Southwestern "Tabbouleh"

Your liver plays a major role in weight loss. The liver is a chief organ in the body for metabolism functions. Keeping our liver at optimal health should be a main focus of your weight loss plan. I write a chapter in my book, Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism, called Tired Toxic Liver...this is my mom's favorite sub-chapter because it all makes sense!

The liver makes and secretes bile for storage in the gallbladder. During digestion, the bile is moved to the intestine to break down fats. But, if the liver is congested, it doesn?t produce enough bile for fat to be broken down. The liver can become congested from chemicals, toxins, drugs and heavy metals. Evidence of a "fatty liver" is often shown by a roll of fat at the waistline, which happens because the liver has stopped breaking down fat and started storing it. Only once you bring your liver back to full function, will you lose this fat. This is why I list specific ingredients like "aluminum free baking powder." All of these steps help the body in little, yet important ways.

Like every American, you're probably totally puzzled on which is the right weight loss plan. You've been flooded with emails of new miracle diets, and wondering if there are any health risks associated with them. Before choosing a weight loss programs, you need to discover if your liver could be to blame for your issues. When the liver is overloaded and toxic, every organ in a person's body is affected and weight loss efforts are stalled. Some signs of a toxic liver are weight gain, cellulite, abdominal bloating, indigestion, fatigue, mood swings, depression, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and skin rashes. Many people struggle with weight gain and a sluggish metabolism most of their lives, and go through lots of yo-yo dieting unsuccessfully. ?So why doesn?t anything really work?? we may ask. We have been tackling the symptom when we should be addressing the cause; weight gain is often due to poor liver function.

The liver performs more than 400 different jobs, and is the body's most important metabolism-enhancing organ; it acts as a filter to clear the body of toxins, metabolize protein, control hormonal balance and enhance our immune system. Your liver is a ?worker bee? that can even regenerate its own damaged cells! But our liver is not invincible. When it is abused and lacks essential nutrients, or when it is overwhelmed by toxins, it no longer performs as it should. Fat may build up in the liver and just under the skin, hormone imbalances can develop, and toxins increase and get into the blood stream.

The liver metabolizes not only fats, but proteins and carbohydrates for fuel. It breaks down amino acids from proteins into various pieces to help build muscle; which directly impacts your calorie burn. It also transports amino acids through the blood stream for hormone balance; which is critical to avoid water retention, bloating, cravings, as well other undesired weight issues. Amino acids also help move waste, such as damaged cholesterol, and used estrogen and insulin to the liver, for detoxification and elimination through the kidney.

The liver's most important function, and the one that puts it at greatest risk for damages, is to detoxify the numerous toxins that attack our bodies daily. Working together with the lungs, kidneys, skin and intestines, a healthy liver detoxifies many damaging substances and eliminates them without polluting the bloodstream. When we cleanse the liver and eat the right foods, liver metabolism will improve and we start burning fat. As liver function improves, so does energy. With more energy, fitness improves, because we have the ability to exercise more and improve our muscle tone.

The following are the most common symptoms of a toxic liver; being edgy, easily stressed, elevated cholesterol, skin irritation, depression, sleep difficulties, indigestion, kidney damage, heart damage, brain fog, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue, weight gain, poor memory, PMS, blood sugar imbalances, allergies, or obesity. The liver also plays a role in migraines. If this vital organ is overloaded with toxic substances, it can cause inflammation that triggers migraine pain. If you have tried many ways to improve your health and energy level and nothing seemed to help, it is possible that your tired liver is triggering your difficulties. Restoring liver function is one of the most essential actions you could ever do for your health. When the liver gets congested it will remain that way and get worse until it gets cleaned and revitalized.

THINGS TO AVOID
1. FRUCTOSE: Are you consuming fruit for a snack or breakfast? Grabbing a banana for breakfast is a bad thing to do for your liver, yet so many people do this thinking it is helpful for weight loss. Fructose, the sugar in fruit is really hard on our liver. Think of fruit (and only the low-sugar berries) as an occasional treat. Agave should also be avoided since it is chemically 90% fructose (sugar is 50% fructose).

2. SUGAR: Sugar is also a terrible and very common liver stressor. You may say you don't consume sugar, but you may be ingesting it from a lot of prepared food quite unknowingly. Always read the labels; it is hidden in marinara sauce, ketchup, salad dressings, the list is scary. In the process of being metabolized, sugar robs your body of important nutrients; for example zinc, is essential for liver function. Sugar also restrains your liver's production of enzymes, needed in the detoxification process.

3. HYDROGENATED OILS: A major liver stressor is trans-fat found in solid fats or semi solid fats like margarine. Trans-fat obstructs your liver's ability to burn fat. Our body will never learn how to process those ?plastic-like? man-made fats.

4. Some liver stressors are caffeine, sugars, trans-fats, chocolate, soft drinks, many over the counter medications, cholesterol lowering drugs, anticonvulsants, and an inadequate intake of fiber. Women detoxify caffeine slower than men because of hormonal interactions with caffeine. Birth control pills also increase the time to detox caffeine by twice as much.

5. ALCOHOL: Alcohol is terrible for our liver. Overwhelming evidence has proved that alcohol itself is toxic to the liver, even when nutrition is adequate. Alcohol interferes with the liver?s ability to metabolize hormones, which are important for maintaining blood pressure. Having one drink can cause acute liver inflammation. As the liver breaks down alcohol, by-products are formed, such as acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is approximately 30 times more toxic than alcohol, and is a major cause of hangovers. Drinking alcohol depletes a store of a liver peptide called GHS, which helps us detoxify chemicals. Much of the cell damage that occurs in liver degeneration is believed to be caused by free radicals, highly reactive molecular fragments, liberated during alcohol metabolism. The damage caused by free radicals can include the destruction of essential components of cell membranes. Acetaldehyde appears to be the key generator of free radicals. Alcohol also stimulates the liver to make more triglycerides, and even a 2 oz. glass of wine a week can raise triglyceride levels. Stay Away!

If you want more ideas on food to eat for your liver, see the chapter TIRED TOXIC LIVER in my Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism Book.

One "Liver-Healing" Food that I write about in my book is the artichoke. If you wanted other ideas to use artichokes, click HERE for my "Easy Pasta."



Add your favorite protein and it is a quick meal. Craig liked it more than he thought...he took the leftovers for lunch the next day.

3 cups cauliflower
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup sliced red onion
3/4 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped peeled avocado
1/4 cup diced seeded peeled cucumber
1/4 cup (1 oz) crumbled queso fresco
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 TBS fresh lime juice
2 tsp diced seeded jalapeño pepper (optional)
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

"RICE": Place the cauliflower heads into a food processor (click HERE to find the one I use), pulse until small pieces of 'rice.' Place cauliflower rice in a frying pan with oil and stir fry until tender. Add cilantro and remaining ingredients; toss well. Fry for another 3-5 minutes to let the flavors soak into the cauliflower and enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Tabbouleh = 690 calories, 19g fat, 16g protein, 111.5 carbs, 7g fiber
"Healthified" Tabbouleh = 229 calories, 17g fat, 5.5g protein, 13g carbs , 5.4g fiber

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