Hyvin
A Natural Health and Wellness Blog

Personal Spring Cleaning… on the Inside!
Detox the Detox Organ… Keep your Liver Healthy!

The liver plays many crucial roles in normal metabolism, including detoxification. This important internal organ may need some spring cleaning, and here’s why:

There is a wide range of foreign compounds the liver may be called upon to detoxify, including:

• Benzopyrenes (from tobacco smoke or smoke from grilling foods)
• Acetone (from nail polish remover, paints, varnishes, thinners)
• Heterocyclic amines (from lighter fluid, hydrocarbon solvents, barbecued or broiled meats)
• Nitrosamines (from processed foods)
• Polycyclic hydrocarbons (from car exhaust, fumes from burning fossil fuels)
• Insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers
• Ammonia and other household chemicals
• Alcoholic beverages
• Some over-the-counter and prescription drugs: antiulcer, analgesic, antiflammatory, anticonvulsant, antihyperlipidemic, etc.

When the structure of these compounds is changed in the liver, free radicals are released. Free radicals then attack the cell membranes of liver cells. If their attack is successful, the integrity of the cell is impaired leading to cell damage and even cell death. Despite the liver’s amazing ability to regenerate itself, if too many liver cells are destroyed or damaged by free radical-induced oxidation, the liver’s ability to perform important functions may be decreased.

And what, besides detoxification, are those important functions? Well, you could think of the liver as a kind of industrial processing plant for the body, performing a wide range of critical functions for physical maintenance and repair.

Let’s take a look at some of the different departmental functions of the amazing liver.

• Warehouse and Shipping Depot for Nutrients. When you eat, foods are broken down into component nutrients by the process of digestion, absorbed, and transported by the blood to the liver. The liver receives the nutrients and assigns some to the storage while others are “packaged” and shipped to parts of the body to fill their needs.

  As another kind of “shipping and receiving” function, the liver helps to regulate normal blood sugar levels in response to the action of hormones produced by the pancreas.

• Protein Manufacturing Plant. The liver assembles amino acids into essential proteins needed for the immune system’s antibodies, blood clotting, and many other bodily functions.
• Waste Treatment Plant. When blood enters the liver, it carries not only nutrients, but also a wide range of other substances absorbed through our skin, through our lungs, and through our digestive systems. Any compound the body doesn’t need for nutritional supplies is identified as “foreign” and targeted for “disassembly” and disposal. Specialized liver enzymes perform the function of changing the chemical structure of foreign compounds so they can be excreted.
• Hazardous Waste Transport and Disposal. Once the liver has broken down toxic substances, they can be excreted by the kidneys in urine or transported to the intestines in bile, which is manufactured by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. When needed, bile is released into the intestines where it works along with dietary fiber to bind toxins and facilitate their elimination from the body as part of fecal waste.

So, in order to ensure that all these functions are done to the best of the liver’s ability, we need to do our part in optimizing our liver function. Many natural health professionals recommend a periodic cleansing of the liver as a part of this. There are two primary strategies we can use to optimize liver function:

1. Antioxidant Protection. Research continues to identify nutrients that protect various cells and tissues in the body against the oxidation damage caused by free radicals. By supplying the body with herbal compounds that have antioxidant properties, the liver’s natural ability to regenerate itself after exposure to damaging oxidation reactions can be supported.
2. Improving Bile Flow. The longer toxic substances and their oxidative by-products are present in the liver and the gastrointestinal tract, the more damage they can do. By providing the body with compounds that help maintain normal bile flow, the body’s natural ability to eliminate toxins from the body can be supported.

What substances best provide these strategies?

• Milk thistle seed extract – supports the body’s normal ability to make proteins that help regenerate liver cells
• Schizandra and reishi mushrooms – herbs with antioxidant properties; schizandra has also been associated with the stimulation of protein synthesis, increasing the amount of detoxifying enzymes in the liver, and inhibiting the binding of toxins to cell membranes.
• Extracts of dandelion, turmeric, and artichoke – herbs that help maintain normal bile flow.

You can get all of these herbs in one formulation for a spring cleaning of your liver!

Researchers reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition this month that Vit. D supplements “may be useful in managing patients with congestive heart failure.”

I continue to be so encouraged by these studies looking at the role of natural approaches in preventing and dealing with serious health issues! In school, a “D” doesn’t look too good, but it sure looks good here.

Fiber continues to get “high-fives” from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Recently published is another study showing that those consuming diets high in fiber have lower levels of C-reactive protein, an indicator of inflammation that is recognized as a predictor of diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk.

