Foods

(for liver health)

the Four
Functional Liver Foods

Utilize these foods daily for constant liver nourishment.

Olive Oil

1 tbsp per day -OR- eat with a meal

In America, the best olive oil is sourced from California. Look for quality sources that guarantee the olive oil is not cut with cheaper oils, and which is certified ‘virgin.’

Lemon Juice in water

One glass of water with one half-lemon, squeezed

Cut washed lemon in half, store unused half in refrigerator. Use a Blender Bottle (amazon) and add a dash of apple pectin (see more below).

Coffee

(decaf or caffeinated)

Coffee, with or without caffeine, has strong liver protective/restorative effects

While caffeine certainly has liver benefits, it may disrupt blood sugar regulation and energy homeostasis/adenosine sensitivity whenever not drinking — so consider decaffeinated coffee (which still has some caffeine) a wise choice.

“Coffee may represent a valid functional food for liver protection.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5622710/

Fiber

Fiber traps toxins in the gut for excretion in stool, so they cannot be reabsorbed and cause inflammation and overwhelm the liver.

Without fiber, toxins are reabsorbed into the bloodstream where they burden the liver again.

First, find the fiber that works best for you (soluble fiber in vegetables –versus– insoluble from whole grains).

Then, eat two meals per day with low-to-moderate fiber content.

NOTE: Restrictive diets often fail to provide the total nutritional support required by the liver.

Supplements

(for liver health)

Consider supplementing any of these 1-2x/week, if well tolerated.

TUDCA and apple pectin are gentle enough for daily use, while the rest should be cycled.

Herbal Liver Support

Many herbs have long been touted for their nourishment of the liver.

Oregano oil* (stimulates bile)
Milk thistle*
Dandelion
Chanca piedra
Chicory extract
Burdock root
Berberry

*lowers iron

(amazon)

This hebal blend combines well with the “Vitamin Shoppe Liver Cleanse” — which has a different combination of herbs (+NAC). I take both 2x/week.

TUDCA & Taurine

TUDCA is more gentle than taurine and can be taken daily, indefinitely. Taurine is best cycled.

TUDCA

Cleans bile ducts
Improves gut health

A simply incredible, highly-tolerable supplement for folks in dire straights.

(amazon)

TAURINE

Hepatoprotective for toxin damage, oxidative damage, hyperammonia (in brain and liver), and liver inflammation (source)

Very powerful for cleansing the liver and boosting energy production, but must be balanced with glycine. Isolated amino acids can be hard on the kidneys, so avoid large doses.

(amazon)

(also on iHerb)

Binders

Binders behave like super-absorbers of toxins in the gut, similar to fiber.

APPLE PECTIN

Gentle, tolerable prebiotic that also feeds good gut bacteria.

(iHerb)

This is an awesome supplement for the gut and liver.

However, even safe binders like these should be taken in small, careful doses to avoid disruption of the gut microbiome.

CHLORELLA

Also contains nutrients, including zinc/iron.

Not recommended for folks with hemochromatosis or suspected mercury issues. Small doses are best for this.

Fat Metabolism

Proper metabolism of fat helps prevent fat from building up in the bloodstream, which can be hard on the liver.

ALPHA-LIPOIC-ACID

Hepatoprotective antioxidant (source)

(amazon)

ACETYL-L-CARNITINE

Supports liver mitochondria (source)

(amazon)

LIMONENE

Helps dissolve and emulsify fat in bloodstream

(amazon)

(Nutrient Balance)

Full-Spectrum Nutrition

Large nutritional imbalances disrupt fluid balance and metabolism, burdening the liver.

Nutrients are poorly absorbed & stored when the liver/gut are stressed and inflammation is high.

Fluid Balance

Hydration is critical for the liver.

Poor mineral balance causes bad fluid balance, edema, swelling, inflammation — burdening the liver.

All B-Vitamins Matter

…especially B1, choline

B1

Deficiency can harm liver
Only abundant in whole grains, beans, and red meat

Choline

Profound liver support
Not well-tolerated in high doses

Glutathione Precursors

Glutathione is the body’s primary antioxidant and the liver’s primary detoxification molecule.

The building blocks of glutathione are: glycine, cysteine, and selenium.

NAC

provides cysteine

I choose to get my NAC in smaller 100mg doses from the Vitamin Shoppe Liver Cleanse.

(amazon)

The common, standard NAC dose is 600mg — but many don’t tolerate high doses very well.

(NAC from iHerb)

SULfORAPHANE

Sulforaphane is a high-sulfur compound with potent liver-cleansing potential, but it can disrupt the gut in high doses.

(amazon) (also, on iHerb)

SELENIUM

Selenium must be balanced with iodine (and other minerals) — so avoid high doses

GLYCINE

Glycine must be balanced with other amino acids, includine taurine — so avoid high doses

SULFUR

Sulfur can easily be overdone — at which point it can be difficult to bring levels back down. High doses of sulfur are virtually never necessary.

Excellent Mineral Balance for Glutathione

Many minerals and nutrients are involved in synthesizing and recycling glutathione — including magnesium, zinc, B2, B6 and more.

