"Sluggish" Liver issues.

[Gaby]

# When you eat asparagus, you have a funny smell in your urine

I thought that was just the nature of asparagus.

From Wiki:

I think this could be the case, as not everyone who has a funny smell in the urine after eating asparagus may have a sluggish liver. But there is also something about sulfur containing foods and a metabolic deficiency linked with molybdenum. Here is the relevant part from Beating and Treating Fibromyalgia and CFS:

Phase II [detoxification pathway of the liver] is responsible for neutralizing acetaminophen, nicotine, and
insecticides. It is comprised of the following conjugation processes:

• Glutathione conjugation requires vitamin B6 and the tripeptide
(made from three amino acids) glutathione.
• Amino-acid conjugation requires the amino acid glycine. Low-
protein diets and defcient digestive enzymes inhibit this process.
Individuals with hypothyroidism, arthritis, hepatitis, and chemi-
cal sensitivities may sufer from poor amino-acid conjugation.
• Methylation requires S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe). SAMe
is synthesized from the amino acid methionine and dependent
on folic acid, choline, and vitamin B12. Methylation detoxifes
estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones, acetaminophen, and
coumarin.
• Sulfation requires the amino acids cysteine and methionine and
the mineral molybdenum. Sulfation is involved in processing ste-
roids, thyroid hormones, food additives, certain drugs, and neu-
rotransmitters. Individuals who can’t take certain antidepressants
or have reactions to certain sulfur-containing foods may beneft
from taking extra molybdenum, taurine, cysteine, and methio-
nine. (All these are included in our CFS/Fibromyalgia formula.)
• Acetylation requires acetyl-CoA and is inhibited by a defciency
in vitamin C, B2, or B5. Tis pathway is responsible for elimi-
nating sulfa drugs, so individuals with sulfa allergies may beneft
from extra vitamin C, B2, or B5.
• Glucuronidation requires glucoronic acid and detoxifes acet-
aminophen, morphine, benzoates, aspirin, and vanilla. Aspirin
inhibits this process. Signs of defciency include yellowish pig-
ment in the eyes or skin not caused by hepatitis.
• Sulfoxidation requires molybdenum and detoxifes sulftes and
garlic. You may be deficient in this enzyme if you have allergic
reactions to sulfte foods or garlic, asthmatic reactions after eat-
ing, or a strong urine odor after eating asparagus. Individuals
with a sluggish sulfoxidation pathway may beneft from taking
additional molybdenum.

Fish oils, SAMe, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage all stimu-
late phase I and phase II reactions. Choline, betaine, methionine,
vitamin B6, folic acid, and vitamin B12 (altogether known as lipo-
trophic factors) stimulate bile production and its fow to and from
the liver. Lipotrophic factors also increase SAMe and glutathione,
which in turn spare the liver free-radical damage.

Here is more information about it: link

 

[theos]

Thanks for the info, Psyche. And now to apologize to my liver...

 

[RedFox]

Thanks for that Psyche, really useful info!

Checklist of "sluggish liver" (I have or had ALL of them!):

I have almost all of them!

Just found a cheaper alternative to the 12 milk thistle tablets a day _http://www.naturesbest.co.uk/Milk-Thistle-8500mg-%28Silymarin%29-P152/
Will give you almost the same amount of silymarin from one capsule that 12 of the others gives you now.

I'll be checking these out and report back.

 

[Gertrudes]

Yes, thank you for the useful information Psyche! The link you attached in your last post is also very interesting, it makes the distinction between sulfur and sulfite containing foods and a possible sensitivity to either. These two are often confused.
I suspect that I have sulfite sensitivity and it was interesting to learn that it is likely related to a metabolic problem rather then an allergic reaction.

Just found a cheaper alternative to the 12 milk thistle tablets a day _http://www.naturesbest.co.uk/Milk-Thistle-8500mg-%28Silymarin%29-P152/
Will give you almost the same amount of silymarin from one capsule that 12 of the others gives you now.

I'll be checking these out and report back.

I was excited when I saw your finding too, but when I read the label I found that there are a lot of added additives:

Calcium Carbonate,
Cellulose, Silicon
Dioxide, Hydroxypropyl
Methylcellulose,
Stearic Acid,
Magnesium Stearate,
Croscarmellose
Sodium, Glycerin.

