How to Save Your Liver and Reinvigorate Your Health
It is Liver Health Month here in Canada, and this provides an opportunity to discuss one of the most important organs in your body. The liver performs a variety of essential functions, including detoxifying your blood, processing nutrients, and producing bile, but are we giving it the care it needs?
A healthy liver is crucial for maintaining good health and there are many things you can do to keep your liver functioning well, including eating a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and getting regular exercise.
Role and functions
The liver is responsible for a variety of critical functions, including:
Detoxifying your blood – The liver helps rid your body of toxins by filtering your blood. It processes wastes and filters out harmful substances, including drugs and alcohol.
Processing nutrients – The liver helps your body to digest food and absorb the nutrients it needs. It also produces certain blood proteins and cholesterol.
Producing bile – Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid that helps your body digest fats in the small intestine. It also removes excess cholesterol from the liver.
Manufactures proteins - Albumin and other proteins are responsible for transporting many critical nutrients and enzymes around the body. They are also critical for managing plasma pressure, balancing pH and prevents fluids from leaking into other tissues.
Regulates blood sugar – It helps the body control glucose (blood sugar) levels.
Produces urea - It is a product of protein metabolism that occurs in the liver and is excreted in urine. As such, urea levels can indicate how well the liver is functioning. Urea cycle disorders are a serious groups of maladies that can be fatal if left untreated.
Helps the body produce cholesterol, which helps grow healthy cell membranes and nerve cells in children.
Regulates hormone balance – It helps to regulate your hormones, which helps promote healthy fetal development during pregnancy.
Symptoms of an impaired or damaged liver
There are a few medical signs and symptoms of a damaged liver. These can include jaundice, dark urine, itchy skin, pale stools, swollen abdomen, and fatigue. Sometimes, there are no external symptoms. This is what makes it important to have your liver enzymes checked every now and then.
A Liver at Risk: Common diseases and conditions
A healthy liver is crucial for maintaining good health, but many Canadians struggle with unhealthy livers. There are a number of different liver diseases, and they can range in severity from mild to life-threatening. Some of the most common liver diseases include:
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) – NAFLD is the most common liver disease in Canada. It is caused by a build-up of fat in the liver, and it can lead to cirrhosis and other serious health problems. In fact, about one in three Canadians have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Common risk factors include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.
• Alcoholic liver disease – Alcoholic liver disease is caused by excessive alcohol consumption. It can lead to cirrhosis, fatty liver, and other serious health problems. According to the Canadian Liver Foundation, alcoholic liver disease is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver failure in Canada.
• Cirrhosis – Cirrhosis is a serious condition that occurs when liver scar tissue replaces healthy liver cells. It can lead to a number of serious complications, including scarring of the kidneys and brain, and in some cases it can be fatal.
• Hepatitis – There are five different types of hepatitis, all of which are caused by infections that affect the liver. In most cases, hepatitis is a temporary illness that does not cause any lasting damage to the body. However, certain forms of hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis or other chronic diseases.
• Hemochromatosis – This is a genetic disorder that causes the body to absorb too much iron. It typically affects Caucasians and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and heart disease.
• Autoimmune hepatitis – Autoimmune hepatitis is an autoimmune disorder that leads to inflammation and scarring of the liver. The exact cause of autoimmune hepatitis is unknown, but its symptoms can be managed.
• Primary biliary cirrhosis – Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic disease that wears down the liver's capability to produce bile over time. Bile helps break down fats in food, and as primary biliary cirrhosis progresses, it can lead to scarring of the liver and cirrhosis.
An uptick in liver disease diagnoses
With incidence of liver disease on the rise, the major question on every researchers mind is - why? A team recently published an article looking at the incidence of cirrhosis in children under 18. They detected a four-fold increase in the number of cirrhosis diagnoses, especially in infants and teens. Their data showed that a, "...child born in 2010 was TWICE as likely to be diagnosed with cirrhosis compared to a same aged child born in 2001." [1]
The author of the paper, Mohit Kehar, a clinical researcher with a special interest in paediatric liver disease and a passionate advocate for liver Health Month, noted the increase parallels increases in rates of obesity and diabetes. The increases are well documented with the Childhood Obesity foundation projecting the number of obese children to increase from 150 million in 2019 to 206 million by 2025. [2]
You and your liver deserve that much needed rest!
