Liver Support 101: How to Help Your Liver Through Diet, Herbs & Lifestyle
Dr. Miranda Wiley, B.Sc., NDAll of our organs are important and have their jobs to do to keep us alive and healthy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine this glorious season of spring is associated with the liver, so it seems like an apt time to sing the praises of this amazing organ.
Our livers are the COOs, or Chief Operations Officers, of our bodies. They handle about 500 different functions to keep up ticking along, but in the interest of time we’ll just focus on a few of the most important aspects of liver function!
The Basics: What Does The Liver Do?
The liver controls what enters into our blood stream, and therefore what can reach our cells, through a process known as “first pass”. Anything and everything that we consume through our mouths, be that a food, medication, toxin, herb, or nutrient, that is then absorbed through the small intestine into the blood goes straight to the liver for assessment and permission to enter. No passing “go”, no collecting $200, unless the liver says it’s okay.
The liver also plays a part in what and how waste leaves our bodies. It constantly cleans unwanted compounds from our systems and does what is needed so that they can be eliminated through urine and/or stool.
The Liver and Digestion
Some molecules that enter the liver from the digestive tract, such as fats, proteins, carbs, vitamins, minerals, and other food-based nutrients are given the green light and allowed passage into the blood in order to provide energy and nourishment to our bodies.
The cells of the liver produce small amounts of bile that then travel down the bile ducts towards the gall bladder for storage – I think of how tiny snowflakes melt into a droplet of water that then merges with other droplets forming larger and larger rivulets as they connect while heading to their final destination.
Bile is an emulsifier, which means that it makes fats soluble in water… like dish soap! All the hot water in the world isn’t going to wash away grease, but when dish soap is added along with some scrubbing to bring it into contact with the fat molecules – Ta dah! The fats “dissolve” in the water and are carried away.
Likewise, bile turns fats and fat-soluble vitamins from our diet (vitamins A, D, E, and K) into water-soluble droplets that our digestive enzymes can then act on so that we can absorb those nutrients from our food. Without sufficient bile flow digestion can feel “heavy” or uncomfortable, or may cause burping or reflux.
The Liver and Energy Regulation
When glucose from food arrives at the liver for first-pass processing some will be granted entry into the bloodstream to provide energy to the cells, and some will be stored as glycogen in preparation for potential future food scarcity. Glycogen is also stored in the muscles and can be broken down into glucose molecules again as needed. It’s as though the glucose molecules are individual beads, and the liver organizes them into necklaces to keep the energy tidy and easy to access down the road when necessary.
The Liver and Detoxification
Some molecules that we ingest are immediately identified as toxic by the liver and shunted over to detoxification pathways for removal. They are not allowed into the precious bloodstream where they could access all of our beautiful cells! And on top of what’s arriving fresh every day the liver is also filtering our circulating blood in order to remove metabolic waste released from our multitude of cells doing their myriad of tasks.
These dangerous compounds may be dealt with by the liver in a few different ways. The specifics on how the liver detoxifies are not as important as the gratitude that we should have for our livers keeping us safe from harm to the best of their ability!
Thank You Liver! How Can I Help?
We can work with our livers or against them with the choices that we make each day.
Liver support & our diet
1. Minimize chemicals
Wash all produce before consuming it. Water is great but a baking soda solution may be even more effective in removing pesticides (1). Choose organic when you can, particularly for fruits and veggies that have edible peels. Peel when necessary.
2. Minimize alcohol
This shouldn’t be new information! We know that excessive alcohol is a burden on the liver that can contribute to liver damage and disease (2).
3. Minimize sugar and refined or highly processed foods
Once the blood is full of glucose and the liver is full of glycogen any additional sugars are converted into fats. This is contributing to a rise in NAFLD, or Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (3) in the Western world.
4. Maximize whole food nutrition
Most liver toxins do their damage through oxidative stress on the liver cells (4,5). Consuming an antioxidant-rich diet can help to offset that oxidation (6).
Herbal liver support
1. Milk thistle
Milk thistle is often the first herb we think of when we think “liver health”. It’s so well known that it even shows up in medical dramas!
Milk thistle appears to be so wonderful by being antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic (anti-scar formation in damaged livers) (7). It is considered “hepatoprotective” meaning that its primary role is in protecting the liver (7).
