#217: The Ultimate Beauty Serum: A Liver Detox

So your liver does over 500 really, really important processes, and it needs to be like a well-oiled machine in order to do this. But you can imagine that it gets gunked up because it's constantly dealing with things that make it have to work harder, that have to do those detox processes a lot more. Especially regular alcohol consumption, a lot of simple carbohydrates or sugar, processed foods. All of those things really slow down the processes happening inside your cells, and so your liver can't work as well. Hi, I'm Dr. Tabatha, the Gutsy Gynecologist. I'm a triple board-certified OB-GYN and functional medicine physician. I've embraced the the world of functional medicine and wellness through my own personal health journey, and I'm super excited to share my wisdom and unique perspective as it pertains to women's health. After caring for thousands of women, I've come to realize that your gut health determines your gyn health and your overall health, and it's a super gutsy thing for me to go against conventional gynecology practice to bring you the truth. No more Band-Aid medicine, ladies. We're talking root cause resolution on this show. So if you're struggling with hormone imbalance, weight gain, period issues, anxiety, insomnia, you name it, then you've come to the right place and I want to be your gutsy gynecologist. So welcome. Welcome back. I hope you're having an awesome week. We are going to dive into a really important topic today, but I want to start out by asking you a few questions because it's really important to think about what you're doing and how it's affecting your body. Okay. So do you drink more than one alcohol beverage every few months? Just say yes or no in your head and kind of keep track. Do you ever eat processed foods like pizza, burgers, bread? Fried foods like French fries, potato chips, cookies, things like that. Okay. Do you ever eat meat, dairy, or produce that isn't organic? Do you ever take ibuprofen or Motrin? Do you take prescription medications, especially statins, blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety, anti-psych meds? Or over-the-counter meds like Tylenol, acetaminophen, Benadryl? Okay. How about, do you suffer from like periodic fatigue where you're just feeling wiped out or you're getting some brain fog? Like it's hard to concentrate. It's hard to remember things and, and think clearly or finish a project, pay attention. Do you ever feel like crap after a glass of wine? Do you carry 5 extra pounds or more of excess weight? Do you spray pest control around your house, in your yard, use pesticide or weed killers in your yard, Roundup? And have you had a liver detox in the past 3 months? Okay. If you answered yes to all those other questions, Besides the liver detox, you need liver support. You need a detox because a healthy liver is at the top of the hierarchy of health. Here's the deal. Everything that comes into our body through our mouth goes into our stomach and down into our intestines. It's still technically not in our body until it gets absorbed through our cells into our bloodstream. So when that process occurs, we digest our food, break down our foods. Anything that we're absorbing into our body in through our stomach and intestines goes into the bloodstream and straight into our liver system. Our liver is a big filter, and so it is the first to see everything we absorb through the gut. This is called the first pass effect. And the liver responds accordingly. It tries to detoxify some of those things that you're ingesting, or if you're absorbing things your body shouldn't be absorbing, like pesticides, like toxins, it's going to try and sequester them and put them in the bile and prevent them from staying in your blood and going around to the rest of your body, especially like your brain and your kidneys and your heart, all those important organs, right? So your liver does over 500 really, really important processes. And it needs to be like a well-oiled machine in order to do this. But you can imagine that it gets gunked up because it's constantly dealing with things that make it have to work harder, that have to do those detox processes a lot more, especially regular alcohol consumption, a lot of simple carbohydrates or sugar, processed foods. All of those things really slow down the processes happening inside your cells. And so your liver can't work As well. And one of the first things that can happen is they start producing enzymes like AST and ALT to show that they're struggling, and those show up in your blood work if you do a comprehensive metabolic panel like a CMP. So if you've ever been told by your doctor, hey, your liver enzymes are a little bit elevated, I don't know what that's from, but let's just recheck them in 6 months or a year. You need to take that as a clear warning sign. I need a liver detox. I need to clean up whatever's going into my body, and I need to change my ways because that is one of the first warning signs. Okay, so another warning sign, like I mentioned, was you can no longer tolerate alcohol. You feel like crap when you drink alcohol. That was one of my first warning signs that, man, my liver just can't do its job properly. And this is really important because your liver metabolizes your hormones. You need a proper functioning liver to get rid of that estrogen in an appropriate way when you're finished with it. You don't want to be making too much 4-hydroxyestrone because that can damage the cells through this quinone reaction that damages the cell, damages the DNA inside the cell, and that can cause the cells to go rogue and increase their risks of cancer. So I've talked about this on my other podcasts, like, it's not that estrogen causes cancer, it's that things like alcohol and a poor functioning liver affect your estrogen and how it's being broken down and utilized in the body, and that can increase your risk of cancer. So we need to take care of these things, ladies. Okay. So I promise you, the benefits of a liver detox are more profound than you can imagine. Some women ask me like, why do I get these little skin tags on my skin or these little cherry hemangiomas on my belly or my chest? They're like little red dots, or