How Healthy is Your Liver?
Our liver, a key component of the gastrointestinal tract, is the most under appreciated organ in medicine. While it serves as the main filtration system for our blood, other responsibilities include:
• overall protection of the immune system
• maintenance of hormonal balance
• regulation of blood levels of amino acids
• secretion of the bile stored in gall bladder to digest fats
• removal of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites)
• production of cholesterol
• storage of excess glucose as glycogen (the body’s main source of energy)
• metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat
• storage of vitamins A, D, K, B12, folate and iron
• synthesis of clotting factors
• detoxification of toxins
Detoxification means the breaking down or transforming of harmful substances like ammonia, metabolic waste, drugs (both prescription and illicit), alcohol, chemicals, and even allergenic foods into substances that can be excreted out of the body. Detoxification involves two distinct pathway systems in the liver: phase I and phase II. Phase I breaks down these harmful substances into their intermediates, simply stated it makes these substances less toxic. If this pathway is overwhelmed these toxins turn into free radicals. Phase II adds amino acids making these intermediates water-soluble allowing for excretion into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and leave the body through the feces. Blood by-products are filtered through the kidneys and excreted in the urine. Problems or sub-par performance with either phase results in toxic substances being re-circulated throughout the body, eventually allowing for storage into the brain, fat, and organs. This sets the stage for disease processes to begin.
Environmental toxins like solvents, heavy metals, or smoke, artificial flavors, food additives, pesticides, prescription drugs, and even allergenic foods all wreak havoc on our liver on a regular basis. These foreign substances hamper the proper functioning of the organ allowing the liver to become stressed while appearing normal on routine blood work. Typical blood work only looks at the liver enzymes ALT and AST, LDH, and NH3 which when abnormal are all indicative of active liver damage not actual liver function. While this information is very important, it tells us nothing about events leading up to the damage. There is no “routine” medical test that shows functioning prior to damage.
Our alternative approach includes functional liver testing and delayed food allergy testing. The information obtained allows us to prepare a custom detoxification program for each patient. The right detoxification program can be the ultimate way to help prevent and treat many diseases. Eating the right foods and proper cleansing of the liver allows us to do everything in our power to keep our liver and immune system as strong as possible. This, in turn, will lead to decreased stress on every other organ system in our body and an increased defense against ANY DISEASE PROCESS!!!