Mondays, we build your grocery list with one food, focusing on this month’s main topic.
April is all about the liver lovin. On your next grocery trip, plan to pick up:
GARLIC.
For those who wish to know the ‘why’ behind this idea, I’ll give you three things to think about.
FOR THE GUT LOVIN
Garlic is a wonderful food for the bugs of your gut - that ole thing called Your Microbiome. Your microbiome works in tandem with the liver, in fact, supporting the liver in her digestive work, and helping orchestrate that immune system response, also in tandem with the liver. Why not look after these guys that are your supporting cast when it comes to Liver Lovin? Through garlic! Yeah.
FOR THE ANTIOXIDANTS
Garlic is one of those foods well stocked with important antioxidant compounds like selenium and vitamin C. Their job is to help the liver do the detox work in the body in both bagging the garbage, but also helping to take the garbage out. Essentially, these compounds help reduce the damage of low grade inflammation by protecting cells all over the body (including your liver cells!), but they also nourish the liver in order that she can move those things out. Yeah, garbage pick up crew.
FOR THE SULFUR COMPOUNDS
Sulfur compounds abound in garlic. This means there are a few different compounds found in garlic that have the molecule of sulfur at the core, essentially providing sulfur as an ingredient for your body to use wherever it needs it. Why this is important for the liver: you need sulfur to make glutathione, your master antioxidant that YOU MAKE. (Yeah, it’s not just through foods you get these important compounds! You make ‘em too! Aren’t you a marvel?) You need sulfur to make up the proteins that are found in insulin, your body’s hormone to help balance blood sugars. It’s also found in your body’s manufacturing of blood clotting factors (heparin). Both of these jobs are on your liver’s daily task list. Why not nourish her so she can get the job done?
Garlic bulbils growing in the early summer. If you grow garlic, chop the early spring scapes to force the bulbs underground to grow big!
The stinky rose is here, and she’s here to love up your liver and all the jobs she has on her to do list today.
Whether you’re adding a minced clove to a cup of meat stock, tossing it in with your stir fry, adding it to your pesto or pasta sauce, get your garlic on honey pie. Especially if you’re wanting to nourish the liver deeply.
Aiming for a return to overall vitality? Looking to love up your liver, balance blood sugars or hormones, or reduce that chronic inflammation? Got a high burden of stress? Need some help in feeling real good?
Get in touch by clicking here. Let’s meet up to start drawing up your road map to support you in both quantity and quality of life.
*This is not medical advice.