So it might not be such a good product after all.

 

[D69]

Just found a cheaper alternative to the 12 milk thistle tablets a day _http://www.naturesbest.co.uk/Milk-Thistle-8500mg-%28Silymarin%29-P152/
Will give you almost the same amount of silymarin from one capsule that 12 of the others gives you now.

I may sound weird but why buying pills again ? Those pills contents are basiacally milk thistle seeds bound with magnesium stearate.
Question is , Do we need to add magnesium stearate ? :D

This is in fact polish 'ebay' kind of website but it shows how cheap it is in pure form.
12 zl equals according to current exchange rate 4,1741 USD per 1 kg !!
1 kg = 2.2046 lb = 35.2736 oz
4$ for a 1 kg of pure milk thistle seeds , beat this price ;)

__http://allegro.pl/ostropest-plamisty-rewelacyjna-cena-12-00-zl-kg-i1330656160.html

 

[melatonin]

Stay clear of any supplements.
Drink plenty of water.
Stay clear from sweetners and sugar.
Eat apples and bananas as a treat.
Dont eat much bread. When you do only wholemeal.
Lose weight = quickest way to lower enzymes. Do sit-ups to build up muscle around the liver area.
Cut out meats = as they have steroids in them, harder for liver to process.
Eat pickled onions (vinegar great for liver) and beetroot.
Avoid fruit-juice = sucralose very bad for liver.
Eat a wholesome cereal like shreded wheat and skimmed milk.
Eat porridge made with water.


^ i got diagnosed with NASH liver disease. Did the above and my liver function (raised alt) returned to normal in months. Im now sticking to it, and i dont miss any of the shite (inclusing meat) that i left behind. I now have no symptoms, and 300% more energy. Ive also lost 2 stones.

Keep your diet simple and stick with it.

Best of luck.

 

[melatonin]

Just to add:-

Stay clear of vitamins and supplements.

Vitamins because its easy to overdose (not literally) on these nowadays. Just eat healthy, and you will get what you need.
Too many vitamins = damage's liver.

Supplements = Most capsules are made out of allsorts of chemicals (alot not listed) and the more different shit you put into your liver, the more over-loaded it becomes.
Simple diet with foods your liver can process easilly.

Drink lots of water (around 2 litres a day min). Keeps your liver flushed.

 

[Laura]

Melatonin, have you read any of the threads on detox and diet on this forum? Are you aware of the dangers of gluten and dairy? Why do you presume to advise anyone on these topics?

 

[Gimpy]

Stay clear of any supplements.
Drink plenty of water.
Stay clear from sweetners and sugar.
Eat apples and bananas as a treat.
Dont eat much bread. When you do only wholemeal.
Lose weight = quickest way to lower enzymes. Do sit-ups to build up muscle around the liver area.
Cut out meats = as they have steroids in them, harder for liver to process.
Eat pickled onions (vinegar great for liver) and beetroot.
Avoid fruit-juice = sucralose very bad for liver.
Eat a wholesome cereal like shreded wheat and skimmed milk.
Eat porridge made with water.


^ i got diagnosed with NASH liver disease. Did the above and my liver function (raised alt) returned to normal in months. Im now sticking to it, and i dont miss any of the shite (inclusing meat) that i left behind. I now have no symptoms, and 300% more energy. Ive also lost 2 stones.

Keep your diet simple and stick with it.

Best of luck.

Found some basic information on NASH here: http://www.liverdoctor.com/index.php?page=fatty-liver

If I ate as you've described, melatonin, I'd be back in the hospital again, with congested liver, and bile duct spasms. The diet you've outlined above is essentially vegetarian, without meat, but with the worse causes of inflammation left in: Dairy and Wheat.

If it works for you, fine. But it would be a mistake to encourage anyone else to try it as you've described, especially for a sluggish liver!

 

[Gimpy]

Just to add:-

Stay clear of vitamins and supplements.

Vitamins because its easy to overdose (not literally) on these nowadays. Just eat healthy, and you will get what you need.
Too many vitamins = damage's liver.

Supplements = Most capsules are made out of allsorts of chemicals (alot not listed) and the more different -shite- you put into your liver, the more over-loaded it becomes.
Simple diet with foods your liver can process easilly.

