What does the liver do?

The liver is a large organ with many functions. It absorbs oxygen and nutrients from food, regulates the blood's glucose and amino-acid levels, and helps break down drugs and various toxins. On top of this, the liver also makes important proteins, produces bile to remove waste products, and helps process fats in the small intestine. All the medical books will tell you this!

What makes the liver sick?

Innumerable things will make the liver sick: smoking, drinking, living in a bad environment, and too much medicine can all contribute to liver sickness, just to name a few.

Excessive worry and emotions like anger and stress can also hurt the liver by making it overwork. An overworked liver can be the source of many big problems, let me tell you! The failure of even one of the abovementioned functions alone could spell pain and illness in the near future, so it's important that your liver be healthy. Everyday life can either make you happy or stressed. When you are consistently happy, you become younger-looking, and your lifespan and overall health are bolstered.

Not only must you feel well, but you must also eat well and live well. This is hard to do, because there aren't many good places left in this world. Perhaps still in some place that I don't know, there is an unpolluted environment. People everywhere use chemicals to cover other chemicals, contributing to acid rain; everyday waste from our cars and factories creates poisons in the air we breathe. Our bodies have to deal with that every day. There are ways to help fight against that, in protection of the liver.

What are indicators of liver problems?

An indicator that is easy to see is the condition of one's nails. The amount and significance of ridges, the sharpness of the color, and the thickness of the nail all reflect on the condition of the liver. Other common indicators include short temper, twitching under the eye, and ease of cramping. Blurry vision or a yellowed eye color or hand color can indicate a jaundiced liver or gall bladder. Also, if oily or fatty foods cause stomachache or gas, your liver needs help.

Another way to tell if your liver is problematic is to check certain points of the body for pressure pain. Check LV5, LV8, and SP10 (just outside of LV9) by pressing down hard on them: pain in these points is an indicator of problems with the liver and/or female areas. See the section entitled Massage on the Liver Meridian to find out where those points are.

What is good for the liver?

A diet high in green colored foods is generally one that is good for the liver. However, this does not mean you can't have meat. Having some meat is always good, but it should be kept at a minimum when dieting for the liver: 20% or less, and not too much fat. We offer a number of different treatment options for improving the strength of the liver: dietetic treatment, meditation-based breathing treatment, massage on the liver meridian, easy exercises, and Tong Ren treatment to open certain blockages that prevent your body from strengthening itself. It is also important that you keep your liver happy by being happy yourself. I wish to always be a happy person, but sometimes it's not easy to be happy. Try to be happy. Try not to be angry; try not to blame things on other people. All things happen the way they do because of you: otherwise, the present would not be as you know it today.

Dietetic Treatment

Here are some recipes that will bolster your liver.

Liver Apple Juice: Put ½ of a green apple in a blender. Then, pick two of the following three ingredients to add: ½ a bunch (or package) of watercress, ½ a bunch (or package) of cilantro, or a handful of dandelion. Liquefy in the blender. You may optionally boil the juice before drinking.

Gall Bladder Juice: Mix 1oz lime juice, 1oz olive oil, and 2oz hot water. Drink right before sleep, and sleep with your right side down against the bed. This will help cleanse your gall bladder, particularly gall stones, and your bile duct. This common, time-tested formula has been popular worldwide for some time.

Clam Miso Soup: Boil 16oz Asian clam broth, add 10 small Asian clams (or 6 large ones), and add 1 tbsp miso paste; mix well. Add dry seaweed, tofu, and green onion to your liking. You may also add vegetables and fish to make this very versatile soup your own.


Asian clams are particularly beneficial to the liver as they are a very alkaline food: they are sometimes used to balance pH levels in particularly acidic soil. Dietetically speaking, they are known to bolster appetite, breastfeeding capability, urination, and vision, by reducing damp heat and wind heat, by pushing mucous down to reduce cough, and by removing poison from alcohol. It is recommended that you include more alkaline foods in your diet in order to support the liver. With this in mind, here are instructions for preparing Asian clams yourself.

Put your clams in a large container. Add various rusted metal items to the container, and let water slowly run into the container and flow over for 1-2 hours. Some sand will have been removed from the clams. Now, take your clams and boil them in a separate container until done and filter out any remaining sand to make clam broth. Open the shells, remove any remaining sand, and cook the clam meat as preferred.

Clam broth rice soup: Cook 1 cup of short grain rice in 8 cups of regular water until almost ready, then add 2 cups Asian clam broth and some Asian clams. Add black pepper and green onion to taste, and a little bit of salt and vegetable bouillon. Add anything else you like to add for flavor.

Salmon Sprout Wrap: Use sliced smoked salmon, mustard or honey mustard spread, and various sprouts such as bean sprouts, broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts, weed sprouts, or whatever you can obtain. Spread the mustard on one side of a slice of smoked salmon, arrange your favorite sprouts on top, and roll into a small wrap.

Meditative Breathing Treatment

This meditative breathing exercise will help cleanse your liver.

Relax. Slowly breathe in through your nose, and slowly breathe out through your mouth, at a rate of about 5 or 6 breaths a minute. Place your right hand on your liver (on your right front side, below the ribs) and continue breathing slowly. Close your eyes, and as you inhale, visualize pure, clean air flowing into the top of your head, through the Bai Huei point (GB20). See the air flowing into the liver, mixing with it and gathering all the impurities that don't belong. As you exhale, visualize the air lifting the dirty stuff away and purifying your liver. Repeat for 3 minutes.

