As a metabolic center, the liver is integrated into two blood circuits - the only organ apart from the heart. It has far more tasks than detoxification alone and suffers when we eat an unhealthy diet. Problems with the liver are not only caused by alcohol consumption. With over 500 functions, the liver is an organ that makes a major contribution to our well-being. You could almost say: „Happy liver, happy life“.
What does the liver do?
The liver is our metabolic center and the largest gland in the human body. With over 500 tasks, it is one of our most important organs and a true generalist. At the same time, it is also one of the most resistant organs in our body and that is a good thing. If our lifespan were measured by our liver, we could live to be 300 years old. If parts of the liver have to be removed due to a disease, it can grow back to normal size even if 4/5 of the liver is removed. The liver is primarily involved in detoxification and energy production (in the form of blood sugar), helps with the utilization of nutrients, supports the production of many vital proteins and is a storage organ for fatty vitamins such as vitamin D.
How do you recognize liver problems?
If the function of the liver is impaired, this is not necessarily immediately noticeable. A good example: if you consume very small amounts of alcohol, you will not notice any immediate cognitive or physical impairment. If consumption exceeds a certain (individual) level, we are no longer able to think clearly cognitively and our physical performance is significantly impaired. We babble and stagger.
This is also often subject to a certain „daily form“, which already shows that the liver plays an important role in our vitality. Symptoms such as fatigue, a point pain between the shoulder blades, alcohol intolerance, problems sleeping through the night, difficulty concentrating, a taste for coffee that lasts longer than an hour after drinking coffeea unpleasant taste in the mouth in the morning, constipation or diarrhea as well as an aversion to fatty foods can be indications of a slight functional impairment of the liver. This may occur occasionally, but should never persist over a long period of time.
Liver and bile
Bile fluid is produced in the liver and collected in the gallbladder to excrete toxins. Bile is not only used for excretion, but also helps to emulsify (combine liquid and fat) dietary fats, enabling us to absorb the fats and fatty vitamins in our food. If not enough bile is produced by the liver, dietary fats cannot be absorbed sufficiently and fatty stools develop, which can lead to diarrhea and a high consumption of toilet paper. In addition, the composition of the intestinal flora changes and the development of dysbiosis is favored (Frost et al., 2019). Long-term fatty diets also increase the risk of a deficiency of the fatty vitamins A, D, E and K (Azer & Sankararaman, 2019).
The bile and its bile acids
Bile fluid consists of 80% water, the remaining 20% mainly contains gelatinous toxins, cholesterol and other fats as well as bile acids. The main function of bile acids is to emulsify fats from food so that they can be absorbed. Almost all bile acids are reabsorbed in the so-called enterohepatic circulation. The enterohepatic circulation is the circulation of various substances from the liver via the gallbladder to the intestine and back to the liver. Certain substances circulate in this way up to 12 times a day.
The bile acid metabolism
Current research results show that bile acids have a significant influence on our digestion, our intestinal flora and thus also on our health (Chatterjee et al., 2020). They serve as a kind of signaling, hormone-like substances (Craik, 2008), which are used to regulate various metabolic pathways (fat, electrolytes and immunological) (Joyce & Gahan, 2017).
When the bile acids (primary bile acids) are released into the intestine after food intake, they are first activated by our intestinal flora and are called secondary bile acids. This activation is necessary because the resulting secondary bile acids play an important role for our intestinal immune system. They can also influence the composition of our intestinal flora and have a significant impact on it (Wahlström, Sayin, Marschall, & Bäckhed, 2016).
The bile-acids-regulation-and-our-gut-flora
Bile acids and their production are subject to a close interplay between the intestinal flora, the nutrients ingested, hormones such as insulin, the amount of circulating inflammatory messengers and much more. Reduced bile levels in the gut can be associated with dysbiosis and low grade inflammation. Diet, antibiotic therapy and disease states also influence the balance between gut flora and bile acid (Ridlon, Kang, Hylemon, & Bajaj, 2014). Disturbances in this system are closely associated with diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, Clostridium difficile infections, asthma and obesity (Joyce & Gahan, 2017).
What helps with liver problems?
- Vitamin D supports the production of bile acids and thus improves bile function, which is important for the removal of toxins (Stokes, Volmer, Grünhage, & Lammert, 2013). It also plays an important role in liver health (Ağalar, 2021).
- Curcumin (active ingredient from turmeric) has an anti-inflammatory effect (Aggarwal & Harikumar, 2009), which helps to produce more bile acids. In addition, curcumin stimulates liver detoxification and at the same time boosts the production of protective antioxidants (Agarwal, Goel, & Behari, 2010). It also shows symptom relief for digestive complaints (Dulbecco & Savarino, 2013).
- Ginger extract shows a strong synergy with curcumin (Bhagavathula et al., 2009) and has a strong hepatoprotective effect (Badawi, 2018). It also promotes liver detoxification (Eslamparast et al., 2014) and, like curcumin, shows an improvement in digestive complaints (Nikkhah Bodagh, Maleki, & Hekmatdoost, 2019).
- Choline, a semi-essential nutrient, is of great importance as an amino acid for our liver, especially with regard to fat metabolism. It prevents increased fat storage in the liver and contributes to normal liver function (Panel & Nda, 2011).
Foods to support the liver:
- Eggs (Corbin & Zeisel, 2012)
- Species-specific poultry (Alsheblak, Elsherbiny, El-Karef, & El-Shishtawy, 2016)
- Blueberries (Osman, Adawi, Ahrné, Jeppsson, & Molin, 2007)
- Beetroot (Clifford, Howatson, West, & Stevenson, 2015)
- Carrots (Nagy, 2012)
- Broccoli (Kikuchi et. a., 2015)
- Onions (Obioha, Suru, Ola-Mudathir, & Faremi, 2009)
- Garlic (Obioha u. a., 2009)
- Asparagus (Sorensen u. a., 2001)
- Walnuts (Gupta, Mah, Garcia, Antonypillai, & Van Der Poorten, 2015)
- Ginger (Bode & Dong, 2011)
- Coffee (Morisco, Lembo, Mazzone, Camera, & Caporaso, 2014)
- Greüner tea (Yin u. a., 2015)
- Cocoa (Miyazawa u. a., 2015)
- Turmeric (Aggarwal, Gupta, & Sung, 2013)
- Artichoke (Heidarian & Rafieian-Kopaei, 2013)
- Olive oil rich in polyphenols (Assy, Nassar, Nasser, & Grosovski, 2009)
Taboos for a healthy liver:
- Alkohol
- Fruchtzucker in großen Mengen
- Säfte
- Haushaltszucker
- SüSweets
- Dried fruit
- Finished products (often contain a lot of hidden sugar)
Literature:
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Agarwal, R., Goel, S. K., & Behari, J. R. (2010). Detoxification and antioxidant effects of curcumin in rats experimentally exposed to mercury. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 30(5), n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.1517
Aggarwal, B. B., Gupta, S. C., & Sung, B. (2013). Curcumin: an orally bioavailable blocker of TNF and other pro-inflammatory biomarkers. British journal of pharmacology, 169(8), 1672–1692. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.12131
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