Loving Your Liver: A Guide to Liver Health During Menopause
The liver is a powerhouse organ, playing a crucial role in detoxification, metabolism, and hormone regulation. As women transition through peri/menopause, maintaining liver health becomes even more vital. In this article I want us to explore the connection between liver health, menopause, metabolism, and weight loss. Then I’ll offer you some practical dietary and lifestyle recommendations to support your liver during this (amazing)transformative phase that Lara Briden calls “second puberty”.
The Liver and Menopause
During menopause, hormonal fluctuations can significantly impact liver function because our liver is responsible for metabolising hormones, including estrogen. As estrogen levels decline, the liver’s ability to process and detoxify can be compromised, leading to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and mood swings. A little liver love can go a long way to help mitigate these effects and promote overall wellbeing.
Energy
Energy, that wondrous thing we would all like more off! A healthy liver is vital in sustaining our energy levels because its responsible for metabolising hormones, detoxifying the body, and regulating blood sugar levels. A well-functioning liver helps stabilise these hormones and supports the body’s energy production processes, making it crucial for women to focus on liver health during this transition.
What’s With the Brain Fog?
Estrogen is vital for brain health, especially in women. It helps keep blood flowing to the brain, reduces inflammation, and protects against diseases that affect the brain. Estrogen also boosts memory, fine motor skills, and overall thinking by supporting brain cell connections and survival. Additionally, it influences mood by interacting with key brain chemicals. These benefits make estrogen crucial for maintaining brain health, particularly during peri/menopause when hormone levels change.
As our estrogen levels decline, the liver’s ability to detoxify and regulate hormones can be compromised, leading to symptoms such as brain fog, memory lapses, and difficulty concentrating. This hormonal imbalance can exacerbate cognitive issues, making liver health a key focus (see what I did there) as we go through the change.
Metabolism and Weight Loss
Is it really any surprise that the liver is central to metabolic processes? It is part of the overall digestive system, after all. Along with hormone metabolism and detoxification, it’s involved in the breakdown of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. A healthy liver ensures efficient metabolism, which is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight, especially during menopause when metabolic rates often slow down. Enhancing your liver function goes a long way to aid weight management, improve energy levels and reduce those hot flushes (that show up at the most inconvenient times) and the night sweats that can drive you crazy and ruin your sleep.
Love Your Liver with the Right Nutrients
What we eat and when we eat it is key to supporting the hard-working organ that is our liver. Here are some general guidelines to get you started.
Nutrient-Dense Foods: Incorporate leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and Brussels sprouts), and berries into your diet. Foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants support the liver, and if you aren’t sure about how to identify these foods just look for real foods that are full of vibrant colour. Eat the rainbow and you can’t go wrong!
Healthy Fats: Regularly consume sources of omega-3 fatty acids such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and fatty fish, e.g., salmon, trout, mackerel or sardines (I’m not a fan myself but my god if I could stomach sardines, they’d make a twice-weekly appearance on my plate). One of the regular things I see when working with clients is that they aren’t getting enough of these vital healthy fats that help to reduce inflammation, feed our brain and support our liver. If you can’t or won’t eat these foods, then this is something I’d consider supplementing.
Antioxidant-Rich Foods: You can eat the rainbow AND you can include foods like turmeric, ginger, garlic, and green tea, which are excellent sources of antioxidants that protect the liver from oxidative stress and damage.
Fiber-Rich Foods: Now I know that there are people out there that swear by the meat diet and low carb/keto etc that favours protein over carbohydrates. And yes, vegetables are carbohydrates, but they are the kind of carbs you want to be including in your diet. This is another area I see where people just aren’t getting enough of their daily dose of the recommended 28 – 35g per day. Fibre is your friend. It supports the microbiome, aids digestion and helps the liver to eliminate toxins. Incorporating lots of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and the right type of whole grains will go a long way to getting your digestion and liver humming. (Did someone say easy, regular bowel movements?)
Hydration: Of course, drinking plenty of water is essential for liver detoxification processes. As a generic guide, aim for 8 glasses per day. And before you say you struggle with that across the day – consider how much wine or other alcoholic beverages you can consume in an evening out – hopefully not 8 glasses – but you get my point.