2. Cholagogues
“Cholagogues” and “Choleretics” = herbs that encourage the production and flow of bile
There are many herbs that fit these categories. Key ones that are found in the Wild Rose Liver Support kit include barberry (Berberis vulgaris) and dandelion (Taraxacum off.) (8).
Lifestyle tips for liver support
1. Castor oil packs
Castor oil packs are an easy, albeit sometimes messy, home treatment to support liver health. Apply 1 tablespoon of castor oil to the abdomen between the bra-line and the waist, cover with a clean cloth that you’re okay to have oil stained. An old pillowcase or tea towel works well. Rest and allow the oil to penetrate the skin.
2. Liver Support kit
Periodic focused attention on the liver as in the form of the Wild Rose Liver Support kit! The spring is a great time for this, but it’s available any time you want it.
- Biliherb – to improve bile flow
- Milk thistle plus – for some liver-specific love and attention
- C-Herbaplex – antioxidant support for the whole body including the liver
The kit may be done annually as an act of self-care, or more frequently if needed. It’s best done AFTER a regular Wild Rose D-Tox or Gentle D-Tox kit to ensure the bowels and kidneys are ready to help remove additional waste from the liver.
3. Emotional work as needed
The liver is associated with anger so use any mindful, intentional efforts at improving your liver health as a chance to process anger healthily as it arises. Reach out to a counsellor or mental-health professional if needed.
Considering all that your liver does for you day in and day out taking a few weeks each year – ideally in the spring but there’s no bad or wrong time - to give your liver some extra love can be a self-kindness and proactive move towards a healthy future. The word “live” is right there in the name of the organ. Let’s live our best lives!
References
- Yang T, Doherty J, Zhao B, Kinchla AJ, Clark JM, He L. Effectiveness of Commercial and Homemade Washing Agents in Removing Pesticide Residues on and in Apples. J Agric Food Chem. 2017 Nov 8;65(44):9744-9752. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03118. Epub 2017 Oct 25. PMID: 29067814.
- Hernández-Évole H, Jiménez-Esquivel N, Pose E, Bataller R. Alcohol-associated liver disease: Epidemiology and management. Ann Hepatol. 2024 Jan-Feb;29(1):101162. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2023.101162. Epub 2023 Oct 12. PMID: 37832648.
- Jensen T, Abdelmalek MF, Sullivan S, Nadeau KJ, Green M, Roncal C, Nakagawa T, Kuwabara M, Sato Y, Kang DH, Tolan DR, Sanchez-Lozada LG, Rosen HR, Lanaspa MA, Diehl AM, Johnson RJ. Fructose and sugar: A major mediator of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol. 2018 May;68(5):1063-1075. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2018.01.019. Epub 2018 Feb 2. PMID: 29408694; PMCID: PMC5893377.
- Yan M, Huo Y, Yin S, Hu H. Mechanisms of acetaminophen-induced liver injury and its implications for therapeutic interventions. Redox Biol. 2018 Jul;17:274-283. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2018.04.019. Epub 2018 Apr 22. PMID: 29753208; PMCID: PMC6006912.
- Romualdo GR, Valente LC, Dos Santos ACS, Grandini NA, Camacho CRC, Vinken M, Cogliati B, Hou DX, Barbisan LF. Effects of glyphosate exposure on western diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2023 Nov;104:104286. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2023.104286. Epub 2023 Oct 5. PMID: 37805155.
- Chen G, Ni Y, Nagata N, Xu L, Ota T. Micronutrient Antioxidants and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2016 Aug 23;17(9):1379. doi: 10.3390/ijms17091379. PMID: 27563875; PMCID: PMC5037659.
- Aghemo A, Alekseeva OP, Angelico F, Bakulin IG, Bakulina NV, Bordin D, Bueverov AO, Drapkina OM, Gillessen A, Kagarmanova EM, Korochanskaya NV, Kucheryavii UA, Lazebnik LB, Livzan MA, Maev IV, Martynov AI, Osipenko MF, Sas EI, Starodubova A, Uspensky YP, Vinnitskaya EV, Yakovenko EP, Yakovlev AA. Role of silymarin as antioxidant in clinical management of chronic liver diseases: a narrative review. Ann Med. 2022 Dec;54(1):1548-1560. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2069854. PMID: 35635048; PMCID: PMC9186366.
- Hoffman, D. Medical Herbalism. Healing Arts Press, 2003. Pp 503-504.
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