The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up Your Liver

If you haven’t read Marie Kondo’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you probably have seen or heard your friends talking about Kondo’s popular Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” It’s no surprise that an organizer would become a celebrity. Don’t we all know that awful feeling of being dragged down by paperwork, clothes that don’t fit us and a garage that we can’t park in? And then there’s that wonderful feeling when we tackle a closet or take a huge load of things to Goodwill. Our life feels lighter, our mood feels brighter, and it’s easier to concentrate on the things that truly “spark joy.”

It’s not just our homes and offices that get bogged down by a messy accumulation of stuff. Our bodies and minds can get bogged down too. Marie Kondo has a protocol for decluttering a space – start with clothes. When it comes to the body, start with the liver.

The Liver Organ- An East-West Perspective

The liver is a large organ that stores and metabolizes nutrients, destroys toxins and produces bile (essential for digesting fats). The liver is responsible for thousands of biochemical reactions throughout the body and helps in blood sugar balance. It is our master filter for our entire body as blood is pumped in and out of the liver constantly. It is the liver’s job to get clean, healthy blood to the rest of the body, including the brain and the heart.

The liver relies on our nutrition to work optimally.  It thrives on antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients, all wonderful things we can get from our diet.  It works better without a lot of exposure to chemicals like pesticides, gas fumes and conventional household cleaning products. Inflammation can slow down our liver function, so chronic stress and pain have an impact here.

In Chinese medicine, we talk about organ systems. The liver system stores blood and circulates it throughout the entire body. It regulates the menstrual cycle, vision and tendons, all functions related to the storage and circulation of blood. A healthy liver system is important for regulating our emotions and feeling happy, and for supporting the digestive system. As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, an acupuncturist will assess the health of the liver organ in a patient by observing the sides of the tongue, the nails, and eyes and by asking questions about stress, pain, and digestion and for women, the menstrual cycle. Each organ system has a corresponding meridian. Acupuncture needles are placed along the liver meridian to restore the liver system’s optimal function.

Signs of a Sluggish Liver

A liver that is backed up or not working optimally can present as hormonal imbalance, fatigue, headaches, allergies, and more.  In fact, it is so central to the function of all our organs that the list of symptoms is nearly endless. Signs of a liver system out of balance from a Chinese medical perspective include eye twitching, dizziness, irritability, constipation, irregular menstrual cycles and insomnia, just to name a few. In women’s health, the liver organ system must be assessed and supported in certain conditions including endometriosis, fertility, painful periods, menstrual migraines, perimenopause and even in IVF protocols. Most of the patients I see in my practice have a seemingly healthy liver organ according to labs (normal liver enzymes) and yet after addressing the liver many of their symptoms will improve.

Supporting the Liver

Here are 6 key ways in which we can support our liver throughout the year:

1) Eat liver-loving food: Aim for 3-6 cups of a wide variety of organic vegetables a day, or a minimum of 25 grams of fiber with plenty of water. Eat organic grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught fish and legumes, nuts and seeds. Healthy fats found in avocado, coconut oil, cold-pressed olive oil and macadamia nut oil are fuel for the liver. In Chinese medicine, sour foods like lemons and fermented foods have an affinity for the liver system.

2) Remove or reduce sugar, alcohol, and inflammatory fats like trans fats and seed oils like soy, canola and corn oils.

3) Have healthy bowel movements: Because one of the ways our liver gets rid of toxins is through the large intestine, at least one healthy bowel movement daily is important.

4) Exercise: Moving our bodies increases circulation, helps us to sweat toxins and reduces inflammation and greatly benefits our mood. Keep up the yoga!

5) Relax: Soak in nature and surround yourself with green plants. Spend quality time with people who make you laugh!

6) Get acupuncture: Acupuncture treatments can focus on the liver system. Treatments are typically recommended once a month or once a quarter as tune-ups or as much as twice a week for chronic issues.

Anne Chiaramonte, M.S., L.Ac., FABORM

Anne has been a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist since 2004 and a fellow of the Acupunture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine since 2009. She founded Arrive Reproductive Medicine in 2018 when she moved from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.