Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep 38: Your Liver Called, She’s Overburdened
54 Plays1 month ago
Your liver is doing over 500 jobs in your body every single day—yet most of us have never thought about supporting it.
In this episode, we talk about why the liver might be the missing piece in your hormone and wellness journey. From estrogen metabolism and blood sugar regulation to thyroid hormone conversion and digestion, the liver plays a critical role in how your body feels and functions.
We share the symptoms we once ignored—fatigue, worsening PMS, bloating, skin issues, headaches, and suddenly not tolerating alcohol the way we used to and discuss that if your liver isn’t clearing hormones efficiently, no amount of hormone balancing will fully stick.
This conversation is your heads-up—the moment to start thinking about what your body may really need.
If this resonates, join us for our free educational seminar where we go deeper into toxic load, why symptoms appear before disease, and what safe, supportive cleansing actually looks like.
🗓 Free Live Seminar: Monday, March 30
⏰ 9AM PST | 10AM MST | 12PM EST
Sign up through the link below:
Where to find us:
IG @whatsmyageagain.podcast / FB - What’s My Age Again Podcast
Email us at: wmaapod@gmail.com
Where to find Tanya:
IG @tlcholistic / FB @tlcholistic
Book with Tanya: https://tlcholistic.janeapp.com/locations/tlc-holistic
Join the TLC Community: https://www.patreon.com/tlcholistic
Where to find Kim:
IG @kimdesmarais.nutrition /FB @KimDesmarais
Book with Kim: Complimentary Connect Call
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Hosts' Background
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to What's My Age Again, the realest podcast for women who are done chasing trends and ready to feel empowered. Hi, I'm Kim. And I'm Tanya, holistic nutritionists and childhood best friends who've been there, done that, and bought the collagen.
00:00:16
Speaker
more than once. Each week we
Purpose and Focus of the Podcast
00:00:18
Speaker
provide actionable steps that you can start today to help you thrive through every decade to come. We're cutting through the wellness noise to bring you honest conversations about aging, hormones, health, beauty, mindset, and everything in between.
00:00:33
Speaker
You see, we're also on a mission to age gracefully one WTF moment at a time, backed by research and real life. We're here to share what actually works, what's a waste of time, and how to truly thrive through the messy, magical midlife transition.
00:00:49
Speaker
We're
Listener Engagement and Setting the Scene
00:00:50
Speaker
so happy you're here. Let's dive in. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to What's My Age again. How are you, Kim? Hi, Tanya. I'm good. How are you? I am doing good. Thank you. i am happy that it is March and the sun is shining and it's beautiful over here and it just makes me feel so happy. Spring is coming sooner than we think.
00:01:14
Speaker
Totally. I see the sun streaming in in the background. It's so nice. it's so And it's actually sunny here today too. Oh so my
Spring Cleaning and Liver Health Discussion
00:01:22
Speaker
God. for a walk after this. That is amazing. Amazing. Amazing. So I love spring because it means that summer's coming. And I think we've talked about this before. That's my personal favorite season.
00:01:38
Speaker
um But I feel like it's also my favorite season, not just because of the weather and being outside and enjoying, but because it's a season that I equate to clean in house and not just our littleter literal houses, even though we do a little spring cleaning in our home.
00:01:58
Speaker
of spring cleaning of the body, but specifically the master, the queen that doesn't get, you know, the credit she deserves. No one ever thinks about this poor girl, the liver.
00:02:13
Speaker
Exactly, Tanya. It's such, and actually probably so many of you, if you're following health influencers online or health podcasts, a lot of people talk about detox in the spring, which is wonderful. As Tanya said,
00:02:27
Speaker
We want to clean house and we want to feel good and cleanse the body as well. For sure. And when we think about cleaning house, we really zero in. There's a lot of moving parts and components, but today we're really zeroing in. If you can tell by the title, hello, your liver called, she is overburdened on our livers because i think It's something that on average, the average person, unless, you know, it's brought to light, doesn't think about. Kim, did you think about your liver during your party years? I didn't think about mine every single day as I worked at McDonald's and ate that day in and day out and washed it down with my grower's coolers. Like, did you think about your liver at all?
00:03:17
Speaker
No, my poor dear liver who was working so hard for me. It's true. And like, you know, if you think about it as like filling up a cup, a glass, right? Yes, it was the alcohol. Yes, it was that McDonald's, Tanya. But also like, think about, you know, the makeup we wore, the me spraying self-tanner all over my body anytime I went out.
