Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
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The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is on the rise due to poor dietary intake and lack of exercise. This disease puts people at risk of developing additional medical issues and also severely impacts the body’s primary detoxifying organ.
milk thistle
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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The liver is a very important organ and it is critical to nearly all biological functions in the body. There is a high rate of chemical reactions that make the liver uniquely susceptible to chemical stresses and inflammation, as well as loss of energy balance and function, which can lead to a number of progressive liver disorders and diseases. None are more important than when we look at non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
This is very very important because when we realize that over the course of the last 15 years, liver-related deaths have jumped 65% in this country. When we look at mortality due to cirrhosis and liver cancer in the United States between the years of 1999 and 2006, it has gone up more than 65%. That is incredibly scary. We can look at a lot of different factors in terms of why the rate has gone up so high and so fast. Certainly diet plays a very big role into this when you look at the rate of metabolic syndrome in this country, which is a perfect example as to why this has become such a major problem.†
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We used to always think that the main threat was alcohol and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Then, of course we know about the different viruses that target the liver such as hepatitis, but we don’t often think about the foods that we’re eating and how detrimental those can be. We also have to look at other things because the liver is our detoxifying organ. We have to look at air pollution, toxins from what we put on our skin and toxins from what we put on our foods. This is why we have to take care of our liver as we get older. This is something that we don’t want to wait until something goes haywire and then decide to act.†
Obesity and that excess body weight can also contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. 40% of adults are clinically obese in this country and that’s a major problem.
Learn more about various factors that can negatively impact your liver health by tuning into the full podcast episode.
So what should we be doing that would be beneficial for us? First, we want to make sure that we have a healthy lifestyle. We want to make sure that we have foods that have powerful antioxidants that can help the liver cells called hepatocytes be able to do what we need them to do and go through all those different phases of detoxification. Many people have probably heard of milk thistle. Milk thistle contains several natural compounds that have been shown to have the ability to basically defend the liver from injury. These compounds work by multiple different mechanisms in terms of enhancing liver function and leading to liver protection.†
When we think about milk thistle, I want us to look at some of the clinical science behind it. We know that milk thistle and its constituent silymarin in particular are very powerful ways in which the liver can utilize that as kind of a scrubber. It goes through and helps scrub out those bloated-up hepatocytes. Milk thistle itself contains all of these different compounds. It has really powerful antioxidants in it and these powerful phytochemicals including things such as silibinin and silymarin. It is these two constituents that really yield an enormous amount of antioxidant capabilities, which are important to fend off oxidative stress within the liver.†
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Tune into the full podcast episode to hear about studies discussing the benefits of milk thistle, silibinin and silymarin for the liver.
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NAC is an important amino acid for numerous functions throughout the body. It has recently been studied in clinical trials for its benefit for the COVID-19 infection, along with fending off oxidative stress and inhibiting H. Pylori bacteria.
We are all exposed to many different and damaging factors everyday. This excess build up of these factors can really throw off our body’s detoxification system. Here’s what you have to know.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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Your liver is an amazing organ. It has hundreds of important jobs that we’ll go over in today’s episode. Its size can vary considerably; it can be as small as about a pound and a half and as big as four pounds in a healthy liver. In a sick liver, you can actually remove up to 75% of a persons liver and it will regrow back to its original size. It has to have that kind of resilience because your liver deals with things like toxins and bacteria.
What is the function of the liver in the body?
Your liver regulates things like protein synthesis, blood clotting and it creates a hormone that strongly impacts blood pressure. It also is the major detoxifier in your body, which is why it has to be so good at regenerating itself. It has to remove substances like old drugs, pesticides, excessing hormones, chemical pollutants and microbes from your digested food.
When you digest your food in your digestive tract, it enters this big vein and goes into the liver. The liver has these large, stay-put immune cells that remove things from the blood and the food that is in the blood before the food enters your circulation. If that does not happen, bacteria would get into your circulation. This is why it is dangerous for individuals with severe liver disease; they can get an infection in their heart because the liver is not appropriately removing bacteria, viruses and toxins from your digested food. So your liver is extremely important for overall health.
Your liver loses some of this capacity to remove toxins as you age. There is also a genetic variability for how well your body can remove toxins from your body through your liver. But there are certain foods and nutrients that can help you restore detoxification.
How Alcohol Impacts Your Liver and Overall Health
It is thought that one drink a day for a fully grown man is safe. More than two drinks a day becomes dangerous. For women it’s one drink a day or less. Alcohol is toxic and causes inflammation, can damage the digestive tract, can damage the liver and all types of ramifications come out of that damage.
When you drink alcohol, the liver converts it to aldehydes. Some of them are very common, like formaldehyde. But the liver converts alcohol to acetaldehyde, which is about 30 times more toxic than the original alcohol. This is what is pretty much responsible for your hang over. The effect of alcohol on your brain in the first place includes being severely dehydrated. But you can breakdown these aldehydes and help prevent a hangover.
Natural Ways to Support a Healthy Liver
To complete this breakdown, you have to increase the activity of an enzyme in your liver called aldehyde dehydrogenase. The best way to do that is by taking certain nutrients before bed, after drinking.
If you have Vitamin B6, it will help. But the supplement NAC, which is actually very good for the liver and the brain, is great at 600mg. And another nutrient which from the tea plant – L-Theanine – at 200mg, with a snack is another great option. This will stimulate the breakdown of aldehyde and converts it into something similar to vinegar – benign and won’t hurt you. This can help prevent a hangover.
