A Healthy Liver Key To More Energy

Giving the liver all the nutrients it needs to perform its daily tasks is one of the most important things you can do to boost your energy. In addition to all the terrific minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals found in the plant kingdom (and in abundance in fresh vegetable juices), certain supplements can help.

At the top of the list is an herb called milk thistle. Milk thistle’s active ingredient, silymarin, has been found to have a liver-protecting effect in a number of studies. Silymarin and its related compounds seem to inhibit the entrance of toxins into the liver by somehow altering the outer membrane of the liver cells.

Milk thistle is also a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

I recommend a dose of between 400 and 900 mg a day (in divided doses), with the larger doses for those who suspect their energy has been compromised by toxins, including alcohol, acetaminophen (such as found in Tylenol), and other known liver toxins. (Make sure you milk thistle is “standardized” for 80 percent silymarin, the active ingredient. The means a 100 mg capsule of milk thistle delivers 80 mg of silymarin). And for general energy maintenance, 200 to 400 mg of milk thistle (standardized to 80 percent silymarin) is a good idea.

Neutralizing Energy Sappers
The liver – and to a lesser degree, the lungs and skin – is responsible for neutralizing – or, in more popular terms, detoxifying – every chemical, pesticide, and medication that enters our bodies through any pathway (from the mouth to the skin to the hair), not to mention other intruders that we breathe, eat, drink, spray, and slather on our bodies.

If it’s a toxin that doesn’t belong in the body, it’s the job of the liver to get rid of it. And most of those toxins can silently zap our energy. Some of these toxins are in and out of our system quickly, but others are persistent, lodging in fat cells, contributing to a feeling of malaise and, ultimately, a lack of energy.

When we have a good balance of nutrients and our system isn’t overstressed, then the liver functions as a reliable waste treatment plant, excreting an arsenal of enzymes to transform fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble ones, and allowing them to be processed by the kidneys or bowels and then excreted.

If there aren’t enough nutrients in the body to generate the enzymes or if the liver treatment plant is flooded with chemicals, then some of those toxins are stored in fat cells or transformed into free radicals. They then head back into the bloodstream, where they get recirculated and can damage the endocrine system, the nervous system, and the immune system. A great time is had by all.