00:03:43
Speaker
poor living. Or how about, how about the Calgon take me away spray that get this. We sprayed directly on our skin after we snuck out for that ciggy. We're like, Oh, no, one's going to smell that. Let me mask it
The Liver's Role in Detoxification
00:03:58
Speaker
with these chemicals that my liver needs to, you know, take care of.
00:04:02
Speaker
Totally. And slept in beds that were full of tide or bounce sheets. If you know, you know, so the point is everything.
00:04:14
Speaker
most of us never really think that basically every single thing that we come into contact with, um you know, growing up and even today when we're doing our best, has an effect on the body, has some degree of toxins, and we don't think about how our body just deals with them. Well, the liver is a huge part of it. So the issue is, is that the liver is this machine and she's been running 24 seven,
00:04:47
Speaker
And because we haven't thought of her, we have never done maintenance on her, let's say, you know, changed changed out to tighten the screws or whatever, you know, think of a machinery working 24 seven. We've never said, hey, would you like a day off? Did you want to go to the spa for the day? So eventually, if we're not putting any maintenance at all,
00:05:07
Speaker
or thinking about our livers, there's going to become a time when the liver's overburdened. And that time for you may have been decades ago and you might not even know it. It's true. And I mean, our liver...
00:05:21
Speaker
works really hard for us. And there is some points like people will say, you know, we don't need to detox as we talked about, as the title of this um podcast suggests, we don't need it. Our liver does it for us, which in an ideal world, that would be true. But unfortunately, and Tanya and I are going to dig deep into this here, we live in a society that is quite toxic. We joked just now about the alcohol. We joked about the smoking. Those are things that we know we are overburdening our liver with.
00:05:56
Speaker
But the pesticides that are sprayed into our air outside, the water we may or may not be drinking, all of these things are overburdening our liver with toxins that we may not even be aware of.
00:06:10
Speaker
Like it's crazy, like the receipts that you're touching after you know you do a shopping trip to Costco. Like there's so many little things. And I always say this and I love this and I feel like this is so true. Because the liver is dealing with all of these things, the liver is like that employee who never complains, but then they quit.
00:06:33
Speaker
And then we have some trouble, right? Absolutely. And I love another analogy I use a lot for clients too is because so many people are trying to point to an answer. Oh, it's the alcohol. Oh, it's this. Oh, it's that.
00:06:48
Speaker
And the answer is it's all of it. Right? So if you think about a glass as you pour water in, think about like, oh, the toxic, you know, the pesticides in my food fills up the water. Maybe it's medications fills up the water. Maybe it's pesticides or alcohol.
00:07:04
Speaker
And then one day, as Tanya mentioned, the employee quits or with a glass analogy, one day that water spills over and you start feeling symptoms of an overburdened liver.
00:07:17
Speaker
And I think
Symptoms and Misconceptions of Liver Health
00:07:18
Speaker
also it's important to note when we're talking about all of the things that are contributing to filling up this glass or pushing this employee to the point that they are going to quit.
00:07:31
Speaker
Stress is also a huge toxin on the liver because we know that stress creates very real biochemical toxins, excess hormones in the body. So that's another big piece as well. So yeah, Even if we are drinking the Berkey water, you know, sleeping in 100% organic cotton sheets, wearing 100% organic cotton clothes, like you are doing everything. And I'm going to be honest, I'm not even doing anything, everything. I think it's impossible for me to do everything. We are getting a degree of toxins that our liver is working on every day. And if we don't give back to the liver...
00:08:10
Speaker
we're going to have a liver that is overburdened and sluggish. And my friends, that is usually part of the root of larger issues that we never equate to, including, we know most of us here are having some sort of hormonal, maybe fluctuations are entering that or have been there, done that, including our hormones.
00:08:34
Speaker
And just, I want to just get back to something you said there, Tanya, because I think It's so true. So many of you who are listening, we know you're focused on your health. We know you're trying to look at your diet, your movement, your lifestyle, your stress, your sleep habits, all the things as are we. um But as you mentioned, Tanya, we live in a world that's more and more toxic. Our waters, our air.
00:09:01
Speaker
yeah So that also are sort of a little bit beyond our control. We can do what we can. but we you know we have to be aware of what else is going on in there. Sorry, Tanya, you go ahead.
00:09:16
Speaker
No, I love it. It brings me up to something that we always talk about, perfection versus consistency. It is absolutely impossible. When you were listing those things off, Kim, I wanted to like take my glasses off and like rub my temples and be like, I know. It's exactly so many things. Don't forget to do this this, this, this, this. And it can feel exhausting. So perfectionism is not an option. We're always going to be exposed to toxins.
