The location and purpose of the liver
The liver is the largest gland in the body and it’s located at the beginning of the small intestine. It has many purposes but one of the main ones is to produce bile, which is an essential secretion for breaking down digested lipids into smaller particles so fats and fat-soluble vitamins can be absorbed by the small intestine. Adults produce between 400 and 800 ml of bile each day and it’s stored in the gallbladder until needed. Besides manufacturing bile, the liver works as a filter to detoxify and purge harmful chemicals (such as alcohol) from the body. Along with the kidneys, the liver is the most important organ of elimination in the body.
Christmas, alcohol, and a healthy liver.
Unfortunately they don’t go together terribly well. Latest studies reveal that although the more alcohol you consume the greater the burden you place on your liver, in actual fact any amount of alcohol is harmful. Whilst abstention is probably the ideal, let’s be realistic, many of you will drink.
Other things that don’t exactly help the liver
Drinking is not the only thing that does in your liver. The liver can also be weakened by a rubbish diet, in particular too much sugar, fried foods, refined foods (white rice, white bread, white pasta for example), excessive meat intake, and regretably countless orthodox medicines. Our old “friend” candida overgrowth also harms the liver through free radical damage. As my own mentor put it in the article Conquering Candida “The liver takes the full brunt of candida toxins emanating from the bowel (at least one of which – acetaldehyde – is a known hepatotoxin) and also, candida itself is likely to disseminate to the liver readily. Liver function might therefore be expected to be disturbed in candidiasis, and this could encourage the development of food allergies since the liver is responsible for removing foreign proteins from the circulation”.
Fortunately help is at hand.
Livatrex
Livatrex is a blend of powerful, carefully-selected herbs that contain antioxidants and other beneficial compounds. The compounds in GHC’s enhanced Raw Herbal Extract™ naturally detoxify, flush, and purge the liver of fatty deposits, built-up toxins, and other impurities. This 30-day supply (at the maintenance dosage) can help to : –
- Clean and strengthen the liver
- Improve Energy
- Purify the Blood
- Protect from free radicals
Livatrex is our most popular liver support product. Here is some additional information on its 9 active constituents that goes beyond what we publish on the web site
1. Borotutu Bark
Borotutu bark is by far one of the most powerful substances when it comes to liver cleansing and digestive system support. It has even shown promise for biliary colic and jaundice. This herb contains powerful antioxidants which are known to help protect your liver cells from serious damage.
2. Milk Thistle Seed
Milk thistle has been used for over two thousand years due to its remarkable effects on the liver and gallbladder. Galen and Pliny, the ancient philosophers, recognized and used the power of milk thistle for liver cleansing and support. Milk thistle helps with the detoxification of poisons such as alcohol, regeneration of damaged liver tissue, stimulation of bile production, and digestion.
3. Chanca Piedra
The indigenous people of the Amazon have used chanca piedra (Phyllanthus niruri) for centuries to promote the body’s natural elimination of liver, gallbladder, and kidney stones. It also stimulates the liver to purge itself of harmful toxins and foreign particles. Chanca piedra soothes the liver, boosts bile production, and may inhibit the formation of calcified stones in the body.
4. Greater Celandine
The ancient Greeks and Romans considered celandine one of the most powerful liver cleansing herbs. Maurice Mességué, the famous French herbalist, used greater celandine for all liver concerns. Celandine stimulates enzyme production from the pancreas, helps the liver eliminate foreign particles, stimulates the production of bile, helps relieve gallbladder spasms and improves a sluggish liver.
5. Chicory Root
Known for its vibrant blue flowers, chicory is also a medicinal herb celebrated for its ability to help cleanse the liver. Ancient Roman, Persian, Arabian, and Indian physicians used chicory leaves and root to aid against a slew of liver ailments including jaundice, gallbladder and liver stones, urinary stones, constipation, indigestion, depression, and headaches
6. Dandelion Root
This humble weed, often disliked by suburban lawn lovers, is a liver cleanser that has been celebrated throughout the ages. Dandelion root stimulates bile flow from the liver and is often used by herbalists to help resist undesirable liver conditions, including fatty liver, cirrhosis, estrogen dominance, and even acne.
7. Organic Turmeric
This yellow root, a cousin of ginger, is a powerful liver protector and even liver cell regenerator. It not only helps stimulate enzymes responsible for flushing out toxins from the body, but turmeric is also capable of combating the effects of certain carcinogenic substances.
8. Peppermint
Peppermint isn’t just for fresh breath. This herb stimulates bile flow and relaxes bile ducts, helping to break down fats. It also helps reduce bad cholesterol, which makes the liver’s job of filtering toxins easier. Peppermint also inhibits blockages in the kidney and gallbladder and calms the stomach for optimal digestion.
9. Organic Yellow Dock Root
This herb is known as a blood purifier and commonly used to cleanse toxins from the body. Yellow dock helps break down fatty foods by stimulating bile production, enhancing normal liver detoxification, improving the flow of digestive juices, helping the liver eliminate toxins, and has mild diuretic effects to help flush out harmful substances. It also helps reduce irritation of the liver and digestive system.
Dandelion Formula
A polyherbal supplement containing 8 ingredients synergistically blended to support optimal liver function developed by the author of “Conquering Candida” mentioned above. It consists of 60 capsules compared to the 2 oz liquid contained in Livatrex. The developer describes it’s development thus “For each formula we screen hundreds of herbs and then having made the initial choice we test for antagonism, synergism, allergenicity and tolerability before we decide on the final selection. In all we conduct around three thousand separate tests for each formula.” The same approach belies all the herbal products found here. Consisting of Dandelion root, Dandelion leaf, Red clover, Yellow dock, Fennel, Burdock, Turmeric, Ginger (typically 400 mg blend per capsule), you’ll notice that it contains some of the same ingredients as Livatrex. Totally additive-free
Which one is better?
Can’t really answer this one I’m afraid. Inevitably most suppliers say something to the effect of “our product is the best one, and all the rest are rubbish”. But in reality, individual results vary with virtually everything. Whichever one you try, if you’re serious about supporting and rejuveanting your liver you’ll be wanting to regard this as a three month programme, not a 3 day programme! To some extent that’s why we offer volume discounts on these products – to encourage you to buy enough to give it a fair crack of the whip. Try not to be excessively influenced by the fact that Livatrex has a prettier label. That’s because livatrex is manufactured by a relatively big company, whereas Dandelion Formula is more of an “artisan” product developed by someone who remains deliberately “low profile”. At the end of the day, I believe they are both great products. Follow your intuition, and also consider whether you prefer a liquid extract (Livatrex) or capsules (Dandelion Formula).
Depending on what you celebrate in December, I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas, Chanukah, Winter Solstice, Bodhi day, Yule, Kwanzaa, Zarathosht Diso or Knees-Up! And if I missed anyone’s religion out, let me know, and I’ll add your celebration in next year!
Mark G. Lester
Director and overall Clever Cloggs
The Finchley Clinic Ltd
www.thefinchleyclinic.com