Plus: 15 Tips To Keep Your Liver Healthy

People who have struggled for years with excessive weight and/or chronic health problems may be interested to learn that the liver may well be the missing part in the jigsaw puzzle to achieve good health.

Chances are, you do not give much thought to your liver and may not be aware of the myriad of functions it performs every second of every day.  Admittedly, it is an easy organ to ignore—its work is mostly silent and it usually does not give off very many early warning signs that something is amiss, unless you know what signs or symptoms to be alert to or what to look for.  Knowing that your liver goes about its business quietly does not mean you should take it for granted.  This amazingly complex organ affects virtually every physiological process, either directly or indirectly, and if your liver is not working up to par, it will likely affect all other areas of your health.

Among the common causes of premature death in the United States—cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes (to name a few)—comes liver failure.  It accounts for over 4,500 deaths a year—that is more than road traffic accidents—and costs the government and the taxpayers more than 2 billion dollars a year.  However, liver dysfunction plays a part in most of these other diseases as well.  In the U.S.A. obesity has become the first most preventable cause of premature death – and a major driver of what is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Functions of your liver

The liver is the cleanser and filter of the bloodstream and is the greatest multi-tasker.  It is the largest organ in the body and has an enormous amount of blood flowing through it every minute of our lives. It is between 8 – 9 inches in its greatest diameter, 5 – 6 inches in its greatest height and 3 – 4 inches in its depth, weighing around 42 to 56 ounces.  As a result, its function—or dysfunction—has an incredibly important impact on our health.

Breaking down and eliminating toxins.  When this function is compromised, toxins remain in the system, causing an immune reaction and associated problems such as inflammation, increased likelihood of infections and food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances.

Breaking down and eliminating excess hormones.  When this function is not working optimally, all kinds of hormonal imbalances can occur, from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) to an increase in perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, to acne and skin problems.

Balancing blood sugar.  When our blood sugar levels are high (for example, just after consuming sugary foods and drinks), the hormone insulin triggers the liver to store the excess as glycogen.  When blood sugar levels fall, the liver releases glycogen to be broken back down into glucose.  If the liver fails in this task, the result is chronic fatigue, sugar cravings, weight gain, and ultimately, diabetes.

Producing bile.  This vital substance helps digestion, by breaking down fat and removing excess cholesterol.  Without it, cholesterol levels rise and many digestive disorders can result, including bloating, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, food allergies and intolerances and the malabsorption of nutrients, especially fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Storing nutrients.  The liver is a storehouse of many essential vitamins and minerals, including the vitamins A, D, E, K and B12, and the minerals iron and copper.

What Causes Liver Problems?

Alcohol – As you may have guessed, the number one cause is excess alcohol.  More than 400,000 people in the USA are admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions each year.  Half of all the alcohol consumed in American is consumed by only ten percent of the population.  One in three adult Americans is a heavy drinker, with a sufficient liquor habit to be indistinguishable from an alcoholic.  This behavior wreaks havoc on livers.  Prevention is the way to go: stop drinking and add vitality and energy back into your life.

Viral hepatitis – This infection damages the liver directly.  Worldwide, hepatitis and other infections such as malaria are major causes of liver failure.

Diabetes & Obesity – Being overweight and/or diabetic, conditions affecting one in four people over 40, are major causes of fatty liver.  These promote, and are in part caused by insulin resistance, which means you cannot keep your blood sugar levels even.  That is since sugar cannot get into the cells, as it should, blood sugar levels remain dangerously high.  The excess sugar is converted to fat, mainly in the liver where some of it stays.

Drugs — As little as 10 paracetamols can kill you – and 8 can harm you.  A common cause of acute liver failure is paracetamol overdose; 4 grams (8 x 500mg tablets) pushes up those liver enzymes AST and ALT. While paracetamol is the most common drug-induced cause of liver failure, there are many other drugs, which are also liver toxic. If you are taking medication, do check the side effects of liver toxicity. These could even include some herbal remedies, so it is worth checking the liver toxicity of any herbal medications you may be taking. Excess vitamin A can also contribute to liver problems, especially if you already have liver damage. Vitamin A is stored in ‘stellate’ cells in the liver and if these are overloaded, it can lead to liver damage. My advice, therefore, is not to eat organ meats, which are particularly rich in vitamin A, especially if you take a daily supplement containing retinol.

Gut & Digestive Problems – There is a direct link between gut health and liver health. Keeping your digestive tract healthy, therefore, perhaps by supplementing with occasional probiotics and avoiding any food allergens, helps the liver. When the gut wall becomes more permeable, more material that is undesirable enters the blood, which the liver has to clean up. Alcohol, NSAID painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen, antibiotics and food allergies can all irritate the gut. Glutamine powder (a teaspoon) last thing at night can help heal the gut, but too much of an amino acid or dietary protein is bad news if you have a damaged liver, since it will be unable to detoxify protein properly.

