Part V of Oxidative Stress and Recovery: Liver Detoxification
This series of articles is based on the premise that the lack of progress in recovering lost health is due to a sustained level of oxidative stress that our body is unable to manage. Unmanaged oxidative stress keeps our bodies in turmoil. In this condition, our bodies defenses are in retreat and we are fighting with a rear guard action. If we are unable to hold our ground, we are not able to maintain or achieve hemodynamics/homeostasis. Even a weak body that has reached hemodynamics, can begin getting well and taking back the ground it lost. I previous issues, I listed seven areas of oxidative stress that are primary offenders. One of those offenders is compromised liver detoxification of internal and external toxins.
The liver is the largest metabolically active organ in the body, and the primary organ in charge of the body's detoxification system. It converts food to stored energy and is a filter to remove toxins form the blood converting them into harmless water soluble substances that the body can then eliminate. It processes foods, drugs and medications absorbed from the digestive tract enabling the body to use them effectively and finally dispose of them. It makes substances like bile, cholesterol, triglycerides and albumin for use elsewhere in the body. To sum this all up, the liver functions as the body's "garbage collector and recycler".
Standardized blood test are run for liver enzymes to determine if the liver is sick or diseased, i.e. hepatitis, cirrhosis. A liver can be judged normal by good blood chemistry numbers yet not be healthy in its ability to detoxify endo and exotoxins. If this is the case, "unmanageable oxidative stress" is going to keep the body from recovering. Intestinal permeability (leaky gut) can dramatically increase the presence of substances that are normally excluded. As this overload of "foreign substances" are presented to the liver to detoxify, they can exhaust the detoxification capability of the liver or even worse, not be processed and increase oxidative stress. A combination of leaky gut and dysfunctional liver detoxification can lead to increased tissue stores of toxic compounds and depressed immune status.[1] Patients suffering from these toxic burdens may experience fatigue and have poor exercise tolerance. This may be a central factor in development of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.[2]
The liver detoxifies by taking a harmful substance (drug, poison, metabolite) and "morphing" it into a friendly substances. It does this by a two part process called Phase I preparation and Phase II conjugation. Phase I uses the P450 mixed function oxidase enzymes to make the toxic substance ready for further detoxification by Phase II. Phase II receives the prepared metabolite and conjugates (adds on) one of several compounds that make the metabolite water-soluble and ready to exit the body. Routine blood tests do not look at Phase I or II's ability to detoxify.
To determine the health of this two part system, a functional test[3] must be done to measure how well this system handles known substances like caffeine, acetaminophen and salicylic acid. The morphed end product metabolites are well known and the ratio of how much was taken and how much is changed in a healthy liver is also well known. These morphed end products are measured in the blood and urine. Most alternative care physicians are familiar with this test and its interpretation.[4] Jeff Bland's book, The 20 Day Rejuvenation Diet Program[5] has a health assessment questionnaire that can be useful in evaluating symptoms related to compromised liver detoxification.
Remember the first goal is to repair the leaky gut so that oxidative stress is minimized from endo and exotoxins and eliminate inappropriate immune responses. Treating the leaky gut gives the liver a fighting chance at handling the on coming toxins. Doing everything right doesn't mean that all your problems are over. Beneficial results can be startling quick but then again they could be awhile in coming. Be patient. Habits have to be changed. Eat appropriate foods for your bioindividuality. Avoid specific allergens. Keep a positive and hopeful outlook.
In the next installment, I will discuss a case history and some helpful things to do to improve liver detoxification.
Hot Breaking News:
Synthetic Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) can have as many as 8 different isomeric forms and only one of which is biologically active. Natural Vitamin E contains several different types of the vitamin and may be much more useful to the body than just the synthetic alpha tocopherol form. I personally take at least 400 IU of the natural form per day.
Watching a sad movie can lower the bodies IgA immune levels for up to 3 months. This relates back to PNI (psychoneuroimmunology, see Part I of this series) and is reinforced by the biblical proverb "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones"[6].
Action Plan:
Call and subscribe to the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. I have found this to be a very useful source of information with a usual lively debate in the editorial section. The subscription cost is $49 per year for U.S. residents. Try it for one year. Call 1.360.385.6021 and tell them I referred you.
You can send your questions to me at NutriDent, Ltd. 4707 Everhart Rd., Suite 101, Corpus Christi, TX 78411 or FAX them to 512.853.8561. My E-Mail address is dlowrance@mail.interconnect.net. and internet homepage address, http://www.interconnect.net/dlowrance. Previous articles in this series are available from DAMS. I look forward to hearing from you. May God bless you in your search for health.
Next Issue: Improving Liver Detoxification
Word Count ---- 1007 words
[1] The Detoxification-Intestinal Permeability Relationship, Martin Lee, Ph.D., 3rd International Symposium on Functional Medicine.
[2] Buist RA. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chemical Overload. Int Clin Nutr Rev. 1988;8(4):173-5
[3] A functional test measures the body's metabolic reserve. An example is a stress EKG test as compared to a resting EKG.
[4] Contact Great Smokies Laboratory, Ashville, NC and ask for a referral to a physician close to you.
[5] Keats Publishing, New Canaan, Connecticut
[6] Prov. 17:222