LIVER DYSFUNCTIONS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

Ó January 2010, The Center For Development

The liver is one of the most important organ in the human body, involved in at least 500 body functions. It is also one of the most abused organs today. This article discusses some of the most common dysfunctions we observe with the liver and what to do about them.

I find that most everyone’s liver is quite toxic today due to:

1. Eating thousands of food additives on a daily basis.

2. The overuse of medical and over-the-counter drugs. For example, regular use of Tylenol and other OTC drugs is a leading cause of liver disease today.

3. Drinking alcohol.

4. Other dietary toxins such as added iron in white bread.

5. Environmental toxins including thousands of chemicals and two dozen toxic metals.

6. Fermentation and putrefaction of intestinal contents.

7. A plethora of chronic and acute infectious organism that can affect the activity of the liver.

8. Subtle, but important nutrient deficiencies such as selenium, chromium, zinc, vitamin C and others that are needed for liver detoxification and other liver activities.

In spite of this toxic onslaught, most people’s livers continue to function fairly well. However, more and more people are succumbing to liver disease. Nutritional balancing science usually is able to easily help people suffering from common liver conditions including chronic hepatitis of any kind, and many cases of fatty liver, cirrhosis, gall stones, parasites such as liver flukes, and liver inflammation.

LIVER DISEASE NOT DUE TO PROBLEMS IN THE LIVER ALONE

The first principle to observe is that today’s liver problems are often not the result of problems in the liver itself. This hardy organ can regenerate itself quickly and often amazingly well if given the proper nutrients, and if the body’s load of toxins is reduced. Here lies the main problem and the hidden cause of many liver diseases.

Recall that all that one ingests through the digestive tract first goes to the liver for processing before it is released into the main bloodstream. The job of the liver is to carefully screen everything one ingests, retaining that which is nutritious and rejecting and hopefully detoxifying and removing all toxins from the food, medications, alcohol and anything else that is ingested.

Today this is a formidable job as the food is often of low quality, and often is laced with synthetic additives, such as preservatives, colors, flavors and hundreds of others that have no nutritional value whatsoever. Just understanding this one fact will give a large clue as to why the liver today is under constant assault in most people.

BASIC LIVER PHYSIOLOGY

The liver contains amazing cells called hepatocytes that perform most of the functions of the hundreds of functions of the liver. This is the most important type of liver cell. Other cells have a more supportive role.

The secretion of the liver is the bile, which is carried out of the liver to the gall bladder. From the gall bladder, the bile flows into the small intestine. While this is very brief, it is the basic structure and functional set up of the liver.

WHY THE LIVER MATTERS SO MUCH

The liver performs about 500 functions, at least. Among these are detoxification, protein breakdown and re-synthesis of proteins from amino acids, changing amino aicds into one another, processing of fats, carbohydrates, production of digestive enzymes such as lipases, production of cholesterol, the raw material from which all of the sex hormones and steroid or stress hormones are made, and the list goes on.

The liver is one of the major detoxification organs of the body. It filters everything that comes into the intestines, and it filters the blood as well. This is its unique ability. It does much more than this, but this is a unique ability of the liver and one that no other organ can duplicate.

The way it filters the blood and the material from the intestines is not well understood. However, in an esoteric way it is able to distinguish harmful matter from vital nutrients, hormones, enzymes and other components. Somehow it is able to separate the two. Many toxins are changed by the liver into something less toxic. This is what happens with alcohol, for example.

In many other cases, the harmful drug or substance is simply moved out of the body by being shunted into the bile ducts and removed. Exactly how the liver can distinguish the good from the bad is quite a mystery, and it probably has to do with biochemistry and even the vibrational quality of the substance.

An entire lengthy book could be written about the many functions of the liver.

LIVER DISORDERS, INCLUDING TOXICITY

Common liver problems include infections, such as hepatitis, parasitic infections such as liver flukes, toxicity with metals and chemicals, impaired circulation or congestion of the liver, sluggish liver activity, cirrhosis, fibrosis, and cancerous tumors of the liver. Let us briefly discuss these.

Toxicity. This is the rule today, rather than the exception. The liver does a monumental job of filtering the blood. However, it cannot keep up with the amount of toxins that are poured into most bodies today. Toxicity usually begins before birth, as the baby absorbs a load of toxic metals from the mother during her pregnancy. The insults to the liver continue with poor quality breast milk, or worse, pasteurized milk and other poor quality foods.

In addition, vaccines and almost all medical drugs add a tremendous toxic load, such as the use of antibiotics and hundreds of other prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Added to this are the many toxins found in the drinking water, air, and through contact exposures to plastics, metals, dyes, solvents and hundreds of other chemical products.

