Wondering if anyone has any knowledge of onions or ginger contributing to Liver Congestion.  I'm trying to decongest my liver and in my research, one lady said that they do.  They are Beneficials on my SWAMI, and I do consume them everyday.  Has anyone else heard anything about this, before I cut them out for awhile.  Thanks in advance.

I haven't heard that either of those contribute to liver congestion...  One of my big problems, addressed by SWAMI is liver sluggishness and I get both as Superfoods as well...  I've never had an issue that I could attribute to either of those foods.

They do the opposite actually. People might be confusing their liver turning on, with 'bad' things. They are both likely to increase liver production of digestive fluids, which will help turn around bad gut flora. However when shifts in gut flora happen quickly, the person might get some discomfort (confusion).

Quoted from DoS

They do the opposite actually.

Also, if you're working on your liver, one miracle food you might want to include a lot is turmeric.

Thanks guys.  The lady that stated this in her program works with Chinese medicine, if that makes any difference.
  Damon:  I agree about the turmeric.  I've been taking Dr. D's Hepatiguard for over a year now and one of the ingredients in it  is turmeric.  I also take DetoxiCal-D and Live Cell regularly.
  But is there a difference between detoxing the liver and decongesting it?  What causes it to be congested in the first place?

Onion contains a lot of sulfur - some people are sensitive to it.

Health benefits of onions

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=45

Health benefits of ginger

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72

Thanks for the links, Chloe.  I agree with all that info, but having been told by the lady that does Chinese Medicine that they contribute to liver congestion (which I have), I wondered if she was alone with that thought, or if anyone else had heard of that before.
  I use both ginger and onions everyday and was surprised at her comment.

congestion is caused too much sugar in the diet. whether from grain or sweets etc. some say too much acid. but out and out toxins too and when there is a narrowing or blockage anywhere will create congestion

Just because a food is overall healthy doesn't mean that it's a good idea for everybody, all the time. All of us on this website know that! I could probably find links that detail the health benefits of soy, coconut, or tomatoes, yet these are all foods that are "avoids" for some of us.

If I were examined by a TCM practitioner, I'd follow the specific dietary advice geared for my specific situation, as long as it didn't contradict SWAMI. (ie, if she told me to eat wheat germ I'd eat rice bran instead.)

Thanks Policychecker, but I hadn't had sugar for about 2 years and I have a grain maybe once every 2 months.  Unless it started before that 2 years (cause I've been feeling really good this past 2 years) and it's showing itself now?  Would it happen that way?

Thanks for the input, Ruthiegirl.  I wasn't examined by this lady, just read all her stuff online and then spoke to her on the phone.  Her advice doesn't go against my SWAMI, it just says to eliminate some of my Diamond/Beneficials.

Depending on how detailed the phone call was, her advice may or may not be on target for you. It's up to you to decide how much you trust her judgement based on your contact with her.

There's certainly no harm in "not eating every diamond and beneficial food" as long as you continue to eat many of them. I haven't eaten every single diamond and beneficial food on my SWAMI, because some of them are completely unavailable to me and others are too expensive to eat regularly.

Quoted from BCgal

Thanks Policychecker, but I hadn't had sugar for about 2 years and I have a grain maybe once every 2 months.  Unless it started before that 2 years (cause I've been feeling really good this past 2 years) and it's showing itself now?  Would it happen that way?

Are you losing any weight?
Are you still cleaning or healing?
Have you been exposed to any chemicals, etc., that may be working the liver harder to remove them?
If any of those is a "Yes", you could have cleaned out some toxin, etc. that caused the liver to bog down some.  I'm constantly eating / supplementing to aid the liver - but I've been cleaning continuously since I started BTD.  If I'm exposed to something, I realize the detox will slow until the liver deals with the present "threat", the the detox will ramp up again!

I know that the body can only handle so much toxin at once, so just try to keep things moving the best I can...

I also change my diet slightly so I get more rotation.  I know my body wants more variety than to eat some individual food "every day".  About the closest I get is eggs, but it even wants a break from them once in a while...

