Caring For Our Liver

Our liver is an amazing organ. It scrutinizes and analyzes everything that passes our mouths and enters our bodies. It is the largest organ in our bodies, and thousands of biochemical mechanisms take place in it on a daily basis. The brain is the only organ in our bodies more complex than our liver. The blood from our intestines is filtered through the liver. The liver produces bile, changes toxic substances into non-toxic, and stops disease-causing microorganisms in their tracks. Our liver is also responsible for synthesizing essential compounds and nutrients, regulating our glucose levels, storing fat-soluble vitamins, regulating our hormone levels and the heat and energy present in our bodies. Most of the time we take our liver for granted. However, damage to our liver may sometimes be repaired as it is the only organ other than our skin which can repair itself. The herb milk thistle can be the liver’s best friend and help in that healing process.

The use of milk thistle dates back to AD. 23-79 when Pliny the Elder, an early Roman writer, documented how the juice of milk thistle mixed with honey was used for carrying off bile according to Today’s Herbal Health author Louise Tenny, M.H. Tenny also writes that in 1597, an herbalist, Gerarde, considered milk thistle to be one of the best remedies for melancholy and liver related diseases.

Since that time clinical studies and pharmacological research, along with controlled clinical trails, have proved the value of this common herb. A complex of flavonolignans also known as silymarin is responsible for the healing properties in milk thistle. These compounds are silybin, silychristin and silydianin. Silymarin is a powerful antioxidant which protects the liver from damage. The silymarin in milk thistle stimulates protein synthesis and promotes cell-regeneration. One can see how valuable this herb may be in today’s toxic world.

Natural health practitioners of this modern day are well aware of the toll taken on our livers. Stress, hormones in today’s food, pesticides, and chemicals in and out of the home and excessive fat intake may be hard on the liver. If we want a healthy lifestyle we must consider our livers. In his report Herbs and Liver Health, Michael Tierra L.Ac., O.M.D. states that the botanical extract of choice in Germany for use in supporting a healthy liver is milk thistle botanical extract. An extract with a minimum of seventy percent silymarin is recommended with a clinical dose of 420mg of milk thistle extract taken daily.

The extract of milk thistle seeds is probably the most researched of all botanicals which support the liver. It seems this extract stimulates the regeneration of hepatocytes as well as its ability to scavenge free radicals which may prevent damage. Modern research has proved the value of milk thistle and its contribution to a healthy liver.
Believe it or not, a cleansed liver is important to weight loss.

Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S., C.N.S. discusses the knowledge she acquired early on in her career. In her book The Fat Flush Plan, she tells the story of visiting the Parcells School of Scientific Nutrition in Albuquerque, New Mexico Dr. Hazel Parcells inspired her to become a nutritionist. Dr. Parcells lived to be 106 and was a true pioneer in natural medicine. Ann Louise Gittleman learned that there is a surprising connection between weight loss and the liver. The liver is the key organ for fat metabolism. Bile secreted by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, helps break down fats. If lacking certain nutrients that make up the bile salts, bile cannot do its job. Also if the bile gets congested or thick with toxins, chemicals, drugs, heavy metals or excess sex hormones, function is slow. “Liver loving” foods may help. Lecithin is a fat emulsifier. By adding lecithin-rich eggs to the diet and drinking lemon water, another bile thinner, cholesterol may drop along with the weight. It worked for Ann Louise Gittleman.

Our livers are important to our bodies functioning properly and without interruption. Let’s take care of our livers. If we want good health we owe that much to this liver of life.

This information is not meant to diagnose, treat or prescribe in any way. Until next time I am wishing for you good health. You may contact me at littleherbshoppe@hotmail.com