The worst toxins are often the heavy metals, in our experience. The chemical residues are often removed later. They are often easier to remove, and do not cause as much dysfunction of the liver. However, some drugs such as antibiotics, for example, can be quite difficult to remove and require years on a nutritional balancing program to remove completely.

In addition, most people’s intestines are not doing their job of digesting their food properly. This causes the production of extremely toxic substances in the intestines that are also absorbed into the liver and must be detoxified or we would all die quickly. One may have no symptoms of this autointoxication at all.

In my experience, everyone has a toxic liver today. However, this cannot be detected on routine blood tests. Hair mineral analyses, however, often reveal half a dozen high or very low toxic metal readings. The latter are called the Poor Eliminator Pattern, an extremely important and more recent hair analysis pattern.

Even many children are quite liver-toxic today. This is why the coffee enema, the near infrared sauna, and a powerful digestive aid, along with a very clean diet of organically grown food as much as possible, are extremely important.

This is also the reason why healing on a nutritional balancing program may be slow, at first. The liver is simply incapable of removing many toxins quickly. Later on, as one becomes more healthy, the liver’s ability to process toxic substances improves rather dramatically.

A SLUGGISH AND CONGESTED LIVER

This often contributes heavily to liver toxicity, because it interferes with the proper functioning of the liver. As with a toxic liver, a congested and sluggish liver also is not revealed on most blood or other medical tests. Hair analysis indicators for it include a slower oxidation rate, a lower Na/K ratio less than about 2, higher toxic metal levels or a few poor eliminator patterns, (very low toxic metal readings), low zinc, and perhaps sympathetic dominance.

In addition, a sluggish and congested liver is more common with:

1. Slow oxidizers rather than fast oxidizers.

2. Adults than to children, generally, although today some children are so toxic that there are a few exceptions.

3. More emotional people, as compared to those who are unemotional. This is explained in more detail below.

4. Malnourished people, which is a common situation that affects the liver greatly.

5. Vegetarians, generally, as compared to omnivorous people. For example, the liver requires plenty of bioavailable zinc, iron and sulfur. These elements are far more common in animal proteins, and better utilized from these sources as well.

6. Those who use any medical drugs at all, and those who use any recreational drugs at all usually have a more toxic and/or more sluggish liver, or will in the future.

HEPATITIS AND OTHER LIVER INFECTIONS

Hepatitis is extremely common. It is often viral and there are several strains of it that are labeled A, B, C, D, E and perhaps others, today. All or almost all cases of hepatitis involve opportunist organisms. This means that if a person is healthy, one will not become infected, or if infection does occur, it will be mild and transient.

Today, most people, however, are not healthy. As a result, these opportunist strains of viruses and other micro-organisms are difficult to eradicate, at times. Using nutritional balancing science, even stubborn cases of Hepatits C or others usually will resolve quite easily within a year or less. We do not address the hepatitis as much as we address the overall condition of the body, strengthening and balancing the body so that it can remove the infection successfully and completely. Therefore, we do not like using drugs of any kind, or even megadoses of vitamin C or other nutrients, although high-dose vitamin C will often help. The problem is it makes the body more yin, which is not helpful.

PARASITIC INFECTIONS OF THE LIVER

The liver is the site of some parasitic infections. Of these, liver flukes are by far the most common. Many people have these, and they usually do not cause a lot of health problems. I believe testing for them is not worth the effort.

Other parasites that find their way into the liver include some species of amoebas, flagellated one-celled animals, trichina worms, perhaps tapeworms and at times, others. The liver is fairly resistant to parasites, but the bodies today are so toxic, and so out of balance, that parasites and other infections of the liver are common.

In almost all cases a nutritional balancing program will slowly remove all parasites from the liver. This may sound like a wild claim, but it is our day-to-day experience. I will explain how this works.

Parasites thrive, generally, in a toxic body. As the body heals and becomes better nourished and more balanced, substances are secreted by the body that are extremely toxic for all parasites. These include bioavailable copper, even some silver compounds, and many enzymes such as lysozymes that are proteolytic. This means they are capable of digesting proteinaceous material, which includes living organisms that do not belong there.

Our task, therefore, is to build up the body so that it begins to produce these substances in large enough quantity to halt the spread of parasites and slowly reduce their population. This is not as hard to do as it may seem. In fact, within a year or two of starting a nutritional balancing program, often the level of the parasites is significantly reduced.