00:09:44
Speaker
But... consistency surrounding knowing these key systems in the body that we can be supporting every single day like the liver.
00:09:55
Speaker
That is almost sometimes more important than trying that perfection piece. Yes, do the hitters that you can. Try try to eat organic as much as possible. You know, don't spray Kelgon on your clothes. Like the big ones are easy, but all of these little ones, instead of focusing on those, we really need to be consistent with focusing on this organ that most of us don't.
00:10:21
Speaker
Love it, Tanya. You're absolutely right. And i loved your comment about hormone imbalance. And I think we can we can talk about that for a second because I know for me, so many of my clients that come in even on their intake, I want to balance my hormones. They're thinking that is the root cause of the symptoms they are feeling.
00:10:43
Speaker
But what I would love What we dig into in those meetings is usually hormone imbalance is not a root cause. Hormone imbalance is a symptom of something else that's going on. And a lot of times it's the liver.
00:10:58
Speaker
Love it. Those are some big aha moments that I have in my practice as well. You're like, girl, the hormone imbalance isn't the problem. It's the symptom. And it's often the symptom. If our liver is sluggish and tired, it is not clearing hormones properly. So no amount of hormone balancing that we do is going to stick. I'm not saying that doing the things to balance the hormone isn't going to ease how we're feeling and give us some temporary relief, but to really get into that nitty gritty, it's the liver.
00:11:34
Speaker
Absolutely. It's the missing piece.
Personal Experiences with Liver Symptoms
00:11:36
Speaker
And as Tanya said, the thing that we sometimes forget, because it's doing over a hundred functions in our body, or sorry, over 500 plus jobs in our body every second of the day.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah, and like, I bet you a lot of you listening right now, myself included, to be honest with you, and I know my liver needs a little love, and that's why Kim and I are talking about it, because it's timely with spring, spring cleaning, and in TCM, traditional Chinese medicine, this is the season of the liver. But I know a lot of you are probably thinking right now, yes, I am doing all of the hormone work. I'm working so hard. I'm doing everything right But I still, you know, I work so hard, but I'm still kind of missing the mark a bit. And this is because, again, we're missing those deeper roots. And this is why the liver and liver work are so important.
00:12:36
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. And should we talk about some of these signs that we might be missing or ignoring? Absolutely. Because I think a lot of them are surprising.
00:12:47
Speaker
And i think that... A lot of times there are symptoms going on in our bodies that we would never think to equate to our livers, right?
00:12:58
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think one of the biggest things, well, first of all, fatigue. Fatigue can be a number of different reasons, but fatigue that you just can't shake.
00:13:11
Speaker
That's a big one too. And like you said, yes, every there's a lot of reasons for everything, but that is huge. That low energy, that fatigue. um Another big one, um definitely for me, if we know my past, um is issues with skin.
00:13:29
Speaker
So I think we've talked about this another podcast or I'm just delirious right now. But anytime we're dealing with skin issues, and I know you're the same in your practice, Kim, that's why I said we're We're not looking at the skin. Right away, we're like, oh, that is detox. That is liver. So for me, I dealt with hives. I cannot even believe this. Every time I say this out loud, for like eight solid years, I had hives. And if you know me, you know, you went through it with me as my friends and family on every single part of my body but my face.
00:14:05
Speaker
Like, it was wild. It wild. I was on every medication in the book. And guess what, Kim? I know you're going to say I know. Not knowing what I know then, and that's okay, what I know now. In that case for me, medication was exuberating the issue because the it was adding more burden to my liver, having to break some of the other things in the medication down. And I didn't know and I wasn't well-versed. I wasn't seeing a natural practitioner back then.
00:14:37
Speaker
I didn't realize that my liver was so toxic that it could barely detoxify anything. And toxins literally have nowhere to go but come through my skin. And guess what, Kim?
00:14:48
Speaker
Guess what happened when I started working on my liver?
00:14:52
Speaker
Gonzo. And for those of you... um the the skin is another organ of de detoxification, right? It's another, so if you're experiencing things like rashes, as Tanya mentioned, or eczema or um acne, one of the places to look would be the liver.
00:15:15
Speaker
Right, because the liver is that primary, part of the primary systems of detoxification and elimination, and the skin is a secondary. So when we're seeing skin issues, we can assume,
00:15:27
Speaker
Backup is clogged. It's gone to the backup, which is the skin and the first line of defense needs some help and attention. Absolutely. Another one is, you know, PMS, um perimenopausal symptoms getting worse. And again, that goes back to the liver is responsible for helping metabolize and get rid of excess hormones in our body. So that when we're experiencing a lot of PMS symptoms, one place to look is the liver.
