Liver Health – Ask a Naturopath

Let’s face it, we live in a toxic world and are exposed to a whole plethora of toxins on a daily basis. These toxins need to be broken down by our systems and safely excreted otherwise they will have negative implications on your health and be stored to prevent any further damage.

The liver has a very important role in the overall functioning of the body and its vitality levels. Some of its functional roles are:

hepatic involvement – conversion of oestradiol and oestrone to oestriol
conversion of oestrogens to form glucoronides and sulfates via excretion (sulphation pathways)
detoxification of xenoestrogens, drugs, chemicals and poisons
homocysteine metabolism
production of bile
break down, excretion and recycling of hormones

WHAT ARE TOXINS?

Common toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis come from many varying sources. Environmental pollution if you live in cities or developed areas or pesticides and agricultural chemicals if you live in the countryside. If you consume a lot of non-organic food items, consistently use cleaning chemicals, cosmetics and hair colouring solutions, perfumes and deodorants, soaps and shampoos. The consumption of food additives and then there is the by-products from food processing and cooking, heavy metals, plastics, Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s from carpets and plastics), paints, cooking utensils. Also pharmaceutical medicines, recreational drugs, sunscreens and even your own metabolic wastes create inflammation and stress on the elimination organs.

Certain toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides are difficult for the body to metabolise so they are stored in fatty tissues to protect them from damaging the system. Over time these toxins degrade the fatty tissues in the nervous system and brain leading to a range of neurological conditions.

HOW ARE TOXINS CLEARED FROM THE BODY?

Once a toxin enters your system it needs to be metabolised. Once it is absorbed into the blood circulation your antioxidant defences will attempt to neutralise the toxins. They will then enter the liver where several mechanisms are in place the deal with toxins. Your channels of elimination (kidney’s, lymph, skin and bowels) will attempt to excrete the remaining metabolised chemicals through your urine, faeces and sweat. If these organs are congested and sub-optimal in their role of elimination then the toxins are quite often resorbed into the system and a higher level of homocysteine is created.

Apart from accumulating in fatty tissues toxins also trigger elevated levels of inflammation, block endocrine hormone receptor sites, increase immune reactions increasing autoimmune and allergy reactions, aggravate nervous tissues leading to irritability and poor sleep patterns.

So essentially toxins can impact on every body function. Your particular genetic weaknesses tend to be the first area to be affected. If you are prone to allergies then this may be the first symptoms, if you are prone to arthritis this may be affected. If you are prone to hormonal imbalances, then this may be an issue. But toxins can literally influence each and every condition in the body. This is why a well-constructed, safe cleansing program is beneficial for all health conditions.

HOMOCYSTEINE

Homocysteine is an intermediary toxic substance produced in the metabolism of sulphur proteins. The levels are largely determined by nutritional status and lifestyle choices. Lifestyle choices that increase homocysteine are:

consumption of coffee and alcohol and
smoking
nutritionally low levels of folic acid, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6

High levels of homocysteine are implicated in:

heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis
high cholesterol and atherosclerosis
chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia
kidney stones
hearing and memory loss
dementia and alzheimers disease
depression
Parkinson’s disease
miscarriages
psoriasis
autoimmune diseases.

HORMONAL CONDITIONS

With many hormonal conditions you need to consider toxins affecting hormone receptor sites. This reaction creates mixed signals to the endocrine system as well as irritation to the nervous tissues and also impact the liver’s ability to metabolise hormones. It is very common in women who have severe hormonal issues that they genetically are prone to incomplete hormone metabolism.

With millions of hormone receptors in the body, the level of environmental hormone mimics from petrochemicals, pesticides, plastics and cleaning products affect endocrine function. These chemicals bind to hormone receptor sites effectively creating overstimulation of these receptors activating one of the hormones functions to gain weight. Women are extremely sensitive to the level of environmental toxicity.

INCREASED TOXINS

The world around us has concentrated chemicals in the atmosphere. We breathe them, they soak into our skin and we eat them. Chemicals which are unnatural to the body create chaos within and cause a multitude of conditions and illnesses. Post-industrialisation sees the world filled with harmful chemicals and pollutants which are often contained in skin products, plastics, foods, pesticides and water.

Now with the latest fad to detoxify, many people can make themselves worse through a poorly prepared and planed detoxification. Toxins can be concentrated in the body and when you overstimulate this process your body can dump the toxins into your system causing damage. If your digestion and elimination organs are not functioning optimally then you can actually make your health worse. So here are some steps to safely detoxify your system.

Toxins from all sources and of all types will accumulate in your system. It’s a fact of nature in the world we live and unavoidable completely. How your body reacts to these toxins is important to note. Some people will live their entire life with elevated heavy metal levels and never have an issue. Others will have minor exposure and react badly. It’s just the luck of the draw.

SUPPORT FOR BETTER LIVER DETOXIFICATION

Liver support – the liver requires amino acids primarily from protein to work during a cleanse but you can’t have proteins on the cleanse.
Alkalising to minimise the detox symptoms it is important to keep your system in an alkaline state. Green superfood powders are a good way to do this. We recommend alkalising greens for this process.
Antioxidants – apart from a diet high in antioxidant foods it helps to flood your system with additional plant-based antioxidants. We suggest the Antiox reds for this process
Fibre – to maintain regular bowel function then you need to load your system with lots of fibre. This may occur naturally with the change in diet, but if it does not try chia and basil seeds soaked, psyllium husks or a gentle fibre supplement to help bind to and clear any toxins released
Increase cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) to your daily food intake to help support liver clearing of wates.
Herbal medicines – Taraxacum officinalis (Dandelion Root), Silybum marianum (St Marys Thistle), Articum lappa (Burdock) and Cichorium intybus (Chicory)
Consider a gentle cleanse regime to increase the elimination of toxins (endogenous oestrogen, pesticides, smoking, alcohol, heavy metals)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE CLEANSE OUR BODY?

As toxins begin to come out of your system often your symptoms will exacerbate as they are the cause of your symptoms in the first place. You will also notice a feeling of slight nausea sometimes and headaches are common. Generally, you will sleep very well and soundly. Low energy levels are common during this time so make sure you can rest.

Emotionally you may go through a rollercoaster ride. The deprivation of your favourite foods has one influence, the withdrawal of processed foods has another impact and your body also releases stored emotions as well. Once you pass through this phase you will feel like a burden has been lifted from your shoulders, energy levels will rise and your motivation levels at an all-time high.

Enjoy the process and feel the benefits of releasing many of these stored toxins. It is beneficial to follow a detoxification process at least once to twice yearly.