Your liver can be compared to a huge chemical factory that supplies a whole city with its functional (metabolic) needs. It has been said that it would
require 500 acres of land to build such a factory. Your liver has so many different functions that researchers still haven’t discovered them all. It is enough to say that we should take care of this most precious organ.
The liver is the largest organ in your body and carries on the most functions. It is situated mostly on your right side beneath your diaphragm, level with the bottom of your sternum. The bottom of the liver is concave and covers your stomach, duodenum (the first portion of the small intestines) , hepatic flexure of the colon (upper right turn), right adrenal gland, and the upper portion of the right kidney. Your liver has four lobes and is covered by a thick, tough, fibrous membrane called the Glisson’s capsule.
All your blood vessels and hepatic ducts enter the liver at the hilus. There are many small intrahepatic bile ducts running through the liver, all leading
into the main hepatic duct, which joins the cystic duct from the gallbladder, which then forms the “common bile duct.” This common bile duct then enters
the upper portion of your small intestine, called the duodenum, at the papilla of Vater. This is the main digestive area of the body.
Functions of the Liver
CONVERSIONS, SYNTHESIS, BIOLOGICAL TRANSMUTATIONS
The liver stores glycogen, and when your blood glucose levels drop, it will convert this stored fat (glycogen) into glucose again. If our glycogen reserves are depleted, it will convert other fats and even stored amino acids into glucose. This shows you that the number one priority of your body is the need for fuels for energy (glucose/fructose).
AMINO ACID METABOLISM
Synthesis of non-essential amino acids. Will convert amino acids into glucose (energy) if needed. (It is not recommended to allow your body to get this far in its energy needs.) Forms urea from excess amino acids and ammonia.
CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM
Converts monosaccharides (other than glucose) into glucose.
Excessive glucose is converted and stored as glycogen, and vice versa.
FAT METABOLISM
Cholesterol is synthesized for new cell growth and steroid production. Lipo proteins, which are transporters of fat, are synthesized.
Fatty acids are converted to acetyl groups or ketones, which are used for energy. Bile pigments, including bilirubin, are formed from the hemoglobin of old red blood cells. Bile is synthesized for fat emulsifying and alkalizing stomach contents.
SECRETION — Your liver produces and secretes approximately 1 liter of bile per day. Bile is a fat emulsifier and alkalizing agent.
DETOXIFICATION — The liver’s immune (Kupffer) cells digest bacteria, viruses and other pathogens within the blood from the digestive tract. A
healthy liver can metabolize hormones, chemical drugs, and other chemicals to a certain degree. However, our daily ingestion of these substances is more
than most livers can cope with. The liver also produces enzymes to help with the above detoxification process.
Adapted from The Detox Miracle Sourcebook by Robert Morse
3 Stages-3 Phases of Liver Detoxification
- Stage 0 involves the GI Tract, where we have the Gut bacteria and HCL.
- Stage 1 converts the toxin into something less harmful.
- Stage 2 converts the converted intermediary into a water soluble substance
What are some of the essential Nutrients for Liver Detoxification?
- Proteins and water
Important nutrients required by the liver to detox contaminants are proteins and water, since the former provide amino acids and enzymes, while the latter provides oxygen,hydrogen and hydroxyl groups as well as a degradation medium for toxic agents.
- Zinc is needed to activate alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme required to transform hydroxylated toxins from their alcohol form into an aldehyde form using coenzyme NAD.
- Molybdenum to activate the enzyme aldehyde oxidase.
- Copper and Magnesium
- Iron is needed for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase for hydroxylation and dehalogenation reduction.
- Vitamins B1,B2, B3 are also used as co-factors.
Antioxidants
- Glutathione, Vitamin A (Carotene), Vitamin C, Vitamin E ( Tocopherol), Coenzyme Q10, Folic acid, and Thiols.
- Sulfur compound from Garlic and cruciferous vegetables,
- Source of a phytochemical Limonene ( citrus fruits like lemons ( zest especially), oranges, tangerines, black pepper, celery, dill, fennel, caraway),
- 3 branched chain amino acids ( BCAA ) leucine, Isoleucine and Valine (3 of the 12 essential amino acids) are required to stimulate protein synthesis from various gene expression associated with the detox process.
Stages 2, Liver Detox Nutrients
- Amino Acids
- Glycine, Taurine ( essential), Glutamine and N-acetylcysteine, cysteine and Methionine.
- Food sources: sunflower seeds, legumes and oat bran.
- Methionine: High protein foods, e.g nuts; using folate, vitamin B6 and B12 as cofactors. (chickpeas,pinto beans), lentils, spinach, avocado, bananas).
Glycine rich foods include high protein foods such as spinach, kale, cauliflower,cabbage,pumpkin,banana,kiwi, cucumber and beans.
Antioxidant Rich Foods
•Help protect your body against free radicals
•Goji Berries
•WIld Blueberries
•Pecans
•Artichoke
•Elderberries
•Blackberries
•Kidney Beans
Glutathione
This is the master antioxidant and act as the main detoxification agent in the system.
Food Sources:
•Sulfur rich compounds (cruciferous family) -garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.)
Herbs for the Liver
- Bolivian Sunflower
- Milk Thistle, a very interesting herbal medicine is the liver’s best friend,since its flavonoids called Silymarin supports the liver detox capability by preventing glutathione depletion in the liver cells and increases glutathione status within the liver.
- Turmeric that contains Curcumin is infamous for its anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties, also enhances glutathione, providing additional benefit toward liver detox.
- Borage
- Dandelion
- Gentian
- Albizia
- Tamarind fruits
Unhealthful habits of every order — late hours at night, late hours in bed in the morning, rapid eating — are to be overcome. Masticate your food thoroughly. Let there be no hurried eating. Have your room well ventilated day and night, and perform useful physical labor. Tight-lacing is a sin, and will bring its sure results. The lungs, the liver, and the heart need all the room the Lord has provided for them. Your Creator understood how much room the heart and liver require in order to act their part in the human organism. Let not Satan tempt you to crowd the delicate organs, so that they shall be trammeled in their work. {YI, April 7, 1898 par. 8}