00:15:59
Speaker
right? And you're so right. um Because at that time in my life too, my PMS symptoms were next level. Like my hormones were so out of whack during that time. I didn't even really think about that until now. So like it was the skin and the most out of whack PMS, like absolutely wild.
00:16:20
Speaker
So screaming liver. Absolutely. um Digestion is also affected. As we talk about always, you know, you know we are looking holistically at the body. So, you know, when the liver is involved, it involves the endocrine system, the digestive system, all of the systems. So bloating, sluggish digestion, headaches, um not being able to tolerate alcohol, medications, that sort of thing.
00:16:49
Speaker
That's such a good one, too, because i deal with, you know, clients where they're like, all of a sudden, like, I must be getting old, my alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be. And I'm like, actually, it's your liver. You know, so like, it's all of the things we said at the start that things you might not equate, and including pain. Yeah.
00:17:08
Speaker
Joint pain that is consistent is inflammation in the body. And when we have systemic inflammation, yes, there's absolutely other causes. And it doesn't mean the liver is the only cause, but the liver will always be involved when we have systemic inflammation. And again, Kim... During that time when I was having all of these symptoms, I was 30. And I was like, well, I guess this is growing up. I guess everybody feels like they have a lead suit on their back that is electrifying you 24 seven with hives. That's 30. That's how I felt.
00:17:41
Speaker
Oh my gosh, Tanya. Totally. It's like the whole common versus not normal discussion, right? Where all of those symptoms actually
Detox Myths and Balanced Approaches
00:17:49
Speaker
that we just discussed right now are very common.
00:17:52
Speaker
but they they're not normal. And I know too, for my, you know, when I was starting to dig into, I think I've talked about it on a previous podcast, I experienced migraines and it was, you know, common that you experience hormonal migraines right before your period. And a lot of the work that I did to support that was to support my liver, my liver, my adrenals, um which in turn supported my hormones. And again, no more migraines.
00:18:24
Speaker
And I know that was a big, big thing for you. And I know how debilitating they were. So it's wild to see just talking about both of us, like the changes that happen when we take the time to go, you know, to that root cause and support the liver. And I just want to kind of preface like,
00:18:44
Speaker
I feel like in general, sometimes, as we know, there's so much noise out there. We talk about it. That's why we made this podcast. One of the reasons to cut through the noise is a lot of the times I feel um that we've been told the wrong story. And what I mean by that is that most wellness, you know, in general, when we're looking online and scrolling and just when we think of wellness in our mind, it's a focus on food, workout and stress, which are pillars. We always talk about the pillars.
00:19:14
Speaker
but when we put in like that word detox or for the purpose right now, supporting the liver, which actually I never see, I see detox. We see detox out there and we're kind of like, okay, it's either extreme and I'm like, won't be doing that or it's just completely ignored. Right. So like we're, we're missing a whole piece here. I don't think that it's mainstream that no one's really taught us how important it is to support these organs of elimination, the liver being the master eliminator.
00:19:51
Speaker
Absolutely. And you're right, Tanya, the pillars... um Like we we will talk about it all the time, food, workout, stress, and I would add sleep to that as well. And those are a key part of longevity, keeping us well, eliminate, you know, supporting symptoms, becoming healing, all of those things. But you're absolutely right, Tanya. A piece of this is also that cleansing and that detoxification, um And i think some cultures really do focus on this and it's part of their, you know, mainstream wellness and medicine.
00:20:29
Speaker
But I feel you're absolutely right because a lot of the things that I see when it comes to detox and cleansing are extreme, right? I think a lot of us right now are nodding our heads. I don't even know what it's called and I probably should, I guess.
00:20:44
Speaker
But I'm going to say no because it's not in my realm as a holistic nutritionist. Everybody's like, remember that master cleanse that people would always have? like Cayenne and like lemon juice and maple syrup and you water? Or what about the cabbage soup craze where you just had cabbage soup for like three weeks? like Nobody wants to do that. And it's not really the support that our liver needs long term.
00:21:09
Speaker
Well, yeah. And I mean, just like we always say, support is individualized, right? Like there there is a place for fasting. There's a place for cleansing. But
Seminar Announcement and Details
00:21:20
Speaker
it but again, it doesn't have to be extreme for everyone.