Lifestyle Changes for Optimal Liver Health
Our lifestyle choices also influence how well (or not) our liver operates. You may have seen these in other articles because, well, they are fundamental to our overall health and wellbeing!
Regular Exercise: Physical activity boosts circulation and helps the liver function more efficiently. We spend far too much time sitting. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate movement most days. If you are “time poor” (code for not prioritising yourself first), then aim for 3 short 10 – 15-minute walks across the day, 3-4 days of the week. This helps to get the blood circulating but it’s also good as a brain break, something we can explore further in future articles.
Adequate Sleep: So, back to that old chestnut – that’s how we got to this article in the first place – funny how all these things work together in synergy. Sleep is crucial for liver health because it allows the liver to perform essential detoxification and metabolic processes, helping to maintain overall bodily function and hormonal balance. Poor sleep can impair these processes, leading to increased stress on the liver. Establishing a regular sleep routine and aiming for 7-9 hours per night will go a long way to supporting not only your liver but your energy, weight, cognition, mental health and overall performance.
Stress Management: Chronic stress increases inflammation and oxidative stress by triggering the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones can lead to an overproduction of free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage cells and tissues, including those in the liver. This damage can impair the liver’s ability to detoxify the body and regulate hormones, exacerbating health issues and contributing to liver dysfunction. It can be easier said than done but managing perceived stress (mental or emotional) and reducing environmental stressors will go a long way to mitigating the impacts this can have on your health and mental wellbeing. Incorporating practices like mindfulness, meditation, gratitude journalling, or yoga into your routine can help.
Protecting Your Liver from Toxins
We’ve looked at what to put into your diet and lifestyle but what about what to take out. I’m sure that the first bullet point won’t come as a surprise.
Limit Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol puts an extra strain on our liver and an excess (which could be less than you realise) can damage the liver cells. As we transition through perimenopause and into menopause, our bodies become more sensitive to alcohol due to hormonal changes and a decrease in body water content. This can lead to more pronounced effects of a few glasses (hello banging hang over, brain fog, hot flashes, night sweats, and crappy sleep). While there are recommendations and guidelines around moderation (one standard serve a day for women), I’d say that moderation is a myth that doesn’t serve us. Save having a glass of a good drop for special occasions, if you must have one at all, and let go of that moderation story we’ve been sold. #soberlifeisagoodchoice
Avoiding Environmental Toxins: Our livers also perform some magic when it comes to reducing the impacts of harmful chemicals that we’re exposed to from our environment. In our modern world that exposure comes from all around us including harmful chemicals found in household or workplace cleaning products, additives and preservatives in our foods, pesticides and herbicides on our fruit and vegetables, or personal care items like shampoos/conditioners, skincare, makeup and even sanitary items. Look at swapping out these environmental toxins by opting for natural and organic alternatives where possible. There are a lot of options available today that weren’t there a few years ago – you just need to be aware to it and slowing transition as and when you can. Keep an eye out for future articles about environmental toxins, in particular “forever chemicals and endocrine disrupting chemicals”.
Medications and Supplements: Medication and supplements can be helpful, but they can also put a strain on the liver, because you guessed it, the liver must metabolise and process them as well. (I hope you’re seeing what a hardworking organ the liver is!) I’m not saying not to take them, but you should always consult with a healthcare provider before starting a new medication or supplement. And remember, just because some supplements are available over the counter or online, doesn’t mean they are safe or appropriate for you, especially if you are also taking prescribed pharmaceuticals.
Love Your Liver
Loving your liver is essential, not just during peri/menopause, but it is a time when you are going to get a lot of benefits by doing so. It’s not hard or expensive to give your liver the love it deserves and needs – a few changes here and there over time will make all the difference. By incorporating nutrient-dense foods, healthy lifestyle changes, and protective measures, you can support your liver’s health and enhance your overall well-being.
Remember, a healthy liver is key to a healthy life.
Mary-Leigh is a nutritional medicine practitioner, transformation specialist, and lifestyle coach with over 25 years of experience dedicated to the welfare and well-being of others. She supports busy professionals, their families, and people over 40 in achieving better mental and physical health. Her clinical focus includes stress-related illness, burnout, and healthy aging. Mary-Leigh is available for individual clinical appointments (online) and as a workplace wellbeing consultant.