of aloe vera gel 2-3 times before meals per day or eat this based on the healthcare practitioner’s prescription. Aloe vera is an excellent herb to support the digestive tract and liver.
Herbs For Mind
The following herbs provide good support to the mind and help to balance your emotions. If you like to calm your emotions and mind, then it is better to promote your liver health. These herbs are very helpful for that.
- Bhringaraj
Bhringraj is one of the best herbs for your head, which helps to balance and regenerate the pitta dosha. This herb effectively bolsters memory, calms your mind, supports healthy ears and eyes, and offers great benefits for the liver. It also acts as a good liver cleanser.
- Brahmi
Brahmi is a tridoshic; it will incredibly calm your mind. This herb is very famous for its ability to support your mind and nervous system. Brahmi will effectively cool pitta. Brahmi has a strong connection with the skin and the digestive tract health. These two are closely related to liver health. Brahmi extract is also available in the market; you can also try it for better health benefits.
Bottom Line
The liver is the most important organ in our body that has a connection with almost all parts of the body. It is the seat of many emotions, digestive fire, and helps to metabolize nutrients. The liver is continuously purifying and detoxifying the blood by regulating glycogen storage, storing emotions, and producing hormones. Liver health makes a great impact on your overall health, longevity, and vitality. So taking care of your liver is very important for a healthy and happy life.
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