Tong Ren Treatment

Tong Ren is a therapy method that is growing in popularity throughout the state. Developed and practiced by Tom Tam, it is part of a healing system that encompasses other treatment techniques, embracing the old Chinese medical system known as Huatuojiaji. Knowledge of this older system, known for its success and achievement, was for the most part lost due to war, and while many attempts to revive the system have not met with success, this new system has.

During a Tong Ren class, the whole group of participants simultaneously works to increase the levels of Chi in each individual present. For Tong Ren therapy at home for the liver, use the T9 point on the right side. Pain in this point indicates a problem with the liver: massage this point until the pain goes away to help the liver function. Those with hepatitis A, B, and C, cirrhosis of the liver, or liver cancer, among other problems, can find help in Tong Ren therapy as well: see a Tong Ren guinea pig class near you. (See the appendix for more information.)

Massage on the Liver Meridian

The Liver Meridian is a set of points on the body forming two lines, connecting a point on each big toe to a point on the chest on the same side of the body between the 7th and 8th ribs. These are the names of the points and their locations.

LV1: Well Point / Wood Point Big toe, on the side of the cuticle closer to the 2nd toe. LV2: Spring Point / Fire Point On the top of the foot, in the space between the big toe and 2nd toe, closer to the big toe. LV3: Stream Point / Source Point / Earth Point On the top of the foot, between where the bones of the big toe and 2nd toe meet. LV4: River Point / Metal Point Immediately below the ball of the ankle, closer to the toes (away from the heel). LV5: Connecting Point On the inside of the lower leg, just below halfway down, against the tibia bone. LV6: Cracked Point On the inside of the lower leg, halfway down, against the tibia bone. LV7: Xiguan (no English name) On the inside of the lower leg, closer to the back of the leg, just under the crease formed by the bend at the knee. LV8: Sea Point, Water Point On the inside of the leg, slightly closer to the back of the leg, precisely at the crease formed by the bend of the knee. LV9: Yinbao (no English name) On the inside of the thigh, about 2 inches above the crease formed by the knee. LV10: Zuwili (no English name) On the inside of the thigh, half an inch below the upper end of the thigh. LV11: Yinlian (no English name) On the inside of the thigh, immediately below the crease formed by the bend at the leg where it meets the groin. LV12: Jimai (no English name) On the crease formed by the bend at the leg where it meets the groin, at the end closer to the abdomen. LV13: Spleen Alarm Point At the very end of the lowest (11th) rib. LV14: Liver Alarm Point Between the 7th and 8th ribs, vertically in line with the nipple. These are the points on the liver meridian. Focus massage on these points for liver-related issues.

Your Environment and Your Liver

Development in countries that aren't fully modernized is taking its toll by happening too fast. Waste generation increases, and waste management infrastructure isn't implemented well enough to take care of it. Of people who live near rivers, two thirds develop cancer from tainted well water: their waste ends up in the river, poisoning the water supply. Fish in these rivers die, depriving the locals of a source of food. This all happens because people spoil their environment. It is important to be careful to preserve what's around you in order to maximize your well-being. Not only is this meant in terms of the ecosystem and atmosphere, but in terms of your immediate environment at home as well. This applies not just to treatment of the liver, but healthy living in general.

You were born with two eyes, two ears, and two nostrils. The implication is that these senses, sight, hearing and smell, affect us more, since we use them more. If you spend more time seeing good colors, hearing good sounds, and smelling good smells, you will find yourself much happier. Similarly, if you surround yourself with bad colors, sounds, and smells, you will find yourself sad, angry, or stressed. Your environment is key to your happiness. Everyone responds differently to different stimuli, so the best colors, sounds, and smells will vary from person to person. Decorate your home in a way that suits you: a feng shui professional can help you to do this. Take measures to change your immediate environment to one that will help you to be happy, thereby purifying your liver.

Herbal Treatment

There are many herbs to help with these problems as well. Xiao Yao Wan treats liver stagnation due to deficient liver blood. Shu Gan Wan soothes the liver, normalizes depressed liver qi, aids digestion, and stops pain in the middle warmer. Long Dan Xie Gan Wan discharges damp heat in the liver and gall bladder. Reishi Mushroom and Reishi Mushroom Spores have been shown to protect the liver from toxins in the body, among other things. Studies also show that Reishi Mushroom Spores can help fight against cancer. Long Dan Xie Gan Wan and Reishi Mushroom or Spore variety together are given to help patients with herpes. We can recommend one or more of these herbs for you to help you with your problems.

Liver Cancer and Other Major Problems

Liver cancer, like most cancers, is not detected by Western medicine until it is too late for them to help, and may not show any initial symptoms. In particular, liver cancer causes the abdominal area to expand due to water retention, and touching the areas near the liver, the stomach, and the spine may yield dull pain and hardness.

Western medicine cannot detect cancer at its earliest stages. At the later stages, where it can be detected that way, it is difficult, if not impossible, to treat. However, there is a treatment method that can not only detect cancer in its earliest stages, but also begin treating it. Using a device that emits infrared light at a specific wavelength known as Far Infrared, heat is applied to the inside of the body, past the skin, in specific places to expand capillary vessels, promote circulation, and rejuvenate your cells.

When it comes to liver cancer, heat can be applied via Far Infrared from C1 at the top of the neck slowly down to S5 at the lower back over 20 minutes. After this is warmed, heat is applied to the liver through the back for 20 minutes, and then to the liver through the front for 20 minutes. This is done 2-3 times a day.

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