Discussion

Other than the brain, the liver is probably the most complex organ in the body, and is the most important organ of metabolism.

The liver’s functions can be split into three main parts:

¨      Filtering the blood

¨      Production of bile

¨      Metabolic

Filtering the blood: The liver is responsible for removing bacteria, endotoxins, chemicals, alcohol, antigen-antibody complexes (allergy compounds) and other potentially harmful compounds from the blood.

Production of bile: Bile is necessary for the absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients. It also absorbs toxic substances for elimination.

Metabolic: The liver is involved in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. It is also responsible for the storage of vitamins and minerals. It produces various enzymes and other important compounds, and it detoxifies, after use by the body, various hormones such as oestrogen, thyroxin, histamine and cortisol.

Optimising Liver Function

Maintenance of top level liver function is in two main parts:

¨      Protection against chemicals

¨      Protection against fatty infiltration

A) Protection against chemicals

The best protection is avoidance. Nowadays, there is a vast array of chemicals which bombard our bodies, including the pesticides and herbicides which are used in modern farming, and which find their way into all fruits and vegetables, and even animal foods. There are also the additives that are used in manufactured foods. The best way to avoid all these is to use only organic foods. There is little we can do to avoid air pollutants.

The most powerful chemicals that can affect the liver’s function are drugs, both illegal and legal. They overwhelm the liver’s ability to detoxify the contents of the blood; it is working so hard to detoxify the drug that it is unable to cope with all the other compounds in the blood. Even common over-the-counter drugs such as paracetamol can have this effect, if taken in excess.

The most common cause of liver damage is alcohol. Weight for weight, it is not as damaging as various drugs, but because of the much greater amount consumed, its total effect is greater. Alcohol probably causes more liver damage than any other substance.

There is a term “sluggish” or congested liver, and the main contributor to this is impaired flow of bile, otherwise called “cholestasis”.

The main cause of cholestasis is probably gallstones, which block the flow of bile from the liver, but a number of factors block flow of bile within the liver. Chemicals and alcohol have been mentioned above, but many drugs have this effect, including steroids, oestrogens and oral contraceptives. Endotoxins (toxins released by bacteria) and viral hepatitis also have this effect.

B) Protection Against Fatty Infiltration

As with cholestasis, excess alcohol consumption is probably the major cause of the problem. As little as 25g of alcohol can produce liver damage and cause the start of fatty deposits. The fatty infiltration decreases the liver’s ability to detoxify, and accelerates the progress of the problem.

A diet high in harmful types of fat, such as hydrogenated fats as in most margarines, increases the risk of fatty infiltration. In contrast to this, a diet high in fibres, particularly the water-soluble fibres, absorbs fats and helps bile flow.

Sugar, in excessive quantity, is turned into fat, and increases insulin production so much that in extreme cases the pancreas can become exhausted, leading to diabetes and a very clogged circulation. Sugar is even worse than harmful fats for causing poor circulation in all organs.

Recommendations

Diet

Avoidance of excess alcohol is advisable, together with drugs, including the legal drugs.

Low consumption of sugar and refined foods, avoidance of hydrogenated fats and low consumption of saturated fats are all desirable.

Try to avoid artificial additives, and also pesticides and other pollutants.

Supplements

A) Nutritional

Antioxidants; antioxidants are important in protecting the liver from free radical damage; these include vitamin C, E, zinc and selenium. Glutathione is an anti-oxidant compound produced in the body from the amino acid cysteine, which is in turn manufactured in the body from methionine. Methionine supplements therefore increase glutathione.

A group of substances called flavonoids have recently received much attention. They are more powerful as antioxidants than vitamin C and E. They are in good supply in fruits and vegetables, but are obtainable as supplements in such things as pine bark extract.

Lipotropic agents; these agents control the level of fats in the liver and bloodstream. They are mainly choline, methionine and carnitine. The cheapest way to obtain choline as a supplement is in the form of lecithin. Choline can also be manufactured by the body from methionine, so methionine supplementation can help for this as well as for the production of glutathione as mentioned above.

Carnitine works in a slightly different way. As it facilitates the conversion of fatty acids to energy, it helps to control the fatty acid infiltration caused by excess alcohol or fat consumption. As alcohol and chemicals reduce the body’s synthesis of carnitine, supplementation can be beneficial.

B) Herbal

Dandelion root; increases bile production in the liver, and also flow to the gallbladder. It also causes the gallbladder to contract, thus releasing stored bile.

Milk Thistle; the active part is a mixture of flavonoids known as silymarin, which is probably the most potent liver-protective substance known.

Silymarin has powerful antioxidant effects of its own, and also increases glutathione levels, helping detoxification. It also helps liver protein synthesis, and therefore helps regeneration of the liver.

Its protective effects are so great that it has been shown to protect against powerful toxins such as carbon tetrachloride and the toxin from the amanita (Death Cap) mushroom.

Artichoke (Cynara); this herb has similar effects to milk thistle in protecting and regenerating the liver, but in addition to this increases the flow of bile. A useful supplement.

Turmeric; has effects similar to artichoke.

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