Think of your liver as an air filter that traps all the dust, dirt, and other germs that circulate through the air. Imagine what an air filter looks like right before it needs to be changed. It is completely saturated with dust. The role of the filter is to trap and contain dirt so that it does not become a health hazard to those in the environment.
The liver works in a similar way, it is also the body’s filter and traps toxins that have entered the body through digestion, skin, or respiratory system. The liver is the hardest working organ in the body. Weighing around five pounds, it sits close to the heart and resembles a football. The liver detoxifies the body by filtering the blood, producing bile, and breaking down toxins and waste.
The first way that the liver detoxifies the body is through filtering the blood. Our blood is full of toxins that include viruses, bacteria, and other poisons. The liver removes these toxins before it has a chance to affect us negatively. Each minute about two quarts of blood are filtered though the liver. When the liver is functioning at full capacity, it can filter about 99% of the toxins out of the blood before the blood is sent back through the body.
Next, the liver detoxifies the body by producing bile. This substance aids in digestion, breaking down fats and proteins in the foods we eat. It is created by the liver, but stored in the gallbladder Also; bile helps eliminate toxins in the body and flushes it out through the colon.
However, if fiber rich foods are not eaten on a regular basis, the toxins cannot be flushed through the colon effectively. Thus, the toxins are then reabsorbed into the body.
The last way that the liver detoxifies the body is a two step process through which it detoxifies and breaks down toxins and waste in the body. The liver neutralizes the toxins or decreases the potency of the toxin. It may also change the toxins into a more water soluble form so that these toxins can be released through the bile or urine.
However, if some of the toxins are not fully broken down or neutralized, the liver then directs the toxins to travel on a “pathway” that is used to detoxify extremely toxic metals, drugs such as common cold medicines, penicillin, alcohol, and other deadly toxins.
It is extremely important to keep the liver running smoothly and affectively as you would an air filter. It requires changing or cleaning on occasion. To read more about the liver and how to increase the detoxifying process, click here.