We still have a lot to learn about this often-abused organ, however. In fact, the cause of a quarter of all cases of liver failure is unknown. If your liver is somewhat damaged, combinations of all the above may just tip it over the edge.

Symptoms of an unhealthy liver

Symptoms partly depend on the type and the extent of liver disease. In many cases, there may be no symptoms. Signs and symptoms that are common to a number of different types of liver disease include:

• Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, liver spots on the skin, poor hair texture and slow hair growth
• Darkened urine
• Mental confusion, spaciness
• Sluggish elimination, general constipation alternating to diarrhea
• Food and chemical sensitivities, usually accompanied by poor digestion, and sometimes unexplained nausea
• PMS, headaches and other menstrual difficulties
• Bags under the eyes
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Unusual weight loss or weight gain and the appearance of cellulite, even if you are thin
• Anemia and large bruise patches indicate severe liver exhaustion
• Vomiting
• Light-colored stools
• Abdominal pain in the upper right part of the stomach
• Malaise, or a vague feeling of illness
• Skin itching and irritation
• Varicose veins (enlarged blood vessels)
• Unexplained fatigue, listlessness, depression or lethargy, lack of energy
• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Low-grade fever
• Muscle aches and pains
• Loss of sex drive
• Depression

There are four stages to the declining health of your liver:

• The first stage is an overload of toxins and a lack of supporting nutrients, which causes certain liver enzyme pathways to start to become overloaded and consequently to under-function.
• Then you start to accumulate fat in the liver, officially called steatosis or fatty liver
• Too much of this and you start to get an inflamed liver
• This inflammation damages liver tissue causing fibrosis and cirrhosis, in other words, cell death.

Since the liver is the central clearinghouse of your body, detoxifying toxins, making fat from sugar, sugar from fat, and breaking down proteins, plus thousands of other critical functions, this final stage has many repercussions. Your immune system starts to break down, you lose blood sugar control and start experiencing insulin resistance – a precursor to diabetes type 2 – excess fats accumulate elsewhere in the body, leading to cardiovascular disease among other degenerative conditions.

Fatty Liver precedes liver disease

More than ever before in the history of humankind, human beings need to have healthy livers to break down the chemicals that have crept into our environment. If you talk to radiologists and gastroenterologists who are looking at people’s livers, today they will tell you that the condition “Fatty Liver” affects more than 50% of people over the age of 50!

Fatty liver is also known as NASH, which stands for Non-Alcoholic Steatorrhoeic Hepatosis or Non-Alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease (NLFLS), which are terms that just mean that your liver is being invaded with fat!  A fatty liver is one that contains an excessive amount of fat and the normal healthy liver tissue is partly replaced with areas of unhealthy fats.  In such a liver, the liver cells and the spaces in the liver are filled with fat so the liver becomes slightly enlarged and heavier.  The liver has a greasy yellow appearance and may show an elevation of the liver enzymes.

Signs and symptoms of a fatty liver

• Extreme tiredness and fatigue
• Overweight, especially in the abdominal area
• Cannot seem to lose weight
• Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood
• May have diabetes Type 2
• May have Syndrome X
• May have problems with your immune system and “catch” whatever bug is going around.

The good news is that a fatty liver can be reversed but this can take some time – years in some cases.  If you are overweight and find it difficult to lose the excess weight, it is important to look at all the factors relevant to your present weight and state of health.  Apart from diet and nutritional deficiencies, the most important factors are –

• Insulin resistance or Syndrome X
• Fatty Liver disease.  The liver contains an excessive amount of fat and the normal healthy liver tissue is partly replaced with areas of unhealthy fats.
• Toxicity

You may have a build-up of fat-soluble toxins (such as insecticides & pesticides), drug metabolites or waste products of metabolism in your fatty tissues and liver.  This slows down the metabolism of the fatty parts of your body and also over-burdens your liver.  This means that the liver burns fat less efficiently.  Gentle and regular detoxification is very helpful when trying to lose weight.  Drinking plenty of water, raw vegetable juices and liver toning herbs and formulas will help the detoxification process.