Drink lots of water (around 2 litres a day min). Keeps your liver flushed.

What are you basing all this on?

 

[melatonin]

Hi Gimpsy - fair enough. You obviously know what your doing.
Given id had an inflammed liver and had changed my diet in line with recommendations from a liver consultant (with great results) and my friend is a liver pathologist (who also offered me advice - alot of it) , i thought that maybe i was in a position to offer an opinion, which is all i did. No tone of voice - i wasnt saying it in an arrogant way or anything. Just a genuine post.
Sounds like you know far more than me, and your liver will recover very quickly.

 

[Gaby]

Hi Gimpsy - fair enough. You obviously know what your doing.
Given id had an inflammed liver and had changed my diet in line with recommendations from a liver consultant (with great results) and my friend is a liver pathologist (who also offered me advice - alot of it) , i thought that maybe i was in a position to offer an opinion, which is all i did.

Check the threads in the health section of this forum, melatonin.You need to catch up on the evils of gluten and dairy, and pronto! Use the search function in this forum and also at sott.net

 

[Nienna]

Hi Gimpsy - fair enough. You obviously know what your doing.
Given id had an inflammed liver and had changed my diet in line with recommendations from a liver consultant (with great results) and my friend is a liver pathologist (who also offered me advice - alot of it) , i thought that maybe i was in a position to offer an opinion, which is all i did. No tone of voice - i wasnt saying it in an arrogant way or anything. Just a genuine post.
Sounds like you know far more than me, and your liver will recover very quickly.

Melatonnin, what we have found is that there are a lot of "specialists" who don't know diddly about gluten and dairy, or nutrition in general. There are many research articles both here and on sott.net that show just what these evil "foods" do to a mind and body.

You are very lucky that you have had great results with the changes that you were told to do. So I'm glad that you are feeling better. I just can't help but wonder how much better you'd feel if you got off of those foods.

 

[Gaby]

I meant to post something I read about sluggish liver issues and hair loss, but forgot about it. Anyhow, today I found the same concept in another post, from a slightly different angle. I thought it was interesting:

Everything You Know About Hair Loss Is Wrong

http://www.carnivorehealth.com/main/2010/9/3/everything-you-know-about-hair-loss-is-wrong.html

Take a couple seconds out of your day and Google the phrase, "Hair loss and DHT". I'll hang here while you navigate through the thousands of studies and articles that link the two together. To summarize, elevated levels of the male androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the prime evil that must be defeated in order to arrest hair loss.

Those who are balding presumably have high DHT, which in excessive amounts is known to cause hair loss in those susceptible to balding. DHT is manufactured from free testosterone. The more free testosterone in the blood, the more DHT can be made by the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.

Free Testosterone > 5-Alpha Reductase > Excess DHT > Hair Loss

The million-dollar question is, "Why is free testosterone elevated?" Asking this question quickly illustrates how silly the pharmaceutical industries approach to treating hair loss is. Drugs like Propecia waste little time asking, "Why?" and instead opt to wage a full-fledged attack against 5-AR, pile driving the enzyme into submission.

To fully explore this question we have to talk about the gatekeeper of free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, or SHBG. Every hormone in the body is either "bound" to a carrier protein or "free" to circulate in the blood. SHBG is the master controller of how much free testosterone is available to be manufactured into DHT. In those with premature hair loss SHBG is found to be decreased, meaning that a large amount of their free testosterone is being converted into DHT by the 5-AR enzyme.

The most accepted theory of why subnormal values of SHBG are seen in those with premature hair loss is that metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, high triglycerides, high inflammatory markers, elevated cortisol) decreases SHBG. This is even the very theory that I subscribed to in my eBook, The Healthy Hair Diet. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon research that suggested that decreased levels of SHBG are actually caused by liver impairment.

What is the most common ailment Americans are facing besides metabolic syndrome? Fatty liver of course. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD, is the condition in which fat infiltrates the liver in the form of triglycerides. Unless you're regularly getting lipid profiles done by your physician, you might not even know that you have NAFLD. It turns out that you can have NAFLD with little or no symptoms.

Take my buddy for example. He is hands down one of the leanest dudes I've ever met. He also happens to have a raging case of NAFLD. Looking at him you would have no idea. He must average 9% body fat year around.

