Why your liver is key to balanced hormones
When most people think about their liver, they think about detoxing alcohol.
But the liver actually plays a powerful role in your gut health and keeping your hormones balanced.
The liver is your body’s ‘jack of all trades,’ because it performs over 500 functions every day, many of which are directly tied to your gut and hormone health.
As a holistic nutritionist, I often see clients struggling with thyroid imbalances, painful periods, fatigue, bloating, constipation, or skin issues like acne. If this sounds familiar, I can bet that your liver needs support.
Even though it plays such a key role, the liver is often overlooked when it comes to hormone balance and digestion.
So, let’s dive into why the liver is so important along with simple ways you can support it with food, supplements, and lifestyle shifts.
The Liver and Your Hormones
One of the liver’s main jobs is breaking down estrogen after it’s been used in the body. Once estrogen has done its job, it should be broken down by the liver and then sent to the gut to be eliminated through bowel movements.
But here’s the issue: if liver detoxification is sluggish, estrogen can be reabsorbed into the body, leading hormone imbalances, especially estrogen dominance.
I see this imbalance all the time with clients and it’s something I personally struggled with for many years.
Supporting liver health is an essential part of a holistic approach to hormone balancing that’s often missed.
Common symptoms of estrogen dominance include:
PMS
Painful, heavy periods
Acne
Bloating
Weight gain (especially in the hips and thighs)
Insomnia
Fibroids, cysts, or endometriosis
These symptoms are so common that many women assume they’re “normal” but, common doesn’t mean normal. These are tell-take signs that your liver needs support.
Why Detoxification Matters for Weight Loss
Of course, your liver is responsible for detoxing alcohol, but it also detoxes medications (like Advil and Tylenol), pesticides, tap water, heavy metals and toxins in personal care products (e.g. shampoo, lotion) and household cleaners.
The reality is, the demands on our liver are significantly higher than previous generations.
When the liver is overburdended, toxins accumulate in the body and many of these toxins are fat-soluble.
Your body will store toxins in your fat cells to keep them away from your vital organ and while this is designed to protect you, it can:
Increase chronic inflammation
Make weight loss more difficult (your body resists burning fat to avoid releasing toxins into circulation)
Gut Health, Cholesterol & Hypothyroidism
The liver also supports digestive health by producing bile. Bile is essential for:
Digesting fats and absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D, K)
Regular bowel movements
Eliminating toxins
The liver also regulates cholesterol. Did you know that about 80% of your cholesterol is made in the liver, not from your food?
Cholesterol isn’t the villain it’s been made out to be.
Cholesterol is essential for hormone production (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), brain function, activating vitamin D, and producing healthy levels of neurotransmitters.
Thyroid imbalances like hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s are common among clients I work with.
The liver directly impacts your thyroid function by converting T4 (inactive hormone) into T3 (active or usable hormone). T3 is the hormone that powers your metabolism, digestion, energy, and mood.
Most of this conversion happens in the liver and gut.
If your liver is sluggish, you’re likely to feel the effects in your thyroid health, too.
Signs Your Liver Needs Support
If your liver isn’t working optimally, you might notice:
PMS, painful or heavy periods
Digestive issues (bloating, constipation, poor fat digestion)
Skin issues (acne, rashes)
Low energy, brain fog
Waking between 1–3 a.m.
Difficulty losing weight
Sensitivity to strong scents or fragrances
Why Liver Support Is Essential in 2025
Even if you eat clean, our modern world exposes us to far more toxins than previous generations which means our livers are under heavier demand than ever before.
The good news is, you can support your liver in simple, sustainable ways. Let’s talk about how.
Key Nutrients for Liver Health
Foods rich in B vitamins, magnesium, amino acids, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and fiber help optimize your liver, improve digestive health, and promote a healthy gut.
B vitamins ➝ beef, eggs, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, dairy
Magnesium ➝ pumpkin seeds, avocado, dark chocolate
Amino acids from protein ➝ grass-fed beef, chicken, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt
Vitamin C ➝ oranges, kiwi, peppers, broccoli, papaya
Vitamin E ➝ nuts, seeds, fish, spinach
Selenium ➝ Brazil nuts, oysters, sardines, turkey
Glutathione (supported by vitamin C and sulfur-rich foods like garlic and onions)
Fiber-rich foods are also important because they help to bind toxins in the gut and make sure they’re eliminated through bowel movements. A few of my favourite sources are beans, lentils, chia seeds, avocado, raspberries, pears, and sweet potatoes.
Reducing Toxin Exposure
In addition to nutrient support, reducing your toxin exposure is important because it lowers the detoxification demands on your liver.
Focus on what you can control, which is the products you use in your home and on your body. Your liver has to filter out chemicals from cleaning products, air fresheners, makeup, lotions, deodorant, shampoo… basically everything we come into contact with.
Conventional or typical products are usually made with ingredients like synthetic fragrances, parabens, phthalates, and other chemicals that disrupt the functioning of our hormones. Over time, this daily exposure adds up and creates extra work for your liver.
By making swaps to cleaner personal care products and household cleaners, you can lower the amount of toxins that your body has to process.
That means your liver doesn’t have to work as hard to detoxify those chemicals and can use its energy more efficiently for things like hormone regulation, energy production, and digestion.
This doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be overnight!
When I started transitioning to cleaner products, I used what I call the “ditch and switch method.” This means, when you finish a product, ditch it and replace it with a cleaner option.
Start with what you use most often, like laundry detergent, deodorant, or your all-purpose cleaner. When you approach it this way, over time, you can significantly reduce your toxic load without feeling overwhelmed.
Not sure where to start? The EWG app and website is a great resource for finding clean swaps for products.
Castor Oil Packs: A Simple At-Home Tool
One of my favorite tools for liver support is castor oil packs. These are applied topically over your liver which is just under the right rib cage. When the castor oil is absorbed through your skin, it supports lymphatic drainage, bile flow, and liver detoxification. Since castor oil improves bile flow and digestion, many people find that castor oil packs help with constipation.
All you need is castor oil and a wrap which you can get on Amazon or Etsy for $30 or so.
To reap the benefits, you’ll want to wear your castor oil pack for at least an hour, 2 or 3 times a week but I find it easiest to wear overnight. Castor oil packs should be avoided during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Final Thoughts
Your liver is truly your body’s hardest working multitasker.
Supporting your liver through nutrient-dense foods, cleaner products, and tools like castor oil packs can greatly improve digestive health and hormone balance. A holistic approach to hormone balancing looks at the root causes such as liver function and nutrient levels, rather than just treating symptoms.
Your symptoms are not random. They are your body’s way of communicating that it needs support and your liver might be the overlooked, missing piece.
Keep in mind, the information provided in this blog post is not medical advice.
Ready for the next step?
I’m here to help you create and implement a step-by-step, holistic plan that takes you from burnt out and frustrated to finally seeing real results with a strategy, customized for your body
If I’ve learned anything in my years of functional nutrition and working with hundreds of women it’s this: you can't get long-term results by using trendy, quick fixes.
When we work together, we start by running functional labs to uncover the root causes —like mineral imbalances, sluggish detox pathways, or poor gut health — of your symptoms so that we can create a strategy based on what your body actually needs
