Stop Being Cruel To Your Liver!

Has your day ever had an unexpected twist?

Mine did!

During the recent school holidays our grandkids discovered two tiny yellow squeaky fluffballs floating on the Forth River.

It turned out that these baby ducks had been abandoned by their parents.

Now they were literally “sitting ducks,” waiting to be snatched up by the resident white goshawk that lives by the riverfront on our property.

Thankfully, Joh (our son and the local vet) came to the rescue.

He quickly built a safe enclosure and set up a feeding schedule, which after a few weeks—without any official handover—ended up squarely on my shoulders.

Today, the little ducklings are fully grown and almost ready to be released into our dam to join the rest of the resident ducks, who I feed each day.

A few generous handfuls of grain also go to Cedric the donkey, who begins braying enthusiastically the moment I open the back door.

It’s a scene straight out of a feel-good farmyard movie.

Watching the yellow fluffballs turn into 2 beautiful white adult ducks got me thinking about the French delicacy “foie gras.”

You may have heard of it.

It’s made by force-feeding ducks and geese a high-starch diet—mainly grains and corn—so their livers swell up to ten times their natural size.

This fatty liver is what gives foie gras its rich, buttery taste.

Can you believe it?

Foie gras is a traditional French delicacy made from the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened.

The process is centuries old and involves a practice known as “gavage”, or force-feeding, to enlarge the liver.

The Process:

1. Raising the Birds:
   Ducks or geese are first raised freely for several weeks (usually 8–10 weeks) on a natural diet to promote healthy growth.
2. Gavage (Force-Feeding):
   For the final 2–3 weeks of their lives, the birds are fed a high-starch diet—typically corn—two to three times a day through a feeding tube inserted into the throat. This causes the liver to enlarge significantly, sometimes reaching up to 10 times its normal size.
3. Harvesting:
   Once the desired liver size is reached (typically 500–900 grams), the birds are slaughtered, and the foie gras is harvested. The liver is carefully removed and often prepared fresh, or preserved as a pâté, mousse, or terrine.
4. Preparation and Cooking:
   Foie gras can be pan-seared, baked, or made into smooth spreads. It has a rich, buttery, and delicate flavor that is prized in gourmet cuisine.

And more importantly… doesn’t it strike you as incredibly cruel?

But here’s the twist—humans are doing a version of this to themselves and their children every single day

Only we’re doing it voluntarily.

No feeding tubes, no enclosures—just mountains of bread, pasta, rice, biscuits, cookies, cakes, and sugary drinks.

Your liver—just like a duck’s—is where your body stores excess sugar as white fat.

Here’s something that might surprise you:

🍞 The flour from just one slice of bread converts into the equivalent of six teaspoons of sugar in your body.

Now here’s the kicker:

Your body can only use one teaspoon of sugar every 5 to 6 hours.

The rest?

It gets stored—primarily in your liver—just like those poor foie gras ducks.

In our clinic, we see this every single day.

More and more people—even young children under 6 years old—are showing clear signs of fatty liver, even though they’ve never touched a drop of alcohol.

That’s why we’re seeing a huge rise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

In fact, it’s overtaken alcohol-induced fatty liver conditions as the most common liver problem in modern society.

As a practitioner, I can pick up on liver stress using simple urine readings.

I’m not joking when I say I’ve seen liver stress in children as young as five or six as severe as in full-grown adults!

So what’s the solution?

Simple.

Just like those ducks wouldn’t have fatty livers without being overfed grains, we wouldn’t either if we weren’t overloading on high-starch carbs and sugars.

When you cut out the excess bread, pasta, crackers, cereals, sweets, and processed carbs, you’re giving your liver a break—and it will thank you by doing its job: detoxifying your body, producing bile, and helping you digest healthy fats.

But What If Your Bile Isn’t Flowing?

One of the most common complaints I hear is: “I feel awful when I eat fatty foods.”

This usually means your bile is sluggish, thick, or gluggy from too much stored fat—caused by too many carbs and sugars.

That’s where Beetflow comes in.

Beetflow supports your liver by opening the bile ducts and promoting healthy bile flow so you can start breaking down and absorbing the fats and oils your body needs.

Want to Take It a Step Further?

If you want to break down fats properly, you’ll also need enzymes like lipase to help your body do the job.

You’ll find these in:

🟣 Omnizyme – our all-in-one enzyme formula
🟢 Digestizyme – gentle and effective digestive support

Lost Your Gallbladder?

If you’ve had your gallbladder removed (which happens all too often due to calcified fat from too many carbs), you’ll need extra support at mealtimes:

💊 Ox-Bile Salts – to replace the bile your gallbladder used to release
💊 Devigest – a powerful enzyme that helps break down fats and proteins with ease

We’re lucky here at the Purple House to be surrounded by nature—and reminded of its wisdom daily.

Watching our little ducklings grow strong and healthy reminded me how delicate life is, and how easy it is to go off course without realizing.

Your liver is your silent hero, working around the clock to keep your body clean, nourished, and energized.

Give it the support it needs.

You only get one liver—don’t turn it into foie gras.

Call 03 64283007 to book your appointment or do a phone order; alternatively, you can do this online – click here.

We are here to help you Wednesdays until Friday 9 AM until 5 PM.

The Purple House Kitchen is open Wednesdays until Saturday 10 until 4 pm. (Kitchen closes at 3 PM; however, coffee and cake are available until 4 PM)

Come and experience a taste of delicious gut-healthy bites, drinks, and meals.

📞 To book your table: 03 6428 3007 (or take your chances and drop in)
📍 Purple House Kitchen, 47 Wilmot Rd, Forth (next to the Purple House Wellness Centre)

For the safety of our beloved pets and the local wildlife, we kindly ask that you leave your pets at home when visiting.

Thank you for helping us maintain a peaceful and safe environment! 🐾