In a few cases, other specific remedies may be needed to reduce the load of parasites. The problem with these is that if the body is not strong and balanced, and if we miss just a few parasites, they reproduce prolifically and will come back quickly. Also, most parasite remedies are somewhat toxic themselves, such as herbal remedies or drugs. This is not helpful for overall health, and in fact slows the general detoxification of the body. So for this reason, we rarely start with parasite remedies. Instead, we always start with a program for healing the entire body. As this occurs, usually the parasite problem diminishes and eventually vanishes.

EMOTIONS, LIFESTYLE AND THE LIVER

Certain emotions, notably anger, irritate the liver. This has been known for many years. In fact, in Shakespeare’s day, the liver was believed to be the seat of the emotions. This is largely true, in one sense. The liver is where certain minerals such as copper and iron are stored. Also, the liver is an entry point for etheric energy and when blocked, it leads to emotional outbursts. This is a bit complex. However, the liver is an important area for mental or spiritual development, as it is a site, one of several, in which a more advanced energy called etheric energy can enter the human body. When there is too much anger, this does not happen. This will cut short a life for this reason. This is why many wise people have advised that one should let go of anger at any cost to preserve life.

The influence of the liver on emotions is reflected, in fact, in common language, in expressions such as “She has a lot of gall”, or “He gave her a piece of his liver”, meaning he blew up in anger at her.

As the toxic metals are released from the liver, however, often if begins to function better and the emotions become calmer. Women often have a more toxic liver than some men because women have difficulty with anger more so than men. This may have to do with their higher copper levels, higher estrogen levels and other factors.

IRRITATION DUE TO A NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM

We find that during a nutritional balancing program, at times the liver will become overloaded with toxins that are being released from storage sites throughout the body. This is akin to overloading a toilet, which causes it to back up. This will occasionally cause slightly elevated liver enzymes, for example, or some pain in the lower right side of the abdomen as the liver struggles to remove the toxins quickly enough.

In most cases, this will pass quickly. If it does not, we always suggest reducing the supplement program for a day or two, drinking more water and perhaps drinking distilled water for a few days, or taking an extra coffee enema, perhaps as well. In all cases, this type of liver irritation is benign and nothing to worry about. As the liver heals and becomes more able to remove toxins of all kinds, such symptoms tend to diminish.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ANYONE WITH LIVER DISEASE

Following a complete nutritional balancing program is the best option. However, one can begin immediately with the following “generic” suggestions. In some cases, they will be sufficient to resolve the problem without needing a full nutritional balancing program. I prefer a complete program because it will address other issues and it will promote mental development as well as resolve almost all liver conditions. Here are the generic suggestions:

1. Reduce the load of toxins that the liver must cope with on a daily basis by avoiding all processed foods, all food additives, alcohol and caffeine.

2. Learn how to substitute natural products for all over-the-counter and prescription drugs for common ailments such as allergies, colds, flu, infections, and all other health conditions as much as possible.

3. Use a powerful digestive aid every time you eat. I recommend GB-3 by Endomet Laboratories in Phoenix, Arizona. It contains a lot of ox bile, pancreatin, bile salts and Russian black radish. Taking a digestive aid of this type will not only increase bile flow. It will also reduce fermentation and putrefaction of food in the intestines. These two highly toxic processes release enormous quantities of toxic chemicals into the intestine that are absorbed into the liver in many people.

4. Improve your eating habits. This means do not drink much water with meals, eat slowly, chew thoroughly and do not overeat. Also, avoid eating when anxious, and keep meals very simple – one, two or three foods per meal only. These simple rules will also reduce harmful fermentation and putrefaction of your food.

5. Drink 3 quarts of water each day for adults. Drink only spring water or distilled water for a few months only. Avoid reverse osmosis water, alkaline waters and other types of water.

6. Follow the basic dietary suggestion for slow oxidizers discussed in The Slow Oxidizer Eating Plan. Especially eat cooked vegetables twice daily or more, filling at least half your plate with cooked vegetables.

7. Consider doing a coffee enema daily, and taking our basic supplement program, at the very least. This includes kelp capsules (3 daily), omega-3 fatty acids (1000 mg daily), vitamin D (5000 iu daily), and a product called Paramin from Endomet Labs that contains 250 mg calcium and 150 mg magnesium in each tablet (3 daily or more).

If this is not enough, then consider a complete nutritional balancing program, which will include having a hair mineral analysis to assess your metabolic type and rate, and many other parameters of the body chemistry. Then more specific supplementation, more specific dietary suggestions and other procedures can be suggested to enhance the simple measures above. In this way, most liver conditions can be overcome easily.

For more information about this subject, read Liver Detoxification And Methylation.

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