Here are 15 tips to keep your liver healthy:

1. Cut back on alcohol or avoid it altogether.  Do not have more than one drink of alcohol a day (e.g. 4 ounces of wine), and preferably not every day.
2. Have a dark green leafy vegetable salad every day.
3. Drink at least eight to ten glasses of purified water every single day and drink it throughout the day.
4. Eat foods high in sulphur such as garlic, onions, and eggs.  Sulphur is vital for healthy liver function.
5. Avoid refined carbohydrates and sugar.  The liver prefers bitter to sweet tasting foods.
6.  Eat lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables which help to detoxify the liver and boost your immune system.
7. Take a B-complex vitamin every day, especially vitamin B12 which significantly reduces jaundice, anorexia, and serum bilirubin and helps to strengthen the function of the liver as well as fight stressors
8. Keep your digestive tract healthy.  If you have digestive problems explore the possibilities of food allergies and eliminating sensitive foods from your diet for several months to give your liver and body a rest.  Consider supplementing with probiotics.
9. Supplement with at least 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily.  Studies show that vitamin C helps protect the liver.  Even doses as low as 500 milligrams daily helps prevent fatty buildup and cirrhosis.  5,000 mg of vitamin C per day appears to flush fats from the liver.
10. Eliminate red meats, partially hydrogenated fats
11. Lose weight if you are overweight.  Excess weight puts added stress on your liver and causes imbalances and hormonal irregularities.
12. Give yourself a liver detox twice a year in the spring and fall, using extra vitamin D from the sun to help.  Your liver is probably the most stressed in the spring and early summer (one of the reasons that people with skin problems get more flare-ups in the spring).
13. Increase your intake of liver friendly nutrients, such as dandelion and milk thistle extracts, and remove all toxins from your body.
14. Get plenty of exercise and fresh air daily.
15. Avoid eating sugar and all artificial sweeteners as these are toxic to the liver and cause fatigue and hypoglycemia.  Choose fresh raw fruits as a natural source of sweetener and eat in a balanced way as much as possible.

BONUS TIP #16:  Do a 3-day juicing detox and cleanse program!  Juice detoxing is the fastest, and safest (biochemical) method of removing unwanted weight and toxins, while increasing physical well-being, helps you to stay slim, feel energized, healthy, and vital, and is a huge help in breaking of dependencies and addictions.

Over time, with reduction and removal of toxins, everything simply starts to work better — from your joints and muscles to your immune system. Your skin will glow, and people will remark that you look younger and healthier. And there’s a good chance your doctor will notice a difference too at your next check-up.  Even if you feel relatively healthy, a juicing detox is a wonderful preventative measure against aging and possible future ill-health.

A liver that is loved and healthy will make you look much younger!

A healthy liver will support your heart in the full experience of JOY!

A healthy liver will give you amazing VITALITY AND ENERGY!

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The most powerful relaxation mineral and natural tranquilizer

Magnesium is the most versatile mineral in your body and is known to be required for several hundred different functions.  One of the principle functions of magnesium in the body is that it enables muscles to relax.  Without sufficient magnesium in the body, the muscles cramp and we can feel tense, nervous and jittery.  In fact, anything that is tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff – whether it is a body part or even a mood – is a sign of magnesium deficiency.  When this happens to the heart muscles, for example, the heart does not go through a complete relaxation phase.  This results in rapid heart beat and irregular heart rate known as arrhythmia and can eventually lead to other more serious problems such as chronic degenerative heart disease.

According to the Nutrition Almanac, “Magnesium deficiency is thought to be closely related to coronary heart disease, including myocardial necrosis.  An inadequate supply of this mineral may result in the formation of clots in the heart and brain and may contribute to calcium deposits in the kidneys blood vessels, and heart.  Heart failure resulting from fibrillation and lesions in the small arteries is linked to a deficiency of magnesium, as is vasodilation, which is followed by hyperkinetic behavior and fatal convulsions.”

Deficiency Effects and Symptoms:

Studies have revealed that up to half of Americans are deficient in magnesium and don’t know it.  According to one study published in the journal of “Critical Care”, a deficiency in this critical nutrient can make you twice as likely to die as other people and may be a major factor in many common health problems in industrialized countries.   Several common conditions such as mitral valve prolapse, migraines, attention deficit disorder, fibromyalgia, asthma and allergies have all been linked to a magnesium deficiency.  Perhaps not coincidentally, these conditions also tend to occur in clusters together within the same individual which thereby may provide a logical explanation of why some people suffer from a constellation of these types of problems.

One of the ways we become deficient in magnesium is because of the competing nature of calcium and magnesium; excessive calcium intake from foods or supplements can lead to a magnesium deficiency.  Another way we become magnesium deficient is because many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium – a high processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).

According to the Nutrition Almanac, “Magnesium deficiency can easily occur because magnesium is refined out of many foods during processing. Cooking food removes the minerals; the oxalic acid in foods like spinach and phytic acid found in cereals bind magnesium in the body, as do unbalanced amounts of salts….A deficiency can occur in people with diabetes, those who use diuretics or digitalis preparations, the elderly, those with pancreatitis, chronic alcoholism, kwashiorkor, pregnancy, cirrhosis of the liver, arteriosclerosis or kidney malfunction, those on low-calorie or high-carbohydrate diets, and those who have severe malabsorption such as that caused  by chronic diarrhea or vomiting….Fluoride, high zinc levels, high levels of vitamin D, diuretics, and diarrhea will cause a deficiency of magnesium.”

