Poor liver health may be one piece of the puzzle impacting your overall health and wellbeing by presenting itself in various symptoms such as chronic fatigue, skin issues such as acne, weight loss, and muscle mass loss. Working with a functional practitioner will help to address the root causes of your symptoms.

What is The role of the liver?

The liver, which is the largest organ in the human body weighing around 3 pounds, is roughly the size of a football located on the right side of your abdomen just under the ribcage. The liver is responsible for detoxification and excretion of harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol, and environmental toxins, synthesizing key proteins, producing bile to help the breakdown of fats, and macronutrient/micronutrient metabolism. It is one of your bodies main detoxification organs along with your kidneys. Normally your liver and kidneys act as the main detoxification organs in the body. However, due to the increased chronic exposure of environmental toxins, from air and water pollution to household and skincare products, it is necessary to help in assisting these organs to prevent impaired detoxification.

This can look like supporting these organs with the necessary nutrients from foods, taking supplements to support liver health such as NAC or Liposomal Glutathione, weekly sauna sessions to help excrete heavy metals such as mercury and lead, consuming broccoli sprouts to aid in excreting the carcinogen benzene found in car exhaust fumes that your body can absorb through inhalation, daily aerobic sessions to induce sweat release and promote blood circulation, and finally but most importantly improving your nervous system health using the tools listed here to manage stress levels as chronic stress is linked to most chronic health conditions.

What are conditions associated with Liver dysfunction?

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition that is increasing due to the rapid rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance.
• Cirrhosis or end-stage liver disease
• Hepatitis: inflammation of the liver
• Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD): liver damage cause by excessive alcohol intake

What are common symptoms of poor liver Function and health?

• Acne or skin issues related to impaired detoxification of the liver (think congested liver!)
• Chronic fatigue
• Weight loss
• Muscle mass loss
• N/V
• Jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes

What are root causes of poor liver Function and health?

• Excessive alcohol intake
• Excessive refined sugar intake

How can i test liver health using lab testing?

A Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) will help assess liver health that typically includes various liver enzymes such as ALP, ALT, AST, as well as bilirubin.

Labs to look at for liver function and health:

• Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST): liver enzyme that is typically elevated with liver damage.
• Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT): liver enzyme that is typically elevated with liver damage.
• Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP): liver enzyme that is typically elevated with liver damage.
• Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP)
• Bilirubin (total)

My storefront is linked here to order functional labs, which is signed off by a nationally-licensed physician, to assess for gut imbalances, hormonal imbalances, or vitamin/mineral deficiencies. If you need help creating a personalized functional nutrition care plan based on the interpretation of any of the above functional labs, you can work with us here.

Functional lab testing would be a good idea if you really wanted to hone in on the specifics of gut microbiome imbalances, hormonal imbalances, vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

conventional or “standard” lab ranges vs optimal lab ranges For Liver Function and Health

Standard lab ranges represent the average population and does not necessarily refer to the optimal level to remain at the highest level of health. Optimal ranges are obtained from clinical studies and limited research so it may vary here and there.

Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST):

• conventional lab range: 8.0-40.0 U/L
• optimal lab range: 10.0-30.0 U/L

Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT):

• conventional lab range: 6.0-32.0 U/L
• optimal lab range: 10.0-26.0 U/L

Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP):

• conventional lab range: 35.0-117.0 U/L
• optimal lab range: 70.0-100.0 U/L

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP):

• conventional lab range: 1-70 U/L
• optimal lab range: 10.0-30.0 U/L

Bilirubin (total):

• conventional lab range: 0.1-1.2 mg/dL
• optimal lab range: 0.1-0.9 mg/dL

What can i add or subtract to my diet to support liver Function and health?

Add:

• Include omega-3 rich foods
• Include polyphenol rich foods
• Include antioxidant rich foods

Subtract:

• Remove or reduce refined sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, corn syrup, etc
• Remove or reduce refined grains such as white processed bread, white rice, white pasta made with refined flour, pastries made with refined white flour and refined sugar, etc
• Limit or avoid alcohol

What are some Probiotic strains to support liver Function and health?

Many probiotics can promote the excretion of heavy metals and slow down liver damage.