So, where am I going with this?

In those susceptible to balding (how sensitive one is to DHT), elevated DHT is not a curse inherited, but a symptom of liver impairment.

Liver Impairment > Decreased SHBG > Increased Free Testosterone > Increased DHT > Hair Loss

There are other possibilities of hair loss, including a low stomach acidity which impairs digestion and absorption of proteins.

Here is more info on sluggish liver and its symptoms:

Sluggish Liver Symptoms

_http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sluggish-liver-symptoms.html

The liver is a vital body organ present below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen. It performs a wide range of functions like detoxification, protein synthesis and production of biochemicals essential for digestion. It produces bile, an alkaline compound which helps in digestion through the emulsification of lipids. Liver also performs and controls different high-volume biochemical reactions involving highly equipped tissues for synthesis and breakdown of small and complex molecules. Some other functions performed by the liver are:

* Generation of fats emulsifying substances
* Glucose to glycogen conversion
* Manufacturing of amino acids
* Removal of toxic substances from the blood
* Storage of vitamins and minerals
* Maintaining proper levels of glucose in the blood

Causes for Sluggish Liver

Causes for sluggish liver can be due to different types of liver pathologies like:

* Excessive accumulation of fat within the liver cells due to alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, drugs (like corticosteroids, tetracycline and aspirin) or elevated serum triglyceride levels can lead to impeding liver function.
* Other cause for sluggish liver function is intrahepatic problems which occur due to over exposure to food additives, solvents (cleaning materials, formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, etc.), heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, and aluminum), and other toxins.
* Viral infections of liver like hepatitis, inherited disorders like Gilbert's syndrome, hyperthyroidism, consumption of anabolic steroids/estrogens/oral contraceptives are some other factors that can restrict the bile flow in the liver and cause impaired liver function.
* Lack of physical activities, poor nutritious diet, aging, etc, are some other common causes for sluggish liver function.

Sluggish Liver Symptoms

Here are some signs or indications that may help to identify if the liver is sluggish or not functioning properly.

* For an average person approximately 80% of the cholesterol is generated by the liver. Therefore, if the liver is not functioning well there will be abnormalities in the level of fats in the blood stream like elevated LDL cholesterol and reduced HDL cholesterol.
* A sluggish liver lead to poor digestion which causes elevated triglycerides (lipids containing three individual fatty acids bounded together in a single large molecule). The person may also experience bloating or gassiness and flatulence (a state of excessive gas in the alimentary canal), especially after the meals.
* Since the liver plays an important role in eliminating toxins from the body and maintaining the efficiency of the body's immune system, skin irritation or skin allergies is also considered as the first sign of liver damage. A person can be prone to develop rashes, psoriasis, eczema, boils or acne if the liver is removing the toxins out through the skin.
* The liver also helps regulate blood sugar levels, hence signs that the liver is not maintaining blood sugar levels may include, loss of appetite, weakness or dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
* The liver filters out mutated hormones, therefore sluggish liver symptoms in women may include heavy or clotted menstruation, irregular periods, fibroids in breast or uterus, hot flashes, cysts on ovaries, mood swings or any menopausal problems.

Chronic fatigue, headaches, fever, constipation, jaundice, gall bladder disease/gall stones, hair loss, etc, are some other common sluggish liver symptoms.

 

[Gertrudes]

http://www.milkthistle.com/
The active chemical in milk thistle is silymarin. Silymarin functions as an antioxidant, inhibiting the factors responsible for liver damage and promoting the growth of healthy cells. In clinical trials, silymarin has been proven effective in treating and preventing many types of chronic liver diseases.

By increasing bile production in the liver, milk thistle helps the bowels achieve regularity and may calm the symptoms of IBS in some people who suffer from this difficult condition.

After having read this a while back, I realized that probably what we are looking for in milk thistle is a high percentage of sylmarin. So I found this product at Iherb which is what I am now taking: _http://www.iherb.com/Kroeger-Herb-Co-Complete-Concentrates-Milk-Thistle-90-Veggie-Caps/12351?at=0

Te reason why I am posting it is because it seems to be a fairly good product. One capsule contains 185mg of sylmarin, and it seems that it doesn't have any added nasties. Just pure milk thistle and a vegetarian source capsule.