Optimal liver health: 24/7 it's keeping you alive—time to give it some love

Better Nutrition, May, 2005 by Jayson Kroner

We can condition our hearts with cardio training, protect our skin with the finest lotions on Earth and fuel our minds with books and culture. But when it comes to liver health, we're essentially at the mercy of our diets. With one in three Americans classified as clinically obese--due in part to poor diets, which put a strain on the liver--this is far from promising.

Here's another way to look at it. In the unfortunate event that your liver decides to take a vacation, the outcome would be disastrous. Apart from being rendered metabolically helpless, you'd be riddled with an unthinkable number of toxins and chemicals. This would spark a menacing chain of events guaranteed to lower your survival rate.

We rely profoundly on this complicated, hard-working organ--not only to do its job, but to do it flawlessly, 24 hours a day, without reward. Sadly, tar too many individuals never give a moment's thought to the liver's unceasing list of tasks. But when you take time to consider what a weighty role it plays in virtually every aspect of our lives, that moment seems long overdue.

Back to Basics

To better appreciate the significance of supporting the liver, it's wise to have an understanding of what it is, what it does and how serious the consequences can be if it's neglected and deprived of the nutrients it needs.

Nestled in the upper-right portion of the abdominal cavity, the liver is a large, reddish-brown, multitasking metabolic gatekeeper. As the largest glandular organ in the body, it spends its days carrying out hundreds of crucial metabolic functions. Two, however, are of foremost importance.

The first is to synthesize bile to aid digestion. Every time you eat, your gall bladder releases its reserve of bile through ducts into the digestive tract. This allows semidigested food to pass from the stomach to the small intestines.

The second major function is to make sense of the waste, toxins and nutrients following digestion. After a slow trip through the digestive process, the remaining nutrient-rich liquid arrives at the liver. From there, the liver goes into action by filtering out toxins and waste while determining which nutrients will be used and which will be stored.

The efficacy of this process is ultimately determined by the health of the liver. What most of us fail to realize is that the liver lacks something of great importance: sympathy. It won't feel sorry for you after a week-long fast food bender, and it couldn't care less if you had a few "too many" at the company party. No. It deals with metabolic scenarios subjectively, and it works in accordance with the nutrients made available to it.

Dr. C. Samuel Verghese

There's one doctor who knows all of this about the liver, and knows it well. At the forefront of liver science is C. Samuel Verghese, MD. In addition to being a world-renowned expert in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), Verghese has studied liver function extensively. He also happens to be a fascinating human being who's spent his years searching for ways to better the lives of others. In doing so, he's traveled to some of the most remote regions of the world, treated thousands of patients and developed some of the most unique natural supplements available. Remarkably, his motivation came at a young age.

"Growing tip in Kerala, India, I was 6 years old the first time I witnessed my parents offer to take in mentally ill visitors off the street," he says. "Their unselfish faith and willingness to help total strangers inspired me to do what I do today."

Verghese explains that these "demonized" strangers (as they were perceived at the time) weren't treated with conventional medications. Rather, it was a variety of nutrients and herbs responsible for bringing them back.

"It was not unusual for these people to make near full recoveries," Verghese says.

In 1972, inspired by, these unique childhood experiences and a commitment to follow in his parents' footsteps, he left for America. The transition was marked with a wealth of cultural differences. One of the most discernible was in our supplement potencies.

"Excessive amounts are not always the answer," he says. "Focus should be placed on balance to prevent the immune system from reversing. Integrating smaller, more balanced potencies can stimulate the body's vital systems to work harder on their own."

He stresses the importance of blood screening to identify liver damage. Though many common illnesses and diseases start in the liver, a large percentage are curable if detected early.

"Almost every liver can be significantly improved, provided that you know what you're up against," says Verghese. "This is why it's important to do blood work prior to treating inflammation and other disorders."

It seems to be working. Patients who've visited Verghese's practice, Integrative Medicine Clinic in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, have experienced noteworthy success. His detoxification process and formulations have given hope to many who believed that they were otherwise untreatable.