I know it’s recommended that we get between 25-30 grams of fiber every day. Raw, fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains are what it takes to reach that amount. Do you find it tricky to pay attention to those levels? I found a fiber supplement that my kids really like (they even ask to have it for a snack), so that helps a lot!

As the weather warms up, we head outdoors. Health Day online recently posted some warning signs that children are becoming dehydrated (“If your child complains of dizziness, lightheadedness or dry mouth, or notice that your child is not urinating as often as usual”). It can happen much more quickly and easily than we realize.

I am SO glad to have discovered an electrolyte replacement drink that does an even better job of hydrating than water, tastes great, has NO artificial ingredients and is very low in “sugars.” The kids love it! And it gives me great peace of mind.

And remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.

We’ve been hearing the words epidemic and pandemic a lot lately. Here’s a context in which I would not have expected to hear these words: skin cancer! An American Academy of Dermatology report in the April 2006 issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter warns that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer. The Reuters Health report of this news item states “there is an unrecognized epidemic of skin cancer underway in the United States…”

Of course we all know the most common, effective way to prevent skin cancer: use sunscreen when out in the sun. But so many of us don’t do it! Why is that? Yes, it’s kind of a hassle, but hassle vs. cancer should be a no-brainer. And yes, it can be a gooey, sticky mess, but it doesn’t have to be! I love my sunscreen because it contains natural nutritional compounds that make it super effective with less of the sunscreen ingredients that make the lotion sticky and unappealing.

This is one epidemic we can surely halt!

National economic growth and stability is a good thing, right? Welllll, that depends. It also increases the risk of a fatal heart attack, according to research recently reported by Reuters Health. More overtime work hours, lack of exercise, an increased likelihood of smoking, and eating more “convenience foods” were all identified as potentially being associated with economic growth and therefore explaining the negative health consequences.

Makes sense to me. But I wonder if the stress of unemployment might have similar effects! Striving to keep a balance in life, in all circumstances, would seem to be the take-away lesson here: financial and physical, mental, and spiritual balance.

Easier said than done, but SO important to be hyvin [well]!

New research suggests that Vitamin C and Vitamin E supplements help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s because of their ability to reduce inflammation.

For a group of elderly people at a high risk of Alzheimer’s because of a certain genetic makeup, the greatest benefit was found when they took ibuprofen in addition to these two supplements (the ibuprofen apparently reduced one of the causes of inflammation). I was glad to see that, according to the Reuters Health report on the study, researchers did acknowledge that ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers.

At least the Vitamins C and E have side benefits, not side effects. I am certainly interested in knowing what I can do, that is otherwise safe and good for me, to reduce the risk of this health challenge!

A study just reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that we can live longer!… IF we eat less. This was the first human study assessing whether calorie restriction impacted signs of aging. The news item on this study explained:

All of those who cut down on their calories showed a fall in average core body temperature and reduced fasting insulin levels, both linked to living longer.

The rate at which their DNA decayed – a natural process – also slowed, reducing their chances of developing mutations and degenerative diseases related to ageing such as cancer.

And — oh, yes — the study participants did lose weight too.

It seems a fitting time to acknowledge the health benefits of fewer calories, as the Lenten season, and our family’s corresponding fasting, draws to a close. As we celebrate the holy days leading up to and including Easter, the blog will take a small break. I look forward to being back sharing natural health and wellness information with you next week.

At a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research last week, researchers reported that there is a link between prostate cancer and barbecue meats.

According to the Reuters report of the presentation, a compound formed when meat is charred at high temperatures — as in barbecue — encourages both the initiation and the growth of prostate cancer in rats.

This is certainly something to heed as we head into warmer weather and barbecue season.

UK scientists writing in The Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine recently say that, based on existing research, relatively low levels of chemicals in pesticides and plastics could cause cancers in babies and young children.

These chemicals, called organochlorines, can accumulate in the body through contaminated food, water and air. They are believed to affect hormone production, which has raised concerns about links to hormone-related cancers, such as breast, prostate and testicular cancers.

The Guardian report of this warning attributes the conclusion “…that the dangers of pesticides for children have been underestimated” to the scientist authors.

One of the best ways to avoid these chemicals on food is (obviously) to buy and eat food that has not been treated with pesticide. Go organic.

Another suggestion is to peel produce, but then you lose the fiber and nutrient content of the skin . At the least, wash fruits and veggies thoroughly. I love my produce wash. Just a few drops in a bowl of water helps remove dirt, waxes, and pesticide.