Chronic health conditions have many pieces to their puzzle and oftentimes traditional medical approaches will overlook a specific piece. Since every piece plays such an important role in overall health, neglecting one can cause patients to continually experience symptoms. Thyroid patients are so frequently misdiagnosed by traditional doctors that they experience difficulty understanding how all of their organs work together to keep them healthy. The body is designed for everything to work in unison and when one organ falls out of balance, the body begins to break down. That breakdown translates into increased or prolonged symptoms for anyone suffering from a chronic health condition such as thyroid dysfunction.
The liver is an important organ in the body as some of its primary functions include regulating and purifying the blood. Without a liver, or with serious liver complications, a human being cannot survive. This goes to show that proper liver function is important for overall health. Another function of the liver is the conversion of the thyroid hormone T4 into T3. This conversion is especially important because cells use the converted T3 to maintain all normal body functions. T4 and T3 stand for thyroxine and triiodothyronine respectively.
T3 is an essential hormone that every cell needs. Each cell in the body has a specific receptor for T3 and they use it to facilitate every important body function. The process starts with T4 being released from the thyroid gland which is then converted by the body into T3 for cellular use. 60% of this conversion occurs within the liver which is why the liver must be functioning properly for this conversion to take place. An improperly functioning liver can and will lead to more serious health side effects.
Among the reasons that cause liver dysfunction, the most common are alcohol, medications and the presence of inflammatation. In addition, patients who have had their gallbladder removed are at increased risk for liver related troubles. Once the gallbladder is removed, some of its functions are taken over by the liver, which increase the liver’s already hefty workload. Identifying and avoiding the triggers of liver dysfunction is a key component to reducing symptoms of chronic health conditions.
The first step to take in the process of healing the liver is detoxification, which can be accomplished through several means (supplementation, coffee enemas, detox flushes, etc.) As the second step, a patient must be aware of how to adequately treat his or her body in terms of diet. Inflammatory foods are the liver’s worst enemy and must not be included in the patient’s diet program. Another major trigger is alcohol. Alcohol severely damages the liver and must be taken in moderation or not at all so that a patient can ensure proper liver function.
If you are concerned your doctors are not looking into the liver and how it can be affecting your chronic health condition, call my office to schedule a consultation: (714) 731-7680.
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