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Volume 3 Issue 4

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Proactive Hepatoprotection Traditionally, liver protection has involved a long list of passive don'ts: Don't take unnecessary medications; don't mix medications; don't use street drugs; don't drink too much alcohol; don't eat too much rich fatty food; don't come into contact with many chemicals in foods and in the environment; don't get hepatitis. e only recommended do is the standard, "eat a healthy well-balanced diet." ese are all useful, but they are not enough. If you live in civilization today, it's hard to avoid contact with environmental chemicals and pollutants, which the American Liver Association considers to be a primary cause of the current rise in liver disease. Hepatoprotective Nutrients Before you escape to a hermetically sealed biosphere to grow organic vegetables, there is something valuable and proactive you can do to protect your liver and keep it working efficiently far into the future. ere are a number of nutrients, herbs, and botanicals that have been shown to: • Protect liver cells from damage • Stimulate the growth of new liver cells to replace damaged old cells • Optimize hepatic function ese nutrients exert these effects by four overlapping therapeutic mechanisms: 1. Augment antioxidant defenses 2. Improve detoxification mechanisms of the hepatic mixed function oxidase system (MFO) 3. Diminish the inflammatory products of arachidonic metabolism, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes, which can promote free radical damage 4. Stimulate hepatic protein synthesis and enzymatic activities As outlined in Table 1 and described in detail below, combinations of standardized potency phytochemical antioxidants and free radical scavengers can provide significant hepato-protective and hepato-improving actions. Table 1 Protective Herbs Type of Action in the Gallbladder Protective Herbs Type of Action in the Liver Milk istle (silymarin) - Cholagogic and Choleretic Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) - Increase bile secretion in the liver Curcumin - Increase bile flow from the gallbladder Milk istle - Hepatotrophic - Protect liver cell (hepatocyte) components Liver extracts - Promote liver cell regrowth - Inhibits fat accumulations from liver Globe artichoke - Protect liver cells against injury Methionine - Antioxidant/Free Radical Scavenging - Methyl Donor/Lipotropic Curcumin Green Tea - Protect the liver's metabolic/ detoxification system N a t u r a l P r o t e c t i o n f o r O p t i m a l L i v e r H e a l t h By Lane Lenard, PhD Page 36| Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysHealthAndNutrition.com

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