• Lactobacillus strains such as L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus
• Bifidobacterium strains
• Saccharomyces boulardii or S. boulardii
• Akkermansia muciniphila or A. muciniphila

Because of the relationship between the liver and gut axis, dysbiosis or imbalance of intestinal flora can trigger many chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), NAFLD, NASH, development of cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Probiotics have therapeutic effects on these chronic liver diseases by regulating intestinal flora, inhibiting bacterial adhesion, enhancing mucosal barrier function, and secreting bioactive metabolites.¹

Adding various or specific probiotic strains to ferment in yogurt allows them to multiply and digest easier as well survive intestinal transit ensuring optimal nutrition. I have the recipe linked here!

what are some Herbs/Adaptogens to support liver Function and health?

Adaptogens are herbs that help the body adapt to stress, regulate cortisol levels, maintain a healthy nervous system, promote relaxation leading to overall health and wellbeing. Consuming adaptogenic herbs may help support optimal liver functioning and health

• Green tea (due to the EGCG compound): helpful in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In a 2016 study, consumption of green tea extract supplementation showed significant reductions in ALT and AST levels after a 12 week period. According to the findings of the study, green tea extract supplementation decreased liver enzymes in patients with NAFLD.²
• Garlic (due to allicin compound): a 2020 study showed significant reductions in weight and serum ALT, AST, HbA1C, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol with the garlic intake compared to placebo.³

What are some Basic & Advanced supplements to support liver Function and health?

Targeted Supplements to help support overall liver health:

• N-acetyl cysteine (NAC): precursor to glutathione and acts as an antioxidant that works to reduce oxidative stress and detoxify the liver.
• Liposomal Glutathione: helps detoxify the liver and protects liver cells from damage and oxidative stress.
• Glycine: improves liver function.
• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10): significantly improves circulating ALT, AST, and GGT levels.

Make sure to order from a high quality and third party tested brand instead of purchasing from Amazon where practically anyone can sell anything without any rigorous testing. To make it easier for you, you may order from my supplement dispensary below through Fullscript’s catalog where each brand and product meets strict top quality standards. You can learn more about third party testing here.

My supplement dispensary is linked here (with a 30% off discount!) and you do not need to be a client to place an order.

What are some Stress Management tools to support liver Function and health?

Stress management tools are listed here that will help support liver health.

How can I improve my sleep to support liver Function and health?

Sleep is essential for healthy liver functioning and health: aim for 7-9 hours of quality, deep sleep.

What type of Exercise should i focus on to support liver Function and health?

• Aerobic exercises
• Strength or resistance training

what is your overall toxin exposure or exposome?

Essential for overall endocrine (hormone) health. Exposure to environmental toxins, like BPA, BPS, PFAS, and phthalates, can disrupt thyroid health. Normally your liver and kidneys act as the main detoxification organs in the body. However, due to the increased chronic exposure of environmental toxins, from air and water pollution to household and skincare products, it is necessary to help in assisting these organs to prevent impaired detoxification.

When dealing with a hormone imbalance, focus on lowering your overall toxin exposure or exposome that you encounter on a daily basis. This looks like researching the ingredients that are in the products that you put on your skin, face, body, hair, and scalp. Products to look at that typically contain some form of endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemical: washing detergent, fabric softener, cleaning supplies, cookware, clothing, shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, colognes, cosmetics/makeup products, skin care products, and hair care products.

• Environmental: EDCs, BPA, BPS, Phthalates, PFAS (PFAS chemicals test)
• Food/Diet: Pesticides
• Mycotoxins: (Mycotoxins test)
• Heavy Metals: study linked here. (Heavy metals test)
• Air pollution exposure: the benzene from car exhaust fumes (consume broccoli sprouts that contain a high amount of sulforaphane to naturally detox benzene from the body – study linked here) and cigarette smoke.

DIY Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent

References:

1. Lin Cheng, Jianyou Shi, Haoyuan Peng, Rongsheng Tong, Yonghe Hu, Dongke Yu,
   Probiotics and liver fibrosis: An evidence-based review of the latest research,
   Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 109, 2023, 105773, ISSN 1756-4646, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2023.105773. ↩︎
2. Pezeshki A, Safi S, Feizi A, Askari G, Karami F. The Effect of Green Tea Extract Supplementation on Liver Enzymes in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Int J Prev Med. 2016 Feb 1;7:28. doi: 10.4103/2008-7802.173051. PMID: 26955458; PMCID: PMC4763469. ↩︎
3. Soleimani D, Paknahad Z, Rouhani MH. Therapeutic Effects of Garlic on Hepatic Steatosis in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2020 Jul 7;13:2389-2397. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S254555. PMID: 32753923; PMCID: PMC7354004. ↩︎