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:
EGGS.
For those who wish to know the ‘why’ behind this idea, I’ll give you three things to think about.
FOR THE CHOLINE
Choline is one of those nutrients that gets lumped in with the B vitamins, as their structures are quite similar. Choline has been shown to help prevent the build up of fat in the liver, and helps to move cholesterol along. And listen, your liver will make some of your choline, but it can’t make all the amounts you need: it’s why it’s an essential nutrient. It’s essential you get it from your diet in order to supply your body with the total amount that you need.
FOR THE CHOLINE
If you know you have methylation issues (it’s estimated about 40% of the population has this issue — a whole other topic for another day), then choline is one of those must-have ingredients in order to help at the root of this methylation issue. It’s estimated that poor or hampered methylation ability is one of the contributing pieces to turning certain genes on and other ones off (think: cancer expression). Think your immune system being able to identify what’s yours, and what she should take down. Think enzyme building and enzyme working, to move spent stuff out (like histamine mediated troubles, slowed down detoxing abilities, etc)
See, having trouble with the methylation process is not necessarily driven by the genes themselves, but rather from a nutrient deficiency. This is a rather simplistic explanation of what is a very complicated process to explain. When you are low on certain nutrients due to whatever reason (currently omitting eggs because they rank high on your IGG test scores / you react badly to them / they elicit a histamine mediated reaction, or you can’t tolerate them and they give you gut pain) then it bears diving deep to see which part of the egg is the issue. In my day to day practice, I have to be honest: egg yolks tend to fare ok, while egg whites seem to be more often than not the culprit here.
The interesting part of the egg story here is that in your egg yolks, you’ll find a rich array of SO MANY OF THOSE NUTRIENTS you need to help improve how your body’s methylation process goes. Yes, choline, but also B9 and B12 in already-methylated forms (so you don’t have to make that conversion yourself), and some of those important compounds like sulfur, selenium and zinc. Egg yolks specifically help nourish you deeply in order for your liver to do her work and support improved methylation, which now goes to helping improve what that hampered ability was further impeding. I’ll always be on team re-introduction, should you have spent time taking eggs out of your regimen. Hit me up if you have any questions on this.
FOR THE CHOLINE
OK. You picking up what I’m putting down here? Sure, there are loads of other important nutrients like lecithin (the building block of choline - you’ll get the choline out of the lecithin!), Vitamin A retinol (the truest form of this important immune and thyroid and gut lining necessary nutrient), Selenium (awesome antioxidant to help liver do clean up), lutein (currently lighting up the health world in the name of eye health), good source of anti inflammatory Omega 3 Fatty Acids, and just about all B vitamins. Heck, see, it’s why I think eating a few eggs a day can essentially be your food-grade multivitamin.
But choline? Yeah. That’s the most important when it comes nourishing your liver. See, most folks just don’t get enough choline in their systems. Eggs are just one of those sure-fire ways to nourish deeply. And that is my aim, here.
Soft poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce - that’s a double whammy of egg yolks!
Eggs. But more specifically in today’s case, as we’re talking liver lovin, is EGG YOLKS.
If eggs have long been out of your regimen, I encourage you to consider bringing egg yolks back in to the equation. I have a few different ways to do so, if you’d like some help in this department, hit me up.
We haven’t even touched on the importance of choline for nervous system health: that’s a topic for another month. But let it be known: egg yolks are one of your liver’s deepest nourishment sources. It’s worth it to work them back in to your regimen, and address why you were having issues digesting this food in the first place. (oh yeah. You know it. That’s my bag, kitten.)
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.