Over the past couple of weeks a massive heat wave passed through the United States. I spoke with endo sisters on both sides of the coast in New York and California who told me they were dealing with temperatures around 115º Fahrenheit!

I’ve also been hearing from many of you that the excessive heat and humidity flares up symptoms from endometriosis. This got me to wondering why that is? How does heat play a role with how you feel with endo? Today’s post explores some answers to these questions.

Body Temperature & Your Liver

The hypothalamus in your brain is a key player in body temperature control. It works with your autonomic nervous system, which then sends signals to peripheral organs to track and regulate your body temperature.

Body heat is created in organs such as your liver. Your liver is naturally a hot organ. It warms your blood and maintains body temperature.

If your liver is overloaded then it can get too hot. When this happens then symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats show up. This is a common symptom with endometriosis and I know how miserable they can be!

Feeling hot or overheated in general is a sign of too much liver heat. When your body gets really hot, as is in cases of heat stroke, then liver damage or failure is a grave possibility. The hotter the temperature, the more the risk of liver damage.

Endometriosis & Your Liver

With a chronic illness like endometriosis your liver is a key player. It helps release endo-feeding toxins and detoxes estrogen in your body. It helps you digest fats and proteins and plays a big role with your immune system, nervous system, and energy levels.

With endometriosis your liver is likely already sluggish. This is true for most everyone, but more so when chronic illness shows up. The symptoms of chronic illness are signs that your liver is overburdened.

Adding heat to the mix makes your liver work even harder. Whether that be from the temperature outside, or from other factors that influence liver heat.

Factors that Increase Liver Heat

Once I became aware of the following factors that increase liver heat (from Anthony William’s book Liver Rescue) I’ve noticed that they do increase my body temperature. I notice this the most when it impacts my sleep. When I’m hot I have a really hard time sleeping. Have you noticed this too? 

Alcohol. Most every time I have an alcoholic drink I notice my body temperature rise almost right away. My cheeks get flushed and my stomach feels hot. Drinking alcohol pretty much guarantees that I’m not going to get a great night’s sleep, and even one drink makes me feel exhausted the next day.

Too much fat and/or protein. High fat, high protein meals can make your liver hot in a toxic way. I’ve noticed if I have a day where I eat more than one meal with animal protein that I do feel hot and have a hard time sleeping. The fat and protein from animal foods make your liver work hard to produce bile to digest the food. This is even harder to do when your liver’s already sluggish.

Adrenaline. While a certain amount of adrenaline is healthy and natural, an overabundance of stress, overstimulation, dangerous cleanses, adrenaline-rush activities and going too long between meals triggers your adrenals to continually release adrenaline. Whenever there’s excess adrenaline in your bloodstream it’s your liver’s job to try and absorb and neutralize the hormone. Too much adrenaline adds further burden and liver heat. This is why it’s a natural reaction to sweat during stressful situations.

Toxins. Found in so much of the environment today, toxins heat up your liver too. If you’re consistently ingesting toxins via pesticides or fungicides, which show up on our food, new clothing, and in the environment around us, then your liver is impacted. This is a big reason why it’s good to take steps to use non-toxic products in your home, and on your skin, and to buy organic foods when possible.

On the Positive Side?

One way to help cool your liver down is by adding in glucose from fruit and carbohydrate-rich veggies. In the summer time I love eating raw fruits and veggies and in large amounts in salads and smoothies. This naturally cools your body down.

🌟 There are other actions you can take to help give some love to your liver, which I’m going to share more about in my free upcoming Love your Liver Workshop starting August 15, 2019. I invite you to join us here.

How do you feel when the temperature gets too hot outside? Does it influence how you feel with endometriosis? Have you noticed that the liver heat inducing factors influence how you feel and how you sleep?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Much LOVE,

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