Liver Detoxification Article 1
Liver Detoxification
Article 1
There are two specific types of toxins, environmental and bacterial toxins, and your liver plays a crucial role in eliminating them both from your body. Environmental toxins are exogenous, which means that they develop from external factors. They are inhaled, absorbed and ingested everyday by way of polluted air, water, soil and toxicity via processed foods and substances. These exposures quadruple by smoking, overindulging in alcohol & recreational drugs, taking certain medications, making poor dietary decisions, not drinking enough water and using products that contain harmful chemicals. Bacterial toxins are endogenous, which means that they develop from internal factors. These toxins are the result of poor digestions and gut imbalance. These toxins can damage the mucosal lining of the intestine. When this happens intestinal wall permeability increases, allowing toxins to enter the bloodstream, giving these toxins systemic access to the rest of the body. This is the mechanism of the “leaky gut” syndrome that many care providers refer to.
Both environmental and bacterial toxins are passed from the intestines to the liver, via the portal vein, where they can be detoxified. Due to poor lifestyle choices the liver becomes the most overworked organ in the human body. Even so, the liver can still continue to function when as much as 70% of its capacity has been lost. If the liver is not working properly and has become sluggish due to toxic overload, toxins can accumulate and cause both inflammation and systemic oxidative stress. The human body can then suffer from cell damage from free radicals. Chronic cell damage from chronic inflammation due to toxic overload is a major contributing factor in the development of lifestyle related disease. I’ve written this article to educate the community about how the liver is involved in the detoxification of the human body and how to try and avoid toxic overload: a silent killer plaguing people world wide.
The liver performs over five hundred known bodily functions. The primary function is the management of the body’s detoxification process. Along with the kidneys, colon, skin and lungs, the liver is one of the body’s major organs for elimination. Bile secretion is also one of the liver’s most vital functions. A healthy liver can manufacture about a quart of bile each day and bile is critically important as it is a carrier medium for the elimination of toxins from the human body. The liver transforms fat-soluble toxins into (Phase 1) water-soluble molecules so that the kidneys can release them via urination from the human body and (Phase 2) bile for elimination via the colon. Both Phase 1 and Phase 2 are heavily dependent upon the availability of specific micronutrients. In the absence of any of these micronutrients both phases of the liver’s detoxification process will be impaired. More on micronutrients in future articles.
Most people that experience health problems that are liver related have an overload of toxins coming into Phase 1, which can further lead to depressed Phase 2 function. Because environmental toxins are ubiquitous in the modern world impaired liver function is rampant and people who consider themselves to be healthy often suffer from symptoms that they don’t correlate with having poor liver function. Some symptoms include allergies, chemical sensitivities, digestive issues, fatigue, pain on the right side of the body, poor tolerance of fatty foods, skin problems, weak tendons-ligaments-muscles, nausea, insomnia/or difficulty with sleep and emotional stress due to Liver Qi Stagnation.
So that you have some information about toxic overload of the liver, what can you do to avoid the toxic overload from getting worse? First, drink plenty of water. The average person should drink at least 1.25 ounces of water per kilogram of body weight daily. Second, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables dense with both water and fiber. Water helps to dilute toxins and fiber will escort toxins out of the body. Third, reduce your intake of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, chemicals, food additives and unfiltered water. Lastly, hyperalimentate with some key micronutrients to help encourage your liver to heal. Below is a list of a few micronutrients that are necessary for the liver to carry out normal everyday duties:
L-Methionine: is an amino acid used by the liver to create glutathione, the body’s main detoxifying antioxidant. Supplementing with L-Methionine can help raise glutathione levels and support the natural detoxification functions of the liver.
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC): The liver also uses NAC to create glutathione. Supplementing with NAC can also support the liver.
Alpha Lipoic Acid: is an antioxidant that helps to revitalize glutathione and it supports the anti-toxin activities of the liver.
Selenium: is a mineral found in soil, however most of soil is barren these days. Selenium naturally aids the antioxidants of the body to function better overall.
A few other important micronutrients necessary for optimal liver function: Copper, Magnesium, Zinc and Vitamin C. There will be several future articles related to liver detoxification and micronutrients. Please read to learn more.
