The liver is the filtering organ – the master detoxifier – for the body. I’ll cut right to the chase, the liver is responsible for breaking down and expelling toxins and hormones that enter the body; toxins and excess hormones that can contribute to or cause hormonal imbalance and impact fertility health (in a not-so-good way!). Liver health is important for your fertility! Each system of the human body, the reproductive system included, depends on the healthy function of the liver.
I’m wondering a few things:
- Does your energy crash often during the day?
- Do you get tired or fatigued without having overexerted yourself?
- Do you experience poor digestion after eating (gas, indigestion, heartburn, etc.), or skin issues?
- Have you had unexplained weight gain?
- Do you easily experience mood/emotional issues, anger or irritability?
- Are you finding it really hard to properly balance hormones or regulate your cycle, yet don’t have any diagnosed fertility health issue(s)?
If you were able to answer any of these questions with a “yes”, you may have a tired, congested, overworked liver. If it feels like this is your situation, liver health support might be just what you need.
While breaking down and expelling toxins and hormones is one of the liver’s main jobs, it’s important to know that the liver also converts food, fluid, and the air we breathe (including all that the body absorbs through the air we breathe) into the life-sustaining vitamins, minerals, enzymes and nutrients that fuel and protect the body. All of which are important for egg and sperm health, a healthy uterine lining and optimal reproductive organ function.
One of the #1 ways to naturally support liver health and its ability to properly detoxify is fertility cleansing. The herbs used in fertility cleansing assist the liver’s natural ability to remove excess hormones, often estrogen, from the body. The herbs also nourish and protect the liver and support healthy digestion.
These liver cleansing and nourishing herbs include:
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Linda Page, Ph.D., Traditional Naturopath, hypothesizes that every American “has some degree of liver malfunction” as a result of the standard American diet which is often high in empty calories, processed foods, fat, refined sugar, grains and alcohol. Other contributing factors to poor liver function are the unknown amounts of toxins from lifestyle choices, environmental toxins and body care products.
The standard way of life neither promotes liver health, nor supports the body in achieving and maintaining hormone balance, so it is time to commit to making dietary and lifestyle changes to show your liver some love. It is the perfect time to cleanse! Whether you’ve been supporting your fertility naturally for some time or are just beginning your natural fertility journey, it’s important to be supporting your liver!
- Page, L., & Abernathy, S. (2011). Section seven: Ailments and health conditions. In Healthy healing (14th ed., pp. 491-492). California: Healthy Healing.
- Willett, E. (n.d.). Why Liver Health is Important to Your Fertility. Retrieved from http://natural-fertility-info.com/liver-health.html
Elizabeth Willett is the Senior Herbalist and Lead Educator at NaturalFertilityInfo.com. She holds a BS in Mass Communications (2000) from Minnesota State University, and a Master of Arts degree (MA, 2010) in Holistic Health Studies with a specialization is herbalism from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. Liz has written over 200 articles on women’s fertility and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise in holistic health and healing to Natural Fertility Info.com
