A Little Love for your Liver

Before we begin, yes, your liver spends its 24-hour day running your detox operation. It does that for you. No questions asked, no matter your lifestyle.

However, your environment, diet and lifestyle will either give it a hell of a lot more to cope with than needs be or will help it out and make life a relative walk in the park. Essentially, it will keep doing the job until it can't, but what you do with yourself will dictate how well and for how long it can actually do the job effectively.

Many environmental factors can affect liver function. In the modern world, they generally give it more to do. Think pollution from traffic, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in household (and office or workplace) cleaning products, detergents and body care products, xenoestrogenic (hormone mimicking) compounds in body care products and plastic food and drink packaging, pesticides on food and in the air, workplace chemicals in some industries (think industrial plants, agricultural settings, hairdressers, leisure centres and basically anywhere with a COSHH requirement).

Some soaps, especially antibacterial ones containing either triclosan or triclocarbon, can have a very high load of endocrine (hormone) disrupting ingredients. Household moulds can also cause problems. For a sensitive person, even a couple of specks of black on a condensation-prone window could cause an issue. For others, it would need to be a higher load. Parasites are worth a mention here as well. Generally arriving from our environment, they can be incredibly disruptive to the normal, healthy functioning of our liver.

These are things we come into contact with every single day, whether we like it or not, whether we plan to or not, and it is worth remembering that this is the baseline our liver is dealing with.

Add to this our lifestyle.

These may not be things which feel entirely in our control, such as shift work, prescription medications we rely on, the amount of movement we can cram into our already hectic schedules, the quality and quantity of sleep, etc.

Others, we absolutely do. Such as our alcohol consumption, non-prescription substances we imbibe, our reliance on soft drinks, our caffeine habit, whether we smoke or vape, the volume of processed sugar and fat we consume, whether we eat any fresh protein or plants each day, our hydration, our mineral consumption (specifically magnesium and sulphur). Some coffee can be good for the right liver, but too much coffee is never good for the whole person.

Your liver is doing its best by this point, but it's probably starting to phone it in in terms of performance reviews...

If your diet lacks plants, contains more processed/smoked meat options than fresh, lots of processed carbs and 'convenience' foods, then we're not here to judge. Life is hectic, high-pressure, and we're often time-poor. We get it. Your liver, on the other hand, is absolutely giving you massive side eye right now.

To start with, if you take medications, most of those need to be activated by being processed in the liver. They don't work in their 'before' state. For transformation, your liver requires nutrients which run those pathways. It needs protein, quality protein. It needs magnesium. It needs sulphur compounds, along with a ton of B vitamins and some other bits. If you're not giving it these building blocks, then it's definitely making do as best it can, but probably isn't giving you all it's got at this point.

You can cover off the main things your liver needs to do its job by making sure you're hydrated by something other than latte, cappucino and builders tea, getting good quality protein (for the amino acids), dark green leafy veg and/or eggs (for the sulphur), your dark green veg will also help out with magnesium and the eggs with choline, complex carbohydrates for your B vits and minerals and maybe some nuts and seeds for additional fats and minerals. Maximise these wherever you can, and your liver will already be thanking you for the support #bestbossever

There are lots of supplements out there which are known to have a benefit for the liver, so let's break down the basic functions so you can see if they fit your needs:

Betaine (also trimethylglycine aka TMG) - it can help to reduce fat accumulation in the liver, reduce fibrosis and inflammation, protects the liver against toxins like alcohol and acts as an antioxidant. It also helps out with metabolic health (glucose management), which has a knock-on benefit for liver health.

Choline - is essential for healthy fat metabolism in the liver. Choline also reduces damage to the liver and has a role in preventing fat accumulation in the liver. It's essential for breaking down cholesterol and, therefore, for helping your liver to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Magnesium - your liver uses magnesium in over 300 enzyme reactions every day. That's 300 functions magnesium plays already. It also protects cell function in the liver, reduces inflammation, reduces oxidative stress and improves insulin sensitivity.

Milk Thistle - can help to regenerate liver tissue! It also protects against toxin damage and reduces inflammation, supports detoxification of heavy metals, alcohol and environmental pollutants.

Turmeric - is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and helps to prevent the buildup of fatty and fibrotic tissue in the liver. It helps improve liver enzyme function and can also be helpful in supporting bile flow.

Berberine - can help lower inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity and cholesterol management. It can improve fatty liver issues by increasing the oxidation of fatty tissues in the liver and reducing lipid synthesis. It's another one that helps with liver enzymes - though be wary here as it can impact the CYP3A4 pathway, which a very high percentage of medications use for activation. This means it can change the way this medication acts in your body.

B Vitamin Complex - we need lots of our B vitamins for healthy liver function. They support the production of enzymes, help protect against inflammation and act as cofactors in practically all the processes our liver undertakes. We need good levels of B12 (cobalamin), B9 (folate), B6 (pyridoxine), B3 (niacin) and B1 (thiamine) specifically. Whilst you will get all of these if you're following the food advice above, supplementation can be useful after a certain age, as our absorption can decrease over time. It's also worth considering if you have compromised digestion, especially if you have been taking a PPI or other digestion-altering medications.

Piperine - This is noted as more of a warning than a benefit. Piperine, or black pepper, is added to lots of formulae to improve absorption. It does this by increasing the speed at which the liver processes everything. It's not selective. It will change how your medications are metabolised, and for this reason, you should mention it to your pharmacist if you are taking medications before you start a supplement with pepper or piperine in it. A bit of pepper on your dinner isn't an issue; a standardised therapeutic amount daily in a capsule could potentially be an issue.

Spirulina - supports your liver by improving enzyme function. It's also a complete source of protein, so it's rich in those amino acids your liver needs, as well as being rich in sulphur. It's a wonderful antioxidant, helping to protect against inflammation. It also acts as a binder for heavy metals, helping your liver out by preventing their absorption in the gut.

Chlorella - very similar to spirulina, chlorella is a potent antioxidant, supporting healthy levels of liver enzymes, aiding in the prevention of fat accumulation, and assisting with healthy cholesterol levels. It's another binder, so it helps to stop us from absorbing heavy metals in the gut.

All in all, there's a lot more for a liver to do in the modern world. We throw far more at it than our ancestors ever did. So, whilst it is your natural detoxification powerhouse, maybe giving it a little love and understanding might stand you in good stead for a long and effective relationship.