Learn about the body’s largest internal organ – the liver!
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Some liver-loving recipes on Grow:
Season Straddler Salad
Sauerkraut
Lentil Sprouts
Steamed Greens
The body’s largest internal organ, the liver, can be found in the upper right part of your abdomen, right underneath the diaphragm.
The liver has hundreds of jobs to do, but its most essential functions are storing and distributing nutrients for the entire body, forming and breaking down blood, and filtering toxins / unusable material from the blood. The liver makes bile, a substance that helps us breakdown and assimilate fats, and works in concert with all the other GI organs, playing a significant role in digestion.
Keep the liver supported by enjoying a plant-rich diet that includes beets, leafy greens, sprouts, and cruciferous vegetables, herbs, mung beans, and barley. The sour flavour stimulates the liver too, so be sure to include lip-puckering foods in your diet as well: sauerkraut, lemon, granny smith apples, and naturally-fermented vinegars.
The liver performs best when we limit our alcohol consumption, maintain a healthy weight for our individual body, sweat on a regular basis (through exercise or sauna-ing) and eat our last meal of the day at least 2-3 hours before bed.
The feelings related to a stagnant liver are those akin to anger: impatience, frustration, resentment, edginess, rudeness. When these emotions are not given the opportunity to emerge and transform, they can worsen, cause mood swings and even depression. To support your liver, encourage yourself to feel your feelings and find safe ways of releasing them.
