What the Liver Wants, the Liver Gets

Since I have decided that I am not going to have HELLP syndrome, I have focused mainly on the dietary needs of my liver, red blood cells, and platelets.  My desire is to have each as strong as can be.  That way (at least in my mind- this is in no away medical advice) when my liver thinks, Hey, Blythe's pregnant! Time to go buck wild, and swell up to the size of a watermelon, it will be in peak condition.  I believe, as mentioned in my previous post, in a lot of mind of matter.  If you think all day about how you are going to get sick, you are probably going to get sick.  If you gear yourself up to be well, the power of positive thinking is strong.

I started by getting myself a notebook.  I love that school just started and I actually still find uses for marble bound notebooks.  *sigh*  I love school supplies.  Anywho, this notebook is the keeper of all things related to my second pregnancy.  I started with possibly my favorite thing in the world:  food.

I love food.  I would never quit eating if I did not have to.  As a pescetarian who likes to experiment with recipes, I am actually quite excited to have a challenge with what to eat a lot and what to avoid.  Does that make me a food nerd?  Whatever.  So I made a list of foods that make my liver (and yours, too!) happy.


Happy Liver Foods!
Garlic
Grapefruit
Beets
Leafy greens
Avocados
Cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale)
Lemons
Turmeric (Safe only after the first trimester and only as a spice!!!)
Walnuts
Endive
Bittergourd   Not safe when paired with hemolysis
Fenugreek  Not safe for pregnancy
Carrots
Flaxseed  Not safe for pregnancy
Onions
Apples

While these are not the only foods I can consume, they should be the rockstars of my diet.  Each detoxifies or simply gives my liver a break.  After I made the list, I cross checked each of the foods with pregnancy safety and how they interact with hemolysis and low platelet issues, hence the modifications.  Of course one blanket need for each and every food is that it be organic.  I don't necessarily preach the organic need in everyday life (though I do think it is a healthier way to go), it is necessary if you're going for complete liver health.  If it is not organic, your liver has to filter all the yuck that is leached into the produce.  No good.  The next logical step was to research foods my liver wanted me to avoid.

Ew, Yuck, said your liver
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Fructose
Processed food
Artificial Additives
Coloring
Preservatives
Refined sugar and sweeteners
Margarine, shortening, or commercial oils
MSG
Alcohol

Clearly, these are all to be generally avoided in life, but when pampering your liver, these are waaayy gross and uncalled for.  My heart dropped when I read the repetitive discouragement from refined sugar because that is definitely my weakness.  Cake. Candy.  Muffins.  Ice Cream.  Do I really have to say no to these for the next nine months?  Yes and no.  I can eat sweets (within moderation- or total crazy binge) that I make myself with raw cane sugar or a natural sweetener like honey or agave.  That is an awesome thing because, really, who wants to eat plain grapefruit without a little sugar on top?  Not I, said the fly.

taken from http://drlauraimola.wordpress.com

The last thing I will write for this post is that warm lemon water is awesome.  If you drink a large glass of warm lemon water in the morning when you first wake up, it will help your liver push out all the toxins it filtered in your body the night before.  Think of it as running an empty dishwasher once in a while.

That's it for now.  Happy Pregnancy and Happy Liver!