The Liver Code: Signs Your Liver Needs Support (and What Actually Helps)
You're feel like you are doing everything right, but nothing's shifting.
You're eating well. You're moving your body. You're taking supplements. But the weight won't move, your energy is still low and your hormones feel out of whack.
Let's talk about your liver.
Your liver is one of the most overworked and unde rappreciated organs in your body. It quietly does hundreds of jobs every single day, and when it's carrying too much, it rarely announces itself as a "liver problem". It shows up as symptoms we blame on hormones, age or stress.
It's not just wine and coffee
You don't have liver issues because of wine. You have liver issues because of the load.
When people think about liver health, they usually think about alcohol. But in my clinic, the bigger picture is almost always the total load your liver is managing every day.
Some of the hidden liver loaders I look for:
Viral load
Parasites
Mould and environmental toxins
Excess oestrogen (oestrogen dominance)
Chemicals on our food and skin, and microplastics
Over the counter medications and prescriptions
Blood sugar swings, under-eating and dehydration
Emotional stress
It's rarely one thing. It's everything adding up.
Signs your liver may be asking for support
These are some of the signs I pay attention to with my clients:
Hormonal issues like PMS, heavy periods, adult acne and hot flushes
Fatigue and that 3pm afternoon slump
Bloating, especially after eating
Brain fog or poor memory
Stubborn weight, especially around your belly
Histamine type reactions like itchy skin, headaches or rashes
Waking between 1am and 3am
Dry skin, skin rashes and eye bags
How many of these do you tick?
An important note: each of these signs can have lots of different causes, and none of them on their own mean something is wrong with your liver. If you're worried, or you notice yellowing of your skin or eyes, dark urine, pale poos or pain under your right ribs, please see your GP. A simple blood test can check your liver function.
Where is your liver, actually?
Your liver sits just under your right rib cage, tucked up beneath your diaphragm. It's your largest internal organ, roughly the size of a football. It's mostly on the right side of your upper tummy, but it stretches across the middle and overlaps a little on the left. Your rib cage protects it, which is why you don't usually feel it. Your gallbladder sits just beneath it, and your bile ducts connect it to your digestive system.
One of my clients had a lightbulb moment in her first week. She realised she'd been placing her castor oil pack on the wrong spot for weeks, because no one had ever shown her where her liver actually sits. Small thing, big shift.
Try this 60-second liver check-in
Stand up. Place your right hand under your right breast, just beneath your rib cage, and gently press into the space there. That's the home of your liver.
Say (or think): "I see you. I'm listening now. I know how hard you've been working for me."
Breathe. Take a slow breath in, imagining fresh oxygen reaching this space. Breathe out, letting go of overwhelm, anger or overwork.
Picture it. Imagine your liver as a deep, rich brown, like the earth, with golden light flowing through it.
You might not feel anything directly, and that's OK. Just bringing your awareness here is powerful.
What does your liver actually do?
Your liver does far more than "detox". It performs over 500 vital functions and runs nearly everything under the hood of our bodies. It decides what stays in your body and what goes.
You literally can't live without it.
Detoxification and filtration
Filters your blood
Breaks down and removes medications, alcohol and environmental chemicals
Neutralises substances from gut bacteria (like endotoxins)
Digestion and nutrients
Produces bile to help you digest fats
Helps you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K
Metabolises carbohydrates, proteins and fats
Stores extra glucose as glycogen for energy
Hormones
Clears oestrogen, cortisol and thyroid hormones
Helps convert inactive thyroid hormone (T4) into active T3
Makes cholesterol, the building block of your sex hormones
This is why symptoms like PMS, acne and bloating can often trace back to your liver. When it can't clear oestrogen efficiently, more of it can end up back in circulation.
Blood, immunity and storage
Stores and releases blood as needed (it acts like a sponge!)
Makes the clotting factors that stop you bleeding
Removes old and damaged red blood cells
Is part of your immune system's first line of defence
Stores iron, vitamins A, D and B12, and minerals
Makes albumin, a protein that helps balance your fluids
Energy
Your liver balances your blood sugar by storing and releasing glycogen. Struggling with energy crashes? This is one reason why.
Your liver detoxes in two phases
This is the part I wish everyone understood.
Phase 1 = break it down. Your liver takes hormones, chemicals and toxins and starts breaking them apart.
Phase 2 = clear it out. It packages them up so you can actually eliminate them, through your poo, wee and sweat.
Phase 1 loads the gun. Phase 2 pulls the trigger.
Some of what Phase 1 makes can be more reactive than what you started with, so it needs Phase 2 to finish the job. If Phase 1 is working but Phase 2 can't keep up, you can feel worse, not better.
What Phase 1 needs
Protein (amino acids are your detox workers)
B vitamins
Antioxidants
If you're under-eating, skipping protein or living on green juices, Phase 1 slows down.
What Phase 2 needs (this is where most people get stuck)
Minerals like magnesium, zinc and sulfur
Glutathione support
Good bile flow
Fibre and regular bowel movements
Have you pooed today?
Phase 2 relies on you actually getting things out. That's why I care so much about your bowel, your bile flow and your drainage pathways. I've written more about this in my Lymphatic Drainage blog.
Simple ways to love your liver
You don't need anything extreme. Your liver responds beautifully to steady, simple support.
Protein at every meal
Bitter greens like rocket, which your liver loves
Brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale
Fibre every day, so you poo every day
Water, sipped steadily across the day
Steady blood sugar: don't skip meals
Movement, to keep your lymph flowing too
Sleep, because your body does so much of its repair work overnight
One client started adding a handful of rocket to her smoothie when salads felt like too much. She told me she had no idea it was helping her liver, because no one gets told any of this. That's the gap I love to close for clients.
Your liver stock take
Grab a pen and answer these honestly:
How many of the liver signs above do I have?
What am I eating each day to support my liver?
What lifestyle tool am I using each day to support my liver?
What is one liver loader you're going to reduce this week? And what is one thing you're going to do to support your liver?
Parasites and your liver
Parasites are one of the hidden liver loaders I see most often, and some, like liver flukes, set up home in your liver and bile ducts. Read my Liver Flukes blog to learn the signs.
In my 10 Day Parasite Program, Day 3 is Liver Love. We support your liver alongside your drainage pathways, and your daily check-in app helps you see what's changing in your body.
A final word from Shelley
Your liver isn't failing you. It's asking for support in a language most of us were never taught to read.
Once you learn it, you can care for your liver for life.
If you'd like to start with the foundations, listen to my free First Five audio series, the five foundations I teach every client first.
Further reading
This article is general information only and isn't a substitute for individual medical advice. Please talk to your GP or practitioner if you have ongoing symptoms, or before starting anything new, especially if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition.
