Our livers are an amazing part of our body - it’s our main detoxifying organ that works hard to filter out toxins, poisons, and drugs, converts toxic ammonia to urea for excretion, and clears out excess bilirubin (what turns skin and eyes yellow if there is an excess). It has at least 500 known jobs in our body and probably more we don’t know about. So of course we want to support the liver with some quality supplements!

As well as detoxing, the liver converts glucose to glycogen (for storage), produces bile for fat digestion, processes hemoglobin, regulates blood clotting, makes cholesterol, and makes immune factors to help protect the body from infection, among many other responsibilities.

Unfortunately, the amount of toxins in our food, an overall unhealthy diet, poor quality food, and toxins in our environment puts a strain on the liver causing it to be overloaded - constantly working hard to rid the body of toxins while also trying to do its many other jobs. This leads to a sluggish liver at first then further down the line, to disease - and not just of the liver.

Diet

The best way to support your liver is by having a healthy diet. It doesn't matter how many supplements you take for the health of your liver, if your diet is filled with processed foods, lots of carbohydrates, refined sugar, and seed oils, it will not be healthy. Period. If you are a healthy person, your body can for sure handle minimal amounts of these unhealthy foods. Following a traditional ancestral diet using the 80/20 rule is your best bet to maintain health.

Toxins

Reducing toxins in your home and your environment, like cleaning products and body care products will support the liver. We can’t do it all but control what you can. After all, our skin is our largest organ, We absorb through our skin - and guess where it all ends up? The liver.

Gut Health

The gut and the liver are connected. Literally, the gut and everything in the body is connected. Whatever you are dealing with, whether that be a fatty liver or chronic fatigue, start with the health of your gut.

Another point to note is that poor gut health, particularly an overgrowth of candida, can produce acetaldehyde - a toxic carcinogenic and known neurotoxin. It is also produced in the metabolism of alcohol and can be a cause of a nasty hangover that accompanies alcohol consumption (your liver metabolizes alcohol). Don’t drink alcohol? You still might be exposed to it by an overgrowth of Candida in the gut. The candida feeds off of carbohydrates that you eat and creates this toxic substance that the liver cannot completely rid your body of - acetaldehyde. Symptoms include fatigue, headache, brain fog, and nausea.

Exercise

Exercise has been shown to reduce fat in the liver in cases on non alcoholic fatty liver disease as shown in this study (1). Even low intensity exercise has been shown to help.

Liver Supporting Supplements

Desiccated liver

Eat the organ you are trying to support. If you are not eating liver, think about supplementing with a good grass fed beef liver. Liver is one the most nutrient dense foods out there with high levels of Vitamin A, copper, zinc, and more.

Milk thistle

In this study (2), the active ingredient silymarin in milk thistle has been shown to inhibit fibrosis in the liver while also promoting liver regeneration.

Turmeric

In this article (3), turmeric is purported to aid in bile production which helps move fat out of the liver, prevent build up, and aid in liver regeneration.

Cinnamon

This same study confirmed that cinnamon helped to reduce liver enzymes in people with fatty liver. The true Ceylon cinnamon will give these results as the more common one, saigon cinnamon, will not.

Probiotics

Probiotics are good for so much, including liver health. They will improve liver health by reducing liver enzymes in people with non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), while also having positive effects on blood sugar and insulin levels, reducing total and LDL blood cholesterol levels and reducing total BMI (body mass index) (3).

References

Hamasaki, H. (2019). Perspectives on interval exercise interventions for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Medicines, 6(3), 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6030083
Hanje, A. J., Fortune, B., Song, M., Hill, D., & McClain, C. (2006). The use of selected nutrition supplements and complementary and alternative medicine in liver disease. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 21(3), 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0115426506021003255
Maloud, F., Havez, F., Mohammad A., Mahmood, M., Seyde Sedighe, Y. (2022). Effect of Medicinal Plants and Natural Products on Liver Enzymes in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Patients in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_313_20

Best Liver Supporting Supplements