ABJoe:  I've lost 80 lbs. over that 2 yr. period, but still have about 10 more I'd like to lose.  What had been slow and steady has now come to a grinding halt for about nine months or more.  I'm feeling sluggish again, my hormones feel out of whack again, as are my emotions, and I'm getting itchy skin again.  I've been dealing with liver issues for years too.  I don't think I've been exposed to anything more than normal.  I don't have my gallbladder.  But I must say I do tend to eat a lot of the same Beneficials regularly.  My exercise is consistent.  I have hot water & lemon every morning and I use the infrared sauna about 4x a week.
  I did feel more stressed this year, planning a 2 week trip to New York and Toronto with my daughter and her family and son in laws parents.  Started planning in March and went in October.  
  We did do a lot of renovating this spring and summer too.

Quoted from BCgal

I've lost 80 lbs. over that 2 yr. period, but still have about 10 more I'd like to lose.  What had been slow and steady has now come to a grinding halt for about nine months or more.  I'm feeling sluggish again, my hormones feel out of whack again, as are my emotions, and I'm getting itchy skin again.  I've been dealing with liver issues for years too.  I don't think I've been exposed to anything more than normal.  I don't have my gallbladder.  But I must say I do tend to eat a lot of the same Beneficials regularly.  My exercise is consistent.  I have hot water & lemon every morning and I use the infrared sauna about 4x a week.
We did do a lot of renovating this spring and summer too.

It has been my experience that the early weight loss is the body finding "easily digestible" toxins to remove, but the later is harder to digest and takes MUCH longer to process, as well as being MUCH harder on the processing organs...  Also, my body is much more specific in what it needs in order to process this junk.  For instance, when I was first processing junk out, I needed to take Milk Thistle to support the liver, but now, it doesn't help me at all, while I need to eat more liver and take Detoxical-D more now...  Things are constantly changing, so we need to be flexible in our response to keep things moving.  Two years of a routine is a long time, so I'm not surprised that the body is "requesting" some changes...  
Time to look through SWAMI to find some foods that you haven't been eating and try some to find what new things the body finds it needs, as well as searching through the NAP (DPN) catalog to see what slightly different formulations may be helpful.  Just little tweaks can have a profound effect, if they are what the body needs!

PS.  Although many construction materials have been made less toxic (at least in the U.S.), there is still multitudes of issues that can arise from renovation - dust, mold, old material toxins, etc., as well as the stress of having the house "disturbed" while the process is ongoing.  It all contributes, so it is understandable that you may need to find some different things to assist your healing.

Congratulations on the weight loss you have gotten so far.  You are obviously going to be much more healthful because of it!

Onions can be hard on people with adrenal fatigue.  So I've read and have been told.  I don't know of any downsides to ginger.  Amazone says be careful because it thins your blood.  Some of that is good for some of us.  

Either way, I used to eat onions a lot and found out they trigger my heart arrhythmia.  I used to eat TONS of ginger.  And it helped my stomach a LOT!!!  I think I ate it so much, that now my body doesn't want it any more.  So I haven't eaten it in about a year.  I ate it daily for about 3 years though.  My stomach would digest food so much better.  

These are my experiences with those two foods.  And btw, I love onions.  Raw, cooked, etc.  But because of the heart issue, I don't eat them.  They are diamond superfoods on my swami though.

Thanks for your input, ABJoe and JJR.

BCgal, I go to a Chinese woman who does acupuncture, and I have liver/gall bladder sluggishness and she has recommended a small piece of ginger with tea to help with warming the body. I run cold.  
Lin

Thanks Lin.  

Quoted from BCgal

Thanks for the input, Ruthiegirl.  I wasn't examined by this lady, just read all her stuff online and then spoke to her on the phone.  Her advice doesn't go against my SWAMI, it just says to eliminate some of my Diamond/Beneficials.

Onions are SWAMI diamond for me, too - but I don't eat them because I do poorly with sulfur. Avoid!

Christopher1 - you said you don't do well with sulphur.  What are your reactions, if you don't mind me asking.

My TCM practitioner tells me that I need to avoid the onions and garlic because they are heat producing, and I usually exhibit heat in my liver. But I follow my SWAMI, which says onions and garlic are diamonds.

Quoted from BCgal

Christopher1 - you said you don't do well with sulphur.  What are your reactions, if you don't mind me asking.

Bowel problems.

Drea: your experience sounds more like mine.  So are you saying that you've still continued having onions and, in your case garlic? ( with me it's onions and ginger )

Christopher1- with reactions like that its an easy decision to stay clear, but I see no reactions.  I've only been told that my liver is congested by the fellow that does my "live bloodcell analysis".  I readily accept that,  but determining what I'm doing or not doing to contribute to it is proving to be very difficult.