Hooray! Spring has finally sprung!
Spring is a time of rebirth and new beginnings and is a great time to start new projects that you have been planning and dreaming of, all Winter long. According to many traditional forms of Herbalism including Western Herbology, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoist Tonic Herbalism, Spring is the time or ‘season’ of the Liver. According to these ancients practices, spring is when the Liver is renewing, breaking down and rebuilding, and culminating its important organ Qi for the next 12 months ahead. There is no better time than now to heal and improve your Liver function!
The Liver is responsible for over 1,000 functions in the human body! It is essential for our health and is often attributed to a variety of issues if it isn’t working at its best – in fact, the Chinese call it the ‘Organ of 100 dis-eases!” As of 2018, it is now estimated that 40% of adults have some form of fatty Liver - and unfortunately a ‘fatty liver’ isn’t just reserved for those that drink too much alcohol anymore – Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver disease (NAFLD) affects millions in North America and worldwide. When there is excess fat in the Liver we can suffer from a variety of symptoms including hormonal imbalances such as estrogen dominance, foggy brain, obesity, spider veins/angiomas, fatigue, restless sleeps, extreme fatigue upon rising, sore joints or tendon issues, systemic inflammation, lowered immunity and much more!
The good news is that we can turn to the offerings from Mother Nature and embrace Liver supportive foods and Liver balancing herbs and Medicinal Mushrooms such as lemons, sprouts, green leafy vegetables and tonic herbs such as schizandra berries, flower or tree pollens, dandelion, turkey tail mushroom, reishi mushroom, shiitake mushroom, black currants and many more! In our practice we find the embracing the liver supportive tonic herbs before bed is a great time of day to help the liver while honouring our natural circadian biology to help ensure proper liver function and also a great night’s sleep! Happy Spring!