The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, responsible for over 500 reactions, and elevated liver enzymes on blood tests don’t need to be present in order to be mindful about optimizing function.
While a healthy diet and lifestyle also provides nutrients important to liver function, sometimes certain concerns require natural liver supplements specifically for an additional therapeutic benefit.
According to experts, signs, and symptoms of poor liver health include:
1. Yellowish hue to skin or eyes
2. Abdominal pain
3. Swelling in abdomen, legs, and ankles
4. Dark urine color
5. Chronic fatigue
6. Nausea or vomiting
7. Loss of appetite
8. Tendency to bruise easily
Best natural supplements
The best supplements for liver health will help facilitate the hundreds of biochemical reactions involved not only in detoxification and hormone balance, but bile production, sugar storage, cholesterol metabolism, etc.
Milk Thistle
It is anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and promotes cellular regeneration, while improving markers of oxidative stress, insulin resistance, and liver fat accumulation.
ALA
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is also called a “universal antioxidant” due to its ability with it’s metabolized version DHLA to synergistically improve the efficacy of other antioxidants (e.g. vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium), remove metals, quench free radicals, and positively affect gene expression. It can be found in broccoli.
Green Tea
It reduces the risk of liver cancer, and helps lower cholesterol and protect against fatty liver disease by stimulating lipid metabolism. EGCG, one of the main catechins in green tea, also has a proliferative effect on hepatic stellate cells, which are closely related to the progression of liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases.
Dandelion
Its bitter taste helps keep an optimal flow of bile from the liver to the gallbladder, where it is stored and released upon digestion.