sometimes acanthosis nigricans, which is like a, a brown thickening discoloration around your neck or in your armpits and your groin area. And that has to do with blood sugar and liver function. So if you see those little red dots on your skin, if you're getting more headaches, more brain fog, skin tags, things like that, you need to love on your liver. Okay, so liver has profound effects on everything. Because like I said, it does more than 500 jobs at the cellular level. And one of the quickest things that we see is changes in our skin. So the benefits of doing a liver detox are anti-aging at the cellular level, getting that cell to function and heal and reverse that aging or that disease process. And a lot of times you'll see visible reduction in fine lines and wrinkles when you're loving on your liver. Your skin will look More glowing, more youthful. And this is what I hear all the time: women lose five to ten pounds by going through my liver detox kit because you're finally getting those processes functioning. You're getting rid of that fatty liver and all that insulin resistance that ends up happening because of it. You get better digestion. You balance your hormones. You reduce so much anxiety and depression that comes from. Toxic chemicals produced by bad bacteria in your gut that get sequestered in your liver, especially things like lipopolysaccharides. They're very toxic to the brain and they cause a lot of anxiety-type feelings. And so the liver is affected by your gut bacteria because The bacteria, you know, we have 3 to 4 pounds of bacteria that live in our gut and keep us healthy. We actually have more bacterial DNA than human DNA. That's how much this ecosystem runs our show. And those little guys, we need them. And they actually climb up the ducts from the intestines and the stomach into the liver, into the gallbladder. These bacteria are everywhere, and you want them to be. They're necessary for balanced health. So it's super important that when you talk about liver detox, you talk about the gut and making sure that you're having good bowel movements, um, you are getting rid of those waste products, and that you have the right bacteria living in there and doing their processes. So A benefit of the liver detox, like I said, is having better bowel movements. You also see better sleep, a stronger immune system, more energy, a reduction in joint pain. You start absorbing your vitamins and minerals better out of your supplements. And a lot of women say, like, I feel like I'm aging backwards. Like, it just has helped me so much to turn things around. So I tell you, I do a liver detox every three months, and I rarely drink alcohol because I want to love on my liver. That's I think about it all the time. I just I need to love on my liver so that the rest of my body can function. And honestly, every woman, every human on earth can benefit from a liver detox. So I would invite you to consider doing this, and then get your husband to do it too, because. Ladies, we all know that they their diet is worse than ours. They drink more alcohol than we do. But if you can get them feeling better and buying into what you're doing, it makes life so much easier, right? So, like I mentioned, you want to age in reverse. I don't want to just slow the aging. Process, I want to reverse it. So the liver detox helps you have younger, healthier skin. And honestly, it's probably the most powerful serum that you can get instead of putting stuff on your skin, like heal the liver and the body from within because the skin is a detox organ. It is trying to push out and remove the toxins that are inside your body, push it out through the skin. So that's why sometimes when we heal the guts. You know, I work with women all the time in my medical practice. They do the Healthy Her program, and we do this comprehensive gut repair, and they start having some rashes or some acne for a couple weeks as we're killing things off and pushing them out and detoxing their body. And then a few weeks later, they're like, oh my gosh, I just— I look younger. I I can't believe the changes in my skin. And it's because your skin is a detox organ. And once you get those toxins out, let the liver do its job so your skin doesn't have to struggle so much. Everything can shift. So good. Okay. So you, if you've listened to my podcast before, you know, I talk about constipation. It's such a problem. First of all, constipation is a warning sign. It's saying you don't have the right bacteria running the show in your gut, or your thyroid is not functioning properly, or you have a parasite, or something is up. Constipation needs to be addressed, right? And because when stool sits in your intestines too long, if you're not removing those toxins every single day, all of that is waste product. Your body will start to unfortunately resorb and put back into your bloodstream everything that your body works so hard to get rid of. So you have to be pooping every single day, ladies, at least once a day, if not more. So when I talk about a liver detox, here's where mine is different. You have to address the gut. You have to get your bowels moving, and you got to get them moving before you do the liver detox so that when you open the floodgates and get that liver working well, things are moving out of your body. All those toxins you're getting rid of are leaving your body, actually. So I hope that makes sense. I was reading Matthew 7, verse 24 in the Bible, where Jesus talks about knowing the word of God is different than knowing the word and putting it into practice. So knowing the word is like building your house on sand. It's not a stable foundation, and things can wipe it away, whereas Knowing the word and putting that into practice in your life is like building your house on rock. And I started thinking like this is the same thing with the liver. You have to have that solid detoxification foundation for your body to do the rest of its processes and function properly. So making sure your liver functions well is like that rock foundation. The rest of your body can do what it needs to do. If your liver is a good, strong functioning liver. If it's not, it's like building your house on sand. Every little cold that comes your way, every little