00:21:25
Speaker
No, it doesn't have to be aggressive. If we know my body, Kim, my body hates anything aggressive. It just like curls up in a ball and like faces the other way for anything aggressive treatments, aggressive diets, aggressive workouts. My body's like, absolutely not. So you're right.
00:21:44
Speaker
And like aggressive detoxification, like It doesn't have to be that way. You know, we can do it in other ways, but this is, I believe, the missing link in mainstream. And you're right, in North America, I want to say, because other cultures that often have more longevity, we'll say, than the North American culture, they are cultures that are building this in regularly, the supporting of these detoxification systems.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yeah, and it is it it does involve changing your diet. It does involve movement. It does involve um um giving your liver a break, right? But it doesn't have to be, as we sometimes see, so aggressive.
00:22:32
Speaker
I agree. And I think... We spent so much time wondering in this beautiful season of spring, like how we can talk about the liver and not make it a you know, a 13 part docu-series that people are going to be like, this is a lot, um, was to get together and do our thing and do another seminar of learning Yes, absolutely. And we, you know, so Tanya and I were talking about this podcast and talking about what we wanted to discuss. And we thought that let's host a seminar for everyone who is interested, a free seminar where we kind of go deep into discussing what detoxification is actually is the phases of detoxification. um
00:23:25
Speaker
And I'm giving so a free educational seminar to kind of cut through the noise as Tanya mentioned as well and how to safely detox during this season.
00:23:36
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think it's so relevant for every single person, especially because we're all working on preventative health as we age and as things change, we you know, like, so talking about why symptoms show up before disease, which I think is so important, that preventative piece and the importance of maintenance so we can keep detoxifying properly and safe.
00:24:01
Speaker
Like what safe, customized, like cleansing and detox can actually look like without feeling aggressive or feeling harsh. And yes, you're right, Kim, there's changes.
00:24:15
Speaker
does involve, you know, tweaks and diet and movement and a whole bunch of other things, but it's necessary. It is the missing piece. It is why most of us are walking around with livers that have quit and that all these symptoms that we can't seem to get a handle on.
00:24:31
Speaker
Absolutely. And so if you want to join us, we're going to link it in the show notes. We are hosting the our live event. It's free Monday, March 30th, 4 p.m. PST, 5 p.m. Mountain Time and 7 p.m. Eastern Time. And like Tanya said, we're going to kind of go deep into toxic load. What could be overburdening our liver as we kind of discussed today? We're also going to be talking about symptoms,
00:24:59
Speaker
We're going to talk about why detox and fasting are misunderstood and how to safely incorporate detox and cleansing into your life and to your routine.
00:25:11
Speaker
ah Exactly. and like, if you're sitting there like, this might apply to me, then this is your seminar and you should come to it. And if you can't make it live, of course you will have the recording and you can learn and you can watch. Like for us,
Podcast Conclusion and Call to Action
00:25:30
Speaker
this episode is just cutting the surface of letting you guys know how vital your liver is. This is like the little heads up and the seminar, that's going to be the deep dive, the things that you need to know.
00:25:46
Speaker
Absolutely. And we love, i mean, one thing Tanya and i don't love about podcasting is that we don't get to see you guys. We don't get to have a conversation. We don't get to hear your questions real time. And so that's what this workshop is actually all about. It's getting us together face to face. We're going to give, provide the education. You can ask your questions.
00:26:07
Speaker
um And we look forward to hopefully seeing you in person. I couldn't have said it better myself. like We thrive when we can share information and when we can empower other people you know and give them what they need, the tools that they need. So I love doing this with you, Kim. I am so excited to do another round of these seminars. And yeah, guys, sign up. The link is in the show notes. So right now,
00:26:38
Speaker
Podcast is done. You're getting ready to go on with your life. Don't go on yet. Click the link and we will see you on March 30th. Looking forward to seeing you all and supporting your liver.
00:26:51
Speaker
She's overburdened, so she needs it. Okay, guys, we'll see you there. Bye. by Hey guys, thanks so much for hanging out with us today.
00:27:03
Speaker
If this episode resonated with you, we would love it if you would hit like, subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend. We love to hear from you because let's be honest, this show is for you.
00:27:14
Speaker
If you have a topic you'd love us to tackle or want to learn more about something we talked about today, send us a message. We got you. Stay connected with us on social media at whatsmyageagain.podcast for even more knowledge and inspiration between episodes.
00:27:31
Speaker
Kim and I aren't doctors or your healthcare care practitioners. Everyone's body is unique, so always consult your own healthcare provider before starting something new.