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms

Because magnesium is active in so many different processes in your body (over 300), magnesium deficiency symptoms are varied and can include:

• Insomnia
• Anxiety, hyperactivity, restlessness
• Constipation
• Muscle spasms, twitches, soreness
• Difficulty swallowing
• Back aches
• Headaches
• Chest tightness and difficulty breathing
• Heart palpitations
• High blood pressure
• Extreme fatigue
• Osteoporosis
• Irritability

• Sensitivity to loud noises
• Autism
• ADD
• Angina
• Anal spasms
• Migraines
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic fatigue
• Asthma
• Kidney stones
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• PMS
• Menstrual cramps
• Acid reflux
• Irritable bladder
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Difficulty swallowing

Any of these common symptoms may indicate that you need more magnesium in your diet, but this simple mineral can help eliminate these symptoms and enhance your health.

Magnesium deficiency has even has been linked to inflammation in the body and higher C-reactive protein levels (CRP).  C-reactive protein is a plasma protein that rises in the blood with the inflammation from certain conditions.  It can rise as high as 1000-fold with inflammation and is therefore a test of value in medicine, reflecting the presence and intensity of inflammation.  Since inflammation is believed to play a major role in the development of coronary artery disease (and many other chronic diseases), markers of inflammation have been tested in respect to heart health.  CRP was found to be the only marker of inflammation that independently predicts the risk of a heart attack.

The Calcium to Magnesium Ratio

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium is 800 mg/day, whereas for magnesium it is 400 to 450 mg/day.  Only about one-third of magnesium is absorbed from dietary sources.  Therefore, a daily magnesium intake of 1200 mg/day has been recommended by some researchers (22).  The traditional ratio of approximately 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium needs to be upgraded to increase magnesium intake in view of the overwhelming beneficial role of magnesium.  The ideal ratio for most people’s needs is an equal ratio of calcium and magnesium.

The absorption and metabolism of calcium and magnesium is one of mutual dependence, and therefore, the balance between these two minerals is especially important.  If calcium consumption is high, magnesium intake needs to be high also.

How to Reverse Your Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms

If you suffer from any of the symptoms I mentioned above or have any of the diseases noted, don’t worry – it’s an easy fix!!

Here’s how:

To absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamins B6 and D and selenium to get the job done. Moreover, much of modern life conspires to help us lose whatever magnesium we get in our diet.

Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites.

Diet and lifestyle play a key role in your magnesium intake. Here are some simple and easy ways to boost your magnesium intake:

• Eat green vegetables. Green vegetables have lots of chlorophyll, a molecule that contains magnesium.
• Eat foods high in magnesium.  These include kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, Dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, avocado, parsley, beans, dandelion greens, and garlic
• Avoid refined and processed foods. Most refined products like white sugar and processed foods made with white flour have had their magnesium removed.
• Try fermented foods and drinks. Fermented foods and drink populate your gut with probiotics (beneficial bacteria and yeast) that help your body absorb more magnesium from your food.
• Try a magnesium supplement. The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Krebs cycle chelate (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good.
• Avoid magnesium carbonate, sulfate, gluconate, and oxide.  They are poorly absorbed (and the cheapest and most common forms found in supplements) Side effects from too much magnesium include diarrhea, which can be avoided if you switch to magnesium glycinate.
• Taking a hot bath with Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) is a good way to absorb and get much needed magnesium, not to mention relaxes your entire body.
• Most people benefit from taking 400-1600 mg per day of magnesium to help relax you and to help your bowels move on a regular basis.

And remember, most minerals are best taken as a team with other minerals in a multi-mineral formula.

Be Relaxed with Magnesium

If you want to feel your best, then don’t overlook magnesium. This low profile mineral is actually a key to your health and vitality! With the right calcium magnesium ratio, you’ll always be feeling calm and relaxed.

Sources:

Dean, Carolyn, MD., the Miracle of Magnesium (2005)

Fast Facts, National Osteoporosis Foundation.
http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/diseasefacts.htm

Hyman, Mark, MD, Ultra-metabolism, November 2007

De Angellis, Tony, “Tony’s Tidbits: Magnificent Magnesium,” Tony’s Tidbits, Jan 2002.

Schachter, Michael, “The Importance of Magnesium to Human Nutrition,” http://www.mbschachter.com/importance_of_magnesium_to_human.htm

Simmons, Sandy, “Common Conditions Linked to a Magnesium Deficiency,” CTDS.info.
http://www.ctds.info/magnesium.html

Magnesium Online Library, http://www.mgwater.com/

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