How NOT to Detox the Liver – with Dr Raskin; plus: SAVE Divya’s Kitchen! – Your SV Ayurveda Newsletter April 9, 2026, #13, Vol 16

Vaidya Mishra took Mahasamadhi on April 13, 2017, leaving us an encyclopaedic SV Ayurvedic legacy that defies the passage of time. His “shakties” – divine creative feminine energy incarnations – have been busy spreading the SVA light through knowledge and courses, consultations, and most importantly food!

In this issue of our newsletter we feature Dr Lisa Raskin (D.C) – she sheds light on the oft ignored and misunderstood role and function of the liver, and more importantly, its detox.

We also feature another powerful shakti, Divya Alter. Divya came to SVA when she was having health issues 15 years ago. Vaidya Mishra and Dr Marianne Teitelbaum helped her recover fully through SVA protocols. Divya discovered and experienced the power of SV Ayurveda and has, along with her husband and business partner – Prentiss, worked at spreading SV Ayurveda through books, and their delicious NYC based fully vegetarian and pranic restaurant. However, things have been tough of late.

As we are all aware, the world is going through a great rough transition – at home, as well as globally. We don’t lose heart because we know it is always a happy ending no matter how bumpy the ride; however, we still have to survive the darkest hours that come just before sunlight…

One of the most important things we can do at this point in time is to help and support each other stand tall and strong, by giving our attention, time, and even financial support to those in need, so that we can continue the journey together, because together we are strong-er…

Please scroll down to read more about Divya’s Kitchen and consider making a donation, even if you don’t live in NYC!

Shaka Vanshiya Ayurveda is here for us all, to make our everyday a SVA day for more bliss and more balance always …. Namaste!

The

Liver

in the

SVA Perspective

Vaidya Mishra used to say that if we built a factory that did everything the liver does, it would be one mile long and one mile wide. That’s how complex the liver is! How much it’s actually doing.

He taught me that the liver has five burners – five agnis – while the other organs of digestion only have one. It runs warm.

It performs over 500 chemical reactions every single day. It processes everything that comes into the body.

And he couldn’t believe how toxic Western livers were.

You’ve been told your liver “detoxes.” That it filters out bad stuff and needs to be “cleansed” or “flushed.”

And yes – it does that.

But that’s barely scratching the surface of what your liver actually does.

Every single day, your liver decides which hormones get activated and which get broken down. It regulates blood sugar and determines how fuel gets delivered to your cells. It processes fats so they can actually be used for energy and repair. It filters the blood supplying your brain and heart. It determines whether inflammation resolves or keeps building.

When your liver is functioning well, everything flows.

Digestion works. Hormones balance. Energy stabilizes. Your mind clears.

When your liver is overloaded, everything backs up.

And I see this constantly in my practice.

Women who eat clean but still feel foggy. Take handfuls of supplements that don’t seem to work. Have stubborn hormonal issues that won’t resolve. Deal with inflammation, skin problems, or mood swings that make no sense.

It’s not lack of effort. It’s that the liver can’t manage all these functions anymore.

And here’s what Vaidya taught me about why this happens:

The liver only recognizes food.

When you give it anything else – synthetic supplements, processed food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals – it has to work incredibly hard to turn those substances into something it can process.

This exhausts the liver.

And here’s where Vaidya’s teachings diverge from anything you’ll find in Western medicine – or even most alternative medicine. 

Underneath so many of these cases, what SVA recognizes is heat in the liver. (The liver can be burdened in other ways too – congestion, clogging, and more – but heat is what drives so many of these symptoms.) 

When the liver heats up, that heat overflows into the blood.

Hot blood travels through your entire body.

Eventually, the immune system heats up too.

And when the immune system gets hot, it loses its fine intelligence.

It starts attacking the body instead of protecting it.

This is how autoimmune disease begins – not with bad genetics or bad luck, but with an overheated immune system that has lost its ability to distinguish self from invader.

Over time, the liver stops being able to manage all the functions it’s supposed to. Everything starts backing up.

This is why food timing matters. Why spices matter. Why fat quality matters. Why rest matters. Why emotional stress matters.

They all either support the liver’s ability to function well – or they heat it up and exhaust it.

Healing doesn’t start with “more detox.”

It starts with helping the liver do what it already knows how to do.

When the liver cools down and can function properly again, the body often corrects itself.

Hormones balance. Inflammation resolves. Energy returns. The fog lifts.

The immune system remembers how to protect instead of attack.

Not because you pushed harder or cleansed more aggressively. 

Because you gave your liver what it actually needed – food it recognizes, practices that cool it down, space to do its work.

Next week I’ll share why most detox protocols backfire – and what actually works.

If this resonates and you’re trying to make sense of your symptoms, this is exactly the kind of pattern I help people understand.

Dr Lisa Raskin

www.somaradianthealth.com

SAVE

DIVYA’S KITCHEN

Dear friends,

If Divya’s Kitchen has ever touched your life, we invite you to reflect on what it has meant to you—and what it would mean not to have it here.

For 10 years, Divya’s Kitchen has been one of the most beloved healthy restaurants in NYC—a place where food is healing, community is real, and nourishment goes beyond the plate. We’ve been honored to serve many thousands of you, creating a space where people come not just to eat, but to feel cared for, restored, and at home.

Today, we are facing an urgent moment. With healthy, vegetarian, and vegan spaces rapidly disappearing in NYC under current economic pressures, preserving places like Divya’s Kitchen has never been more important.

We are seeking to raise funds to meet urgent financial obligations and secure the immediate future of Divya’s Kitchen.

What happens in the next few days will make all the difference.

This funding will also allow us to thoughtfully restructure our operations into a more resilient and sustainable model for today’s economy, while staying true to the values that define Divya’s Kitchen.

We are working closely with a trusted local restauranteur and industry expert to strengthen our business systems, refine our operations, and creatively evolve our menu—preserving our commitment to exceptional ingredients, healing Ayurvedic principles, and the deep care with which we serve our community.

This transition is not about changing who we are—it is about building a stronger foundation so Divya’s Kitchen can continue nourishing people for years to come.

If this space matters to you, please support us today and help us rebuild a stronger foundation for the next chapter. Every contribution and every share makes a real difference right now.

Thank you, and God bless you.

With love and gratitude,

Divya and Prentiss Alter

Founders of Divya’s Kitchen

PS: We would love to hear from you and welcome your Words of Support from your donation receipt. Thank you.

Take Vaidya Mishra “With You” – Everywhere You Go!

if you ever had the opportunity to meet Vaidya Mishra in person, or have encountered him via his many youtube videos or online courses, then you know what we mean! We all want to have him travel with us in this earthly journey, to help us in our decisions along the way, through the timeless wisdom and knowledge of SV Ayurved. And now we can! If you have not discovered our podcast channel yet, we invite you to look it up and explore the timeless teachings of SVAyurveda, as well as fabulous talks by other SVAyurveda doctors and educators.

We want to help you protect your purchase – there’s been an increase in lost/stolen packages.

To protect your shipment – in case your shipping address is not secure – we have now added the “signature delivery” option upon check-out on www.chandika.com and we highly recommend you select it to ensure your package is guaranteed to reach you after it leaves our warehouse. Kindly note we are unable to replace stolen/misplaced packages once they are confirmed delivered by the carrier of your choice.