Keep a broad perspective when it comes to nutritional supplementation — as we discuss in the nutrient section.

Taking precursors to glutathione are potentially safer than taking glutathione, itself.

Gut Health

(for liver health)

Improving gut health is critical for restoring an overburdened liver.

In fact, much of our liver’s stress results directly from the microbes/pathogens in the gut.

FIRST, ENDOTOXIN

When gut pathogens release toxins into the bloodstream after a meal, it stimulates an immune response and on-going inflammation — all of which burdens the liver.

THEN, REABSORPTION

Secondly, liver toxins dumped into the gut should be excreted in a healthy bowel movement.

But in poor gut health they are re-absorbed into the bloodstream – to burden the liver again.

Therefore, it is imperative that gut health improve either before or alongside steps to support liver function. Otherwise, toxicity can pile up in the sluggish gut and be reabsorbed.

Keep in mind, further, that most liver-boosting steps have an inherent antimicrobial effect on microbes in the gut — either directly or by boosting liver function and bile production. This may create the need for repopulation via probiotics.

Probiotics for the Liver & Gut

LIFE EXTENSION LIVER RESTORE Probiotic

A new probiotic product providing 7 liver-friendly strains of bacteria.

Clincially demonstrated to help improve C-reactive protein, a marker of liver health.
I’m currently trialing this product.

(amazon)

Regular Bowel Movements for Liver Health

Fiber traps toxins in the gut for excretion in stool, so they cannot be reabsorbed and cause inflammation and overwhelm the liver.

Gut Symbiosis for Liver Health

Bad pathogens in the gut release toxins whenever you eat, causing systemic inflammation and burdening the liver.

Now, let’s put it all together into a workable plan.

Getting Started

(with your liver health)

With your liver health, where do you begin?

It always makes sense to begin with steps that are:

Gentle (not too disruptive to systemic balance)
Effective (they effect change)
Foundational (they work at the root causes of health)

Favorites

The steps that best meet these three criterion are my personal favorites:

The Four Functional Foods

for liver health

(daily)

Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Coffee
Fiber

Apple Pectin

A gentle, powerful prebiotic binder

(daily)

(iHerb)

TUDCA

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid

(daily)

(amazon)

Vitamin Shoppe Liver Support

Herbal extracts + low-dose NAC

(one pill 1-2x/week)

(amazon)

Remember: Start slow, back off with any negative side effects, and use small doses. With health, consistency is key — not brute force. These supplements are powerful.

Nutritional Support

Don’t forget, the liver cannot heal without adequate nutritional support.

And unfortunately, a sluggish liver and gut means nutrients are not well-absorbed from food — leading, potentially, to broad deficiencies.

Therefore, I highly and fully recommend the single best multivitamin I’ve found on the market, the Naturelo 1-a-Day, which is bringing excellent results for so many clients and members:

(amazon)

(Naturelo on iHerb.com)

Two (2) Final Considerations

Exercise (Movement)

Movement is necessary for proper liver function.

What is movement? Is it the same as exercise?

Basically, yes — however, the term ‘movement’ can embrace more balanced and restorative activities than are typically thought of as exercise.

Whereas exercise usually focuses on reps, weight, and heart rate (BPM) — and specifically, pushing those things to their limit — movement focuses on nourishing the entire body, with an eye on recovery from disease and restoration of youth and vitality.

Movement understands that too much exercise can be just as bad for a recovering body as too little, and that imbalance in motion creates imbalance in the body.

How does exercise, generally, help the liver?

In the liver, exercise increases fatty acid oxidation, decreases fatty acid synthesis, and prevents mitochondrial and hepatocellular damage through a reduction of the release of damage-associated molecular patterns.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5954622/#:~:text=In%20the%20liver%2C%20exercise%20increases,to%20improve%20fatty%20liver%20disease.

It doesn’t take much exercise to improve liver health. In fact, if you’re moving on a daily basis — no matter how little — you’re taking steps in the right direction to improve the health of your liver.

What Types of Movement Are Best?

Any movement is great for the liver, but some are better than others.

Among the best movements is jumping. The up-and-down motions move lymph throughout the lymphatic system so it can be detoxified by the liver. Gentle jumping — or even bouncing — has nearly all the benefits for the lymphatic system seen in rebounding.

Keep your lymphatic system clear — by any means — but especially via movement.

Read more:

Your Environments & Your Liver

Remarkably, our living and work environments appear to have a great — and ever-increasing — effect on the health of our liver.

The common threats from the environment appear to be from:

Air Quality (chemicals, mold, and pests)
EMF (especially in hot zones near cell towers and smart meters)

If your environment is, in fact, causing inflammation via these factors, it will dampen your efforts to recover health anmd liver health to some extent.

This is not a reason to worry or stress — but instead, to become informed.

Not all information on the internet is wise or helpful concerning environmental factors. There’s a lot of fear-mongering and product hyping.

So keep your wits about you, grow your awareness, and proceed forward with your health journey.

Whatever you do, don’t pause your health adventures simply because your environment isn’t perfect. No environment is, and the wisdom you gain — even in a subpar environment — will serve you later when your environments do improve.