Wake Up Your Sluggish Liver
As your body’s largest internal organ and primary blood-filtering workhorse, your liver is designed by nature to take a beating… but that doesn’t mean that the daily burden can’t catch up with it. Whether it’s from exposure to xenobiotics or other common environmental pollutants, this organ has no shortage of toxins to take on. And with all of your liver’s critical roles—from cholesterol synthesis to bile production for proper fat emulsification—your health can be affected at the first sign of sluggishness.
The most common red flag that your liver might be reaching its limit—and one that affects nearly one-third of all American adults—is inefficient fat metabolism. While the signs may be subtle or even nonexistent, this accumulation of fat can pave the way to imbalanced inflammatory responses, which can consequently affect liver enzyme levels.1 Over time, a sluggish, fat-laden liver will take its toll on numerous systems—making proper nutritional liver support that much more important.
Adequate support for your gallbladder—the small organ responsible for storing, concentrating, and secreting your body’s fat-digesting bile—is also a necessary part of any liver-supporting strategy.2 And luckily, there is a wide array of vitamins, botanicals, and other natural compounds that deliver research-demonstrated benefits to both.
Look to milk thistle extract—and more specifically, its active component silymarin—for superior liver support.3 Research shows that milk thistle offers significant protection from free radicals, which helps to inhibit lipid peroxidation and promotes key detoxification processes, while guarding against the depletion of key antioxidants like glutathione and promoting healthy inflammatory balance and enzyme levels.4-10
Clinical study also indicates that silymarin can promote liver tissue health in the face of toxic assault—naturally contributing to a long, healthy life.11-12
Other natural liver-health solutions include beets, trimethylglycine, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and lipoic acid—all of which have been shown to enhance liver fat metabolism and lipid processing, thereby balancing fat deposition in this important organ.13-16 At the same time, vitamins B1 and B12 can help to keep your liver’s inflammatory responses in check—while phosphatidylcholine (PC) can enhance liver cell health and promote efficient liver function.17-20
PC also offers key bile-flow support to your gallbladder—as does milk thistle, along with artichoke and dandelion root extracts.21-23 Similarly, vitamin C can promote cholesterol conversion and guard against gallbladder deposits, especially along with the mineral magnesium—while taurine plays a crucial role in healthy bile production.24-26
All of the nutrients and botanicals mentioned above can be combined to furnish this team of organs with comprehensive daily support that’s designed to keep your gallbladder’s bile stores flowing and your liver’s fat stores in check. And that’s why you’ll find them featured in two complementary formulas—Liver Support Formula™ and Gallbladder Formula—available from Complementary Prescriptions®.
References:
1. Sanyal AJ. American Gastroenterological Association: AGA technical review on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (national guidelines). Gastroenterology. 2002;123:1705-1725.
2. Thibodeau GA, Patton KT. Anatomy & Physiology, 5th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2003.
3. Silybum marianum (milk thistle) monograph. Altern Med Rev. 1999;4(4):272-274.
4. Wagner H. Plant constituents with antihepatotoxic activity. In: Beal JL, Reinhard E (eds). Natural Products as Medicinal Agents. Stuttgart: Heppokrates-Verlag; 1981.
5. Bosisio E, Benelli C, Pirola O, et al. Effect of the flavonolignans of Silybum marianum L. on lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes and freshly isolated hepatocytes. Pharmacol Res. 1992;25:147-154.
6. Baer-Dubowska W, Szaefer H, Drajka-Kuzniak V. Inhibition of murine hepatic cytochrom P450 activities by natural and synthetic phenolic compounds. Xenobiotica. 1998;28:735-743.
7. Roundtree R. The Use of Phytochemicals in the Biotransformation and Elimination of Environmental Toxins. IN Medicines from the Earth 2003: Official Proceedings. Brevard, North Carolina: Gaia Herbal Research Institute; 2003:115-128.
8. Halim AB, el-Ahmady O, Hassab-Allah S, et al. Biochemical effect of antioxidants on lipids and liver function in experimentally-induced liver damage. Ann Clin Biochem. 1997;34:656-663.
9. Campos R, Garido A, Guerra R, et al. Silybin dihemisuccinate protects against glutathione depletion and lipid peroxidation induced by acetaminophen on rat liver. Planta Med. 1989;55:417-419.
10. Magliulo E, Gagliardi B, Fiori GP. Results of a double blind study on the effect of silymarin in the treatment of acute viral hepatitis, carried out at two medical centres. Med Klin. 1978;73:1060-1065.
11. Feher I, Deak G, Muzes G. LKiver protective action of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases. Ovr Hetil. 1989;130:2723-2727.
12. Ferenci P, Dragosics B, Dittrich H, et al. Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. J Hepatol. 1989;9:105-113.
13. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
14. Kathirvel E, Morgan K, Nandgiri G, et al. Betaine improves nonalcoholic fatty liver and associated hepatic insulin resistance: a potential mechanism for hepatoprotection by betaine. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2010;299(5):G1068-77.
15. Baumgardner JN, Shankar K, Hennings L, Albano E, Badger TM, Ronis MJ. N-acetylcysteine attenuates progression of liver pathology in a rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. J Nutr. 2008;138(10):1872-9.
16. Park KG, Min AK, Koh EH, et al. Alpha-lipoic acid decreases hepatic lipogenesis through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent and AMPK-independent pathways. Hepatology. 2008;48(5):1477-86.
17. Wallace AE, Weeks WB. Thiamine treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection. Am J Gastroenterol. 2001;96:864-8.
18. Campbell RE, Pruitt FW. Vitamin B12 in the treatment of viral hepatitis. Am J Med Sci. 1952;224:252-62.
19. Campbell RE, Pruitt FW. The effect of vitamin B12 and folic acid in the treatment of viral hepatitis. Am J Med Sci. 1955;229:8-15.
20. Ma X, Zhao J, Lieber CS. Polyenylphosphatidylcholine attenuates non-alcoholic hepatic fibrosis and accelerates its regression. J Hepatol. 1996;24:604–13.
21. Kasbo J, Tuchweber B, Perwaiz S, et al. Phosphatidylcholine-enriched diet prevents gallstone formation in mice susceptible to cholelithiasis. J Lipid Res. 2003 Dec;44(12):2297-303.
22. Kraft K. Artichoke leaf extract- recent findings reflecting effects on lipid metabolism, liver and gastrointestinal tracts. Phytomedicine. 1997;4:369-78.
23. Vogel G. Natural substances with effects on the liver. In: Wagner H, Wolff P (eds). New Natural Products and Plant Drugs with Pharmacological, Biological or Therapeutic Activity. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 1977.
24. Gustafsson U, Wang F-H, Axelson M, et al. The effect of vitamin C in high doses on plasma and biliary lipid composition in patients with cholesterol gallstones: prolongation of the nucleation time. Eur J Clin Invest. 1997;27:387-91.
25. Ortega RM, Fernández-Azuela M, Encinas-Sotillos A, Andrés P, López-Sobaler AM. Differences in diet and food habits between patients with gallstones and controls. J Am Coll Nutr. 1997;16(1):88-95.
26. Anon. Taurine involvement in retinal and heart muscle function. Nutr Rev. 1975;33:343-7.
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