Louie the liver LOUIE THE LIVER 

I am Louie the Liver, the largest organ in your body (about three pounds) and one of the most important. I am not as glamorous as your heart or your lungs. In fact, I look like you would imagine - like Liver.​​

I just about fill the upper right part of your abdomen, and I'm protected by your ribs. To give you an idea of my importance, I handle about 500 different bodily processes. I produce more than 1000 different enzymes to handle chemical conversions in your body.

For one thing, I manufacture a substance called bile, that is absolutely necessary in the digestion of your food. Without another substance I make, fibrinogen, your blood would not clot. The poisons in cigarettes and alcohol would kill you, if I did not strain them out before they reach your heart.

You are probably convinced of my importance by now, so let's dispel a couple of ideas that are prevalent. I tend to get categorized. When all is well, you tend to think of me as your Lively Liver. When all is not well, you dub me your Lazy Liver. I'm the same Louie the Liver in each case, but there may well be something wrong that needs immediate correction.

Throughout history, man has sought to prod what he thought was a Lazy Liver with an assortment of vile potions, pills and powders. Some of these have been totally useless and even harmful. Others have succeeded in temporarily stimulating me toward a better performance and my chores, but relapses usually follow such efforts, as repeated dosage becomes less and less effective. A very real danger to me, Louie the Liver, is that medicines may make me appear to be improving my performance when actually I am deteriorating.

To say you have "Liver Trouble" is about as specific as saying you have "Heart Trouble." I can have a number of problems. I can be injured by blows, or excessive pressures. I suffer from special conditions such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, and jaundice. These are symptoms of other disorders, and are not actually diseases of the liver alone. Their detailed treatment is not a matter for discussion here.

Most of my troubles stem not from disease, but from improper nerve supply. I need a steady supply blood flowing through me to perform my many duties properly. Blood circulation is governed by the action of nerve fibers that extend between me and my brain. The freeway system for all those nerves comes right down inside the spinal column.

Between the bones of the spine (the vertebrae), are small openings through which nerves pass. If one of these vertebrae is in an abnormal position, the associated nerve trunk can become irritated. Even a minor stress or strain can alter vertebrae positions. When this happens, it alters the flow of vital nerve energy to whatever organ the nerve is supplying. If it is one of my nerves, I'll start to react, but not always immediately. That's why you must be especially careful if you get any indication that I am not functioning properly, such as signs of jaundice (yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes). I'm a strong organ. I'll go on doing my best as long as I can, even when those nerves are not getting the proper messages to me.

Your chiropractor knows, from years of training, the precise point at which each nerve leaves the spine, and the organ or part of the body each nerve serves. Chiropractors know exactly how, and where, to look for displaced vertebrae, and how to gently adjust those segments into their proper positions. When this is done, the interference with nerve transmission is corrected. Then your natural healing powers begin to correct my trouble by re-establishing normalcy.

Chiropractic, and chiropractic alone, seeks out and corrects the underlying nerve causes of my problems. The chiropractor does not claim to cure, merely to remove the obstacles to nature's recovery. The inherent healing power of the body then begins to do what no amount of drugs or medicine can possibly do. It begins the healing process.

Only Nature Heals ... Chiropractic Proves It!​LOUIE THE LIVER

"Discover the Benefits of Chiropractic" Parker Chiropractic Research Foundation, 1973. Litho in U.S.A
Authorised Redistribution; J. Howard Morley D.C. Dip. N.B.C.E. Doctors of Chiropractic. U.S.A