Our Amazing Liver
There are many slang expressions referring to the liver such as; lily liver, what am I chopped liver, and the Elizabethans even referred to their monarch as the country’s “liver.” Why all these referrals to the liver? An article in The New York Times, June 12, 2017, by Natalie Angier, titled, The Liver: A Blob That Runs the Body sheds some light on our amazing liver. According to Angier, the Mesopotamians considered the liver to be our most valuable organ, even going so far as to declare that it is the seat of the soul and human emotions. Apparently, the liver is second in its duties only to the brain. The liver is the gatekeeper and always on guard to evaluate what is going into your body.
The liver has over 300 duties to perform, even controlling blood chemistry or if you have just ingested poison. The liver has the ability to repair and reproduce itself if injured. However, a new challenge to the liver is the barrage of foreign ingredients in processed food and drinks. There has been a surge in fatty liver disease and serious damage to this vital organ. The caveat is that this super organ can only go so far in its efforts to save itself. If too much damage is done, a liver transplant is the only hope.
It is imperative that we take great care as to what we are allowing to enter our amazing body! Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “If you don’t take care of your body—you won’t have any place to live.”
