Description
The liver is responsible for several vital bodily functions. It’s in charge of bile production and excretion, enzyme activation, and blood detoxification and purification. It excretes cholesterol and other substances and metabolizes fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Women’s endocrine systems are closely tied to the liver, as the liver is responsible for filtering out excess estrogen and other hormones. Those are just a few of its important functions.
Every day, the liver is bombarded with a vast array of chemicals it needs to sort through, store and remove. Since the liver is of utmost importance to a body’s ability to detoxify, it’s important to make sure it is functioning as it should.
Since the liver can easily get overworked from the vast number of chemicals its subjected to every day, liver support should be introduced into any protocol.
Three of our favorite herbal combinations for supporting the liver are featured in Liver Support Liquid. It contains silymarin and Oregon grape root, two herbs famous for supporting liver function. It also contains yellow dock, which aids patients in emptying their bowels.
Silymarin, the main bioflavonoid found in milk thistle seeds, is one of the oldest, safest, most well-known liver-supporting herbs. It enhances detoxification pathways and improves bile movement, along with supporting the gallbladder, kidneys, and spleen. It protects the liver from medications, environmental contaminants, and other harmful chemicals.
Silymarin increases phase II enzyme activity in the liver and prevents glutathione from decreasing inside liver cells. This protects the cells from free radical activity and enhances detoxification. Some of the many ways silymarin protects the liver are with its antioxidant properties, by preventing lipid oxidation and balancing phase I detoxification.
As an added benefit, silymarin also supports a normal inflammatory response by inhibiting leukotriene and prostaglandin synthesis. This calms down immune mast cells and neutrophils and enhances the production of cellular proteins for cell regeneration.
Oregon grape root is native to the Pacific Northwest and, despite its name, isn’t a grape at all. It’s actually a part of the evergreen family. However, like grapes, it directly supports blood health with its antioxidant properties that promote improved blood flow throughout the body. Thanks to its positive effects on the blood supply, it improves liver function by enhancing blood flow to the liver, which helps the liver function well.
Oregon grape root has traditionally been used to promote detoxification. Not only does it have liver-boosting properties, but it also improves gallbladder function and encourages the healthy production of enzymes from the pancreas and intestines.
Yellow dock is another ingredient featured in Liver Support Liquid. It helps the gallbladder system more directly (even if you don’t have a gallbladder your cystic ducts are still here!), which promotes your body’s ability to empty the bowels. One of the most important purposes of defecating is to remove toxins from the body. If the bowels can’t evacuate feces effectively, the toxins get reabsorbed and the liver has to repeat the work it already did. That can easily lead to an overwhelmed liver. Yellow dock supports this function, which ultimately helps prevent the liver from having to overwork.
Why we love Liver Support Liquid, the detoxification promoter
If you’re backed up because the liver is overburdened and sluggish, your body won’t deal with the backed-up toxins well and you’ll be met with a vast array of unpleasant symptoms.
One of the most common reasons for liver fatigue and trouble detoxing is that the toxins are not properly eliminated after they are dumped into the intestines. Then the liver is forced to do its job multiple times before the toxin actually gets out.
This is like taking your trash out to the curb for the garbage man to pick up and pulling out a few bags from your trash can back into your home. This is what happens when the liver works well, but the intestines aren’t eliminating. Yellow dock helps this process by promoting the emptying of the bowels, which removes the toxins, instead of recirculating them inside the body.
Whether you’re trying to kill tickborne illnesses, balance hormones, or remove harmful chemicals and heavy metals from your body, your liver and intestines have to be functioning well. Otherwise, these toxins will recirculate throughout your system, wreaking havoc along the way.
In the clinic, we’ve had better results combining silymarin with Oregon grape root than using milk thistle alone. This blend really helps the liver as it processes any type of toxin, whether that’s mold, infections, chemicals, heavy metals or other kinds of harmful substances.
Oregon grape root is a favorite of mine because it’s of great help to the nervous system. Most of our patients need to clear neurotoxins from their bodies and Oregon grape root is an antioxidant that supports the nerves and the brain. Herbicides, pesticides, heavy metals, Lyme, mold—they’re all harmful to the nervous system, so that’s where symptoms often present themselves. The extra support is needed. We love Oregon grape root because it combines liver support alongside its antioxidant properties that help protect the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Adding in silymarin for further liver support makes this a dynamic combination for detoxification and protection for the liver, nervous and cardiovascular systems.
References
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Warnings
Always be sure to speak with your healthcare provider before starting any new nutritional supplement when pregnant or nursing. For children, we recommend speaking with your child's pediatrician regarding proper dosing. Store away from children.
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