Your Liver – The body’s chemical factory and detoxifier

[Guest guest]

From the March 2007 Idaho Observer:

 

 

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Your Liver – The body's chemical factory and detoxifier

 

Although it has been nearly five years since we have devoted a column

to the importance of maintaining a healthy liver, it is imperative

now more than ever for us to make sure our liver is in good

functioning order. If people truly understood the vital bodily

functions their liver performs, they would also understand that a

constipated liver that continues on unchecked for several years will

lead to immune system disorders, neurological diseases, chronic

fatigue, cancers, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, sexual

dysfunction, eyesight problems, diabetes, and every digestive

disorder from constipation to indigestion.

 

by Ingri Cassel

 

We are currently living in a toxic world of poisoned air, food and

water. In order for your spirit's vehicle, your body, to not be

overwhelmed by the daily toxins our body is continually processing,

we must 1) minimize the amount of toxins our body must process, 2) do

periodic gallbladder/liver flushes and 3) incorporate carrot juice

and herbs into our daily routine that optimize liver function.

 

The adult human liver normally weighs between 3.7 - 6 pounds, and is

a soft, reddish-brown " boomerang shaped " organ. It is the second

largest organ (the skin being the largest organ) and the largest

gland within the human body. The liver is considered the most

important organ in our body carrying out the most active and

extensive operations of our entire anatomy. It is located on the

right side at the top of the abdomen behind the diaphragm. The liver

lies on the right of the stomach and makes a kind of bed for the

gallbladder, where bile is stored (see diagram).

 

The liver performs a variety of functions. Some of these functions

are: To produce substances that break down fats; convert glucose to

glycogen, produce urea (the main substance of urine); make certain

amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), filter harmful

substances from the blood (such as synthetic drugs, pesticides,

household chemicals, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, etc.); storage of

vitamins A, D, E and K, folate, vitamin B-12 and minerals such as

copper and iron; and maintain a proper level of glucose in the blood.

 

Chemical processing factory

 

Hepatic cells or hepatocytes make up about 60 percent of our liver

tissue. These specialized liver cells carry out more chemical

processes than any other group of cells in our bodies. They change

most of the nutrients we consume into forms our body's cells can use.

They convert sugars to glucose and store it as glycogen before

converting it back into glucose for releasing into the blood as

needed, thereby regulating our blood sugar level.

 

Other functions of the hepatic cells are to: Produce bile that breaks

down fats and produces cholesterol; remove ammonia from your body

(converting it into urea for excretion by the kidneys); produce blood

proteins, including blood clotting factors; and detoxify our bodies

from ingested toxins such as synthetic drugs and alcohol.

 

A second important group of liver cells are the Kupffer cells. They

remove damaged red blood cells, neutralize pathogens and clean up

debris from dead cells.

 

Because our liver fulfills so many vital functions, we would die

within 24 hours if it stopped working. The most well-known sign of a

damaged liver is jaundice, a yellowness of the eyes and skin. This

happens when bilirubin, a yellow breakdown product of our red blood

cells, builds up in our blood.

 

However, most people in today's world suffer from a damaged liver. We

have found that by simply doing a seven-day colon cleanse followed by

a gallbladder/liver flush and changing one's diet to one of primarily

raw foods consisting of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds

that are organically grown (what Dr. John R. Christopher referred to

as the mucusless diet), people's illnesses are reversed.

 

By understanding how our bodies actually work, we can then understand

how our drug-oriented system of medicine suppresses the symptoms of a

denatured diet and the resultant accumulation of toxins, overwhelming

the liver (and all organs and body systems in the process.)

 

The late Norman W. Walker wrote a number of books on the value of raw

vegetables and fruits, juicing, and colon cleansing. In his book,

Colon Health: The Key to A Vibrant Life, he describes the miraculous

ability of the liver to convert our food into nutrients and molecules

that are utilized for the proper functioning of our bodies:

 

Consider the many atoms that vitamins are composed of. Below are a

few chosen at random:

 

C = Carbon H = Hydrogen O = Oxygen

 

Cl = Chlorine N = Nitrogen S = Sulfur

 

Vitamin A = C20, H29, HO

 

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) = C12, H17, Cl N4, OS

 

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) = C17, H20, N4, O6

 

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) = C8, H11, NO3

 

Vitamin C = C6, H8, O6

 

Vitamin E (a/tocopherol) = C29, H50

 

Vitamin K = C31, H46, O2

 

The vitamin department of the liver cannot utilize any vitamins as

whole, composite substances. The nutritional activities of the body

do not function this way. The volume of vitamins in grams is so

microscopic that only a miraculously intelligent system, working

perfectly within the anatomy, could deliver the correct proportions

of nutrients to a 150 pound adult or a small child. For example, one

pound of peeled bananas contains on an average less than ¼ of a

milligram (mg.) of thiamine and only about 0.29 mg. of riboflavin.

When we realize that there are 28,350 mg. in one ounce and 453,370

mg. in one pound, we can understand more clearly the amazing chemical

factory the liver actually is.

 

Another example is vitamin K which is known to prevent hemorrhage

among other vital functions. The liver manages to gather 31 carbon

atoms, 46 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms to form the Vitamin K

molecules -- thousands of which are needed to prevent one from

hemorrhaging. These complex chemical processes stagger the

imagination. This is why it is so important to nourish our bodies

properly, keep our colons clean and our minds elevated—so our God-

given livers will take care of us.

