A sluggish liver develops over time from a diet too high in fat/protein for too long, coupled with a liver overburdened by toxins such as pesticides and herbicides; toxic heavy metals such as mercury, aluminum, and copper; plastics and other petrochemical byproducts; old pharmaceuticals; chronic, low-grade viral and bacterial infections; and cologne, perfume, air fresheners, and scented candles. Excess adrenaline also burdens the liver. Troublemaker foods such as eggs, dairy, gluten, corn, soy, canola oil, and pork worsen these liver conditions.
It’s also not just what we’re exposed to in our lifetime. We can also inherit pathogens and toxins from our parents, who got it from their parents, and so on, meaning that some of the mercury or DDT or EBV that our livers struggle to contain comes from yesteryear. It’s a big job, and the liver does it gloriously.
And then at a certain point, it can become too much. We don’t learn how to give our livers a break every once in a while or go easy on them in the first place. The liver gets burdened as everything that we’re exposed to builds up and up. It all amounts to a condition I call sluggish liver, where the liver can’t protect you as well anymore. As a result, illness is able to take advantage.
The symptoms and conditions that result from a compromised liver aren’t only the ones you’d expect or the ones medical research and science have documented. Contrary to popular belief, for example, eczema and psoriasis actually arise from a particular type of overloaded liver. Acne, too, a problem we’re told is only hormonal or skin-related, is a sign of a liver under a different type of duress. Mystery high blood pressure, mystery heart palpitations, type 2 diabetes, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), dark under-eye circles, chronic dehydration, varicose veins, weight gain, chemical sensitivities, bloating, constipation—it’s unknown that these and more originate at the liver. And before any of them bloom into identifiable health issues, they begin as a liver given too much to handle with too little support. They begin as sluggish liver.