toxin that comes into your body is going to have this domino effect and really compromise you and make you feel like crap. Honestly, you're going to struggle. So, like I said, building your house on sand is equivalent to having a congested liver. The storm comes, your house will fall. So I don't want you getting sick. I don't want you having all that toxic burden, ending up with headaches, fatigue, brain fog, stubborn weight gain that won't go away, all the things. Okay, so we need a stronger foundation. And like I mentioned, your immune system needs you to detox your liver. Okay? Nobody likes getting sick. We all have a friend who claims like, I never get sick. I'm so healthy. Don't you want to be that person? Like I do. And honestly, knock on wood, I haven't been sick since COVID 3 years ago, I think. It's totally possible. It's because I started loving my liver and paying good attention to it. So. When your liver is pure, your gut is healthy, your immune system will become this powerful warrior and it will be able to fight things off. You need to be able to absorb your vitamins and your nutrients from your food more effectively so that you can strengthen your immune system, and it all comes back to your gut and your liver. So super powerful. This is how I do a liver detox, and I'll tell you, like, we do this all the time with our patients in Her Higher Health, my virtual medical practice. But I realized recently, like, why am I not offering this to everyone? Everybody needs to do a liver detox every season, you know? And if you don't have seasons because you live in California or something, think of it as every quarter. You know, every three months you want to love on your liver. Okay, and here is where my three two one liver detox is different than a lot of liver cleanses. Like I said, you have to get those bowels moving. So that is really important, and that's actually called phase three of your detox. So the days of liver cleansing with like olive oil. What is it? Lemon juice and cayenne pepper. That's over. It's just not enough. You need a proper liver detox. So count backward. 3, 2, 1. Okay, so if you begin with phase 3, you get your bowels moving. You got to get rid of the constipation. If you're pooping every day, phase 3 is intact and good to go. Then you can activate phase 2 of the liver detox. This is where you neutralize toxins so they're less harmful, and it ensures that you excrete the toxins from your body without risking reabsorption. So you got to get phase 2 open and phase 3 open before you want to activate phase 1 so that you can neutralize those toxins that are being released during phase 1. Okay, so phase 1 is the last piece that I add in my liver detox, and we do that on day 3. And phase 1 uses targeted enzymes and other ingredients that break down those toxins in the liver so they can safely be eliminated. So just so you understand, my 3-2-1 Liver Detox includes everything you need to cleanse your liver, including bowel support, potent bioavailable supplements to nourish your cells back to health. In phase 1 and phase 2, Liver detox supplements to ensure your liver is healthy to process your hormones and those environmental assaults. Okay. Actually, the Phase 2 powder includes that gentle bowel support. So you're getting Phase 2 and Phase 3 together, which makes it even easier. So Phase 1, you, you begin with that. I'm sorry, on Phase 1, you begin on day 3 after you've already incorporated Phase 2. So it's not as confusing as it sounds. It's really simple, actually, and it takes 14 days. And you usually just feel lighter, refreshed. Your skin is glowing like things are working better. I love doing this. Okay, so you gotta love on your liver, and if you've been told. That you had elevated liver enzymes or you've had an ultrasound that showed fatty liver or you're one of the 24% of Americans who have fatty liver disease, you have to get this taken care of because fatty liver is now becoming the number one reason for liver transplants in this country. It used to be cirrhosis from alcoholism and now it's fatty liver from our diet and our drugs and our lifestyle. So we have to do something about this, you guys. And in my book Fast to Faith, I talk about this in chapter 4, all about fatty liver and what the heck is happening, why we're so addicted to sugar, and the truth behind our sugar cravings. So if you're struggling with that, like, get Fast to Faith. Open it to chapter 4, understand all this so that you can break up with sugar because that is part of loving your liver again, honestly. But if you do end up doing a liver detox, like, I just, I love mine. And we include all the other pieces that you should be doing to love on your liver, not just during the detox, but on an ongoing basis so that you can be your healthiest. Like, it's all in there for you. So— I invite you to check it out. Like I said, bring your partner in, get them to do it with you, and then just do this like every quarter. You will be amazed at how much better your body functions. I am almost 50, and my body gets better and better every year. I'm, I'm loving it. I feel like I'm aging reverse. My mental state is definitely aging in reverse. My mind is so much better. than when I was in my 40s. Like, when I turned 40, my brain didn't really work. So I am a living testament along with all my patients. So I hope this liver information has been helpful for you. And if you have other questions about the liver, please reach out to me. I want to hear what interests you, what you're struggling with, because I'm here to support you. I do this for you. I don't get Paid to do this. This is all for you, and honestly, it fills my heart. It's what I was called to do. But here's a couple things I would love if you're on YouTube: hit the subscribe button. Otherwise, the channel doesn't grow, and it doesn't reach the women we need it to reach. So share this with all the women that you know. Lift your sister. Sisters up. Be there, support each other. This is a sisterhood, not a competition, right? So let's love on each other and all rise together. So have an amazing week. I hope to hear that you did the 3-2-1 liver detox and that you just feel like a brand new woman. Awesome. I will see you next week.