 

Master Herbalist and Naturopath Dr. Richard Schulze has this to say:

 

" Although your medical doctor would like you to believe that they

have figured it out and got it all down, the reality is that your

liver is the most metabolically complex organ in the entire human

body, more than even your brain. It has numerous different

microscopic functional units and is as complex and infinite as outer

space. One of the main reasons I know God was a natural healer and

NOT a medical doctor is the liver itself. It is so incredibly complex

you know it's best to just leave it alone and create a healing

lifestyle for it. "

 

Norman W. Walker believed that the concept of consuming a " complete

protein " was based on ignorance of how the liver functions. He

describes it this way: " The so-called complete protein must first be

emulsified into a heterogenous mass called chyme and mixed with

everything else in the small intestine. In such a state, all

molecules in the chyme, whatever they happen to be, are gathered by

the villi and passed by the bloodstream to the liver. So what was

originally sugar and starch is likewise broken down into their

respective molecules and these, in turn, are disintegrated into

separate atoms composing them and reassembled to form glucose. "

 

Norman Walker understood how the body works. He knew that by eating

mostly raw vegetables and fruits, nuts, sprouted seeds and raw

vegetable juices, we can get all the vitamins the body needs. Norman

Walker never took any vitamins since he found that by keeping his

colon clean and eating properly, the atoms needed by the liver to

make up whatever vitamins his body required were obtained from the

raw foods and juices he consumed.

 

Liver function in our modern world

 

We live an incredibly toxic world being exposed to more deadly

chemicals than at anytime in history. Dr. Richard Schulze sees the

harm from Americans' over-consumption of animal sources of protein.

This is because when animal food is digested it forms ammonia which

is absorbed in your intestines and transferred to your blood to be,

hopefully, converted into urea by your liver.

 

Americans, being the highest consumers of animal food on the planet,

have a constant over production of ammonia gas in their intestines.

This in turn weakens the liver, being the cause of hepatic coma or

paralysis of the liver. High protein fad diets put an incredible

amount of stress on our liver. And if you think it is okay to take a

couple aspirin now and then for headaches or pain, try this

experiment: Take two aspirin and place them on a spoon. Hold the

spoon over a candle or the stove until the aspirins melt. The

resultant smell will be ammonia gas and will tell you how easy it is

to over-stress your liver.

 

Next month we will discuss specific herbs and foods that assist in

detoxifying the liver as well as gallbladder flushes that have helped

countless people regain their health when many other " remedies "

failed.

 

 

 

Milk Thistle Seed – Friend to the Liver

 

Milk Thistle (silybum marianum) originated in Europe. It has been

widely cultivated for its food value and now grows wild throughout

the warmer areas of the world. Like other thistles, it will spread

rapidly and cover vast fields, preferring sunny well-drained soil.

Milk thistle gets its species name of " marianum " from an eastern

European myth about the white streaks in its dark green leaves. The

story goes that Mary was collecting herbs while nursing the baby

Jesus, and spilled milk on its leaves.

 

Milk thistle seed has been used for centuries by herbalists to

restore proper liver function, but has only recently been revived by

modern-day herbalists and naturopaths. Milk thistle seed has unique

properties that not only protect liver cells, but can actually

regenerate damaged liver tissue. In one European test in the 1970s,

60 patients suffering from severe amanita muscaria mushroom poisoning

were treated with a special extract of milk thistle. They all

survived when the normal death rate would have been 30 to 40 percent.

In other studies, and in clinical practice in the U.S., patients with

usually irreversible cirrhosis of the liver have been returned to

relative health with milk thistle. Milk thistle is likewise helpful

in cases of hepatitis, for which there is presently no other

effective treatment. Silymarin, the chief constituent of milk

thistle, is currently listed in the Merck Index, the bible of

conventional medicines in the U.S., as a protectant for the liver.

 

Milk thistle seed is also one of the only known substances that can

protect the liver against damage by some environmental pollutants

(think chemtrails). Since spring has sprung, it is important to

realize that common allergies are the result of impaired liver

function since the liver is the source of natural antihistamines in

the body and hayfever and pollen allergies are a sure sign of an

impaired liver.

 

Dr. Richard Schulze considers milk thistle seed the most important

ingredient in his liver/gallbladder and anti-parasite formula. In the

May, 2002 edition of his newsletter, " Get Well! " Dr. Schulze stated

the following: " The silymarin from milk thistle actually binds to and

coats the liver cells and protects them from damage, like a

protective plastic shield. It protects the liver cells and the liver

from any further damage due to toxic poisons and inflammation. This

was discovered by many medical doctors quite by accident when

researching why people who ingested lethal doses of deadly poisons

weren't affected and didn't get sick. The doctors discovered that

these same people ingested milk thistle seeds prior to ingesting the

poisons, and it protected them. "

 

For recovering alcoholics, former drug users, workers exposed to

occupational chemicals, people taking prescription medicines, or

people living in heavily polluted cities, milk thistle may be a

valuable food and medicine. Milk thistle seeds have no known

toxicity – Mice love these seeds as a food and even thrive on them.