Soothing the Liver

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Being of an age (44) when things - appearantly - start to go wrong, I was packed off recently by the medical profession to the "Centre d'Examin" for a body MOT.

Mostly, it seems, all is working as it should. My blood pressure is a little on the high side, but then I am self employed in France, so that is quite normal and the quack didn't think it worthy of concern.

However, the audit of my faithful liver was not so good. I was afixed with a gimlet eye and told that I drank too much, which at the time I found hard to believe.

So I recorded every drop I drank - every quick beer I took to slake thirst after a hot afternoon, every small glass of liquor friends & neighbours pressed upon me when I was out and about and everything consumed with dinner and blow me if he didn't have a point.

So, I am following a regime which allows an average of two units per day (two standard glasses of wine) and a never-exceed-maximum of four units on any day.

This allows me to drink more expensive wine - every cloud, etc.

I'm told that my liver will regenerate quite quickly, but I am fond of it and would like to be nice to it, so I am looking for tips on foods and summliments that might help it along. Milk Thistle is available in France (slightly surprising since they can be very chippy around here about anything herbal that actually works), so I'm popping that, but what else might I be doing???

[contadina]

If you've not got one already, get yourself a juicer. Good things, or so my little juicer book says, to juice for the liver are cabbage, carrot, beetroot, lemon, celery, ginger, apples and Spanish onion.

Also, up your intake of Omega 3 and cut out/down all the usual suspects...fried foods, carbs, processed foods and red meat etc.

[Awne]

Warm water with some lemon juice first thing on a morning is also good for your liver...my Grandma swore by it to counteract all the sherry she had at bedtime

[chickenchargrill]

It's not just drink that can cause liver problems, but processed foods, not getting enough restorative sleep... I had liver problems a couple of years ago and didn't drink all that much.

Milk thistle worked for me, cauliflower, brocolli and cabbage (lightly steamed or raw is best), I also took some dandelion root too. So basically, just make sure your leading a healthy lifestyle :)

[oldjerry]

Just not drinking can make a huge difference,Mrs OJ's old man (not me) was up for a transplant 9yrs ago,hasn't touched a drop since,and came off the register a few years later,and stopped being yellow.Amazing recovery.
On the other hand,if you gave up everything, you'd live till you were 90 plus,but even if you didn't it'd feel like you had.(personally when shuffle off this mortal coil,I expect my liver to be buried with full military honours).

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Thanks all. I haven't actually gone yellow, just have levels of an enzyme known as GTG which are at the high end of normal. It seems this is the marker of choice these days.