Many of the conditions that impact the liver have the potential to affect sleep. Studies have shown that poor sleep can lead to a build-up of fat in the liver, which can lead to NAFLD. In part, this is because sleep deprivation can cause problems with hepatocyte function. When you are sleep deprived, your body produces more cytokines, which are inflammatory proteins. This can damage the cells in your liver and lead to liver inflammation. Sleep deprivation can also interfere with the way your liver processes nutrients and eliminates toxins. This can lead to dangerous buildups of chemicals that may cause or worsen a variety of health problems. People who routinely do not get enough sleep often have trouble controlling their weight as well due to changes in glucose and insulin regulation. [3] If you don't get enough sleep, the damage to your liver will eventually catch up to you.
Spice up your life - with turmeric
Turmeric (Curcumin) is a spice that has been used for centuries in Indian cuisine. It has a number of health benefits, including the ability to reduce inflammation. Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory agent, and it has been shown to be as effective as ibuprofen in reducing inflammation. In addition, curcumin can improve liver function and protect the liver from damage through its powerful antioxidant action, helping to neutralize harmful free radicals. Studies have shown that curcumin can help prevent or reverse liver damage caused by alcohol abuse, hepatitis B and C, and other liver diseases. [4, 5]
The wonders of the natural world - milk thistle
In botanical medicine, milk thistle is known as a hepatoprotective due to its antifibrotic, cytoprotective and anticholestatic actions. Milk thistle can also protect the liver from damage due to other factors, such as environmental toxins. Milk thistle's active constituent is silymarin, which has antioxidant properties that can neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress on the liver. Other protective compounds in milk thistle include flavonols, flavone glycosides (such as silybin), silydianin, lactonides and other flavonoids. [6]
Two separate clinical trials from 1981 and 2002 showed its ability to combat liver toxins contributing to alcoholic fatty liver. [7, 8] A more recent trial showed it could help reduce liver inflammation and damage. They showed that one of the herbal compounds, silibinin, appeared in the bile mere hours after administration when combined with phosphatidylcholine. The authors concluded that, "Silibinin has a strong pre-clinical and clinical rationale for its use in the prevention and treatment of liver disorders and cancer." [9]
It is evident that cirrhosis rates are increasing and this is likely due to a combination of factors such as obesity and diabetes. However, there are things you can do to help prevent liver damage and improve your health. One way is to spice up your life with turmeric, which has anti-inflammatory properties. Another is to make sure you get enough sleep, as poor sleep can lead to liver inflammation. Finally, milk thistle can also be beneficial for protecting the liver from damage. So, if you're looking for ways to safeguard your health, these are some good options to consider and you should meet with your ND to discuss.
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What other liver remedies do you find effective?
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References
Kehar, Mohit, Rebecca Griffiths, and Jennifer A. Flemming. "Increasing Incidence of Cirrhosis Over the Past 2 Decades Among Children in Ontario, Canada." Official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology| ACG (2021): 10-14309.
Lobstein, Tim, and Hannah Brinsden. "Atlas of childhood obesity." World Obesity Federation (2019): 211.
Ding, Chenzhao, et al. "Sleep and obesity." Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome 27.1 (2018): 4.
Colpitts, Che C., et al. "Turmeric curcumin inhibits entry of all hepatitis C virus genotypes into human liver cells." Gut 63.7 (2014): 1137-1149.
Farzaei, Mohammad Hosein, et al. "Curcumin in liver diseases: a systematic review of the cellular mechanisms of oxidative stress and clinical perspective." Nutrients 10.7 (2018): 855.
Aziz, Maryam, et al. "Biochemical profile of milk thistle (Silybum Marianum L.) with special reference to silymarin content." Food Science & Nutrition 9.1 (2021): 244-250.
Lucena, M. I., et al. "Effects of silymarin MZ-80 on oxidative stress in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis." International journal of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 40.1 (2002): 2-8.
DiMario, F. R., et al. "The effects of silymarin on the liver function parameters of patients with alcohol-induced liver disease: a double-blind study." Der Toxish-metabolische Leberschaden. Lubek, Germany: Hans Verl-Kontor (1981): 54-58.
Polachi, Navaneethakrishnan, et al. "Modulatory effects of silibinin in various cell signaling pathways against liver disorders and cancer–A comprehensive review." European journal of medicinal chemistry 123 (2016): 577-595.
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