Photo by: Carl Barcelo
The liver is our body’s primary detoxification organ for our hormones. If the liver is overburdened with toxicants, physical damage, inflammation, infection, or other stressors, it can be difficult to efficiently regulate hormones.
Sex hormones are intricately connected to gut and liver health in many ways. The liver helps support the detoxification and metabolization of estrogen. In addition, it helps to process environmental toxins which can impact our hormones.
Research is finding that an if the liver isn’t working properly, it can lead to either detoxifying estrogen too quickly (resulting in too little) or not detoxifying enough (resulting in too much.)
Too much estrogen that is not metabolized/excreted in the right way can contribute to things such as:
- Endometriosis / Adenomyosis
- Ovarian cysts
- Uterine polyps and fibroids, as well as a thickened uterine lining & excessive bleeding
- Estrogen-sensitive cancers (breast & uterine cancer)
- PCOS (this is usually due to estrogen dominance relative to low progesterone.)
Too little estrogen can contribute to things such as:
- Prematurely induced perimenopause and all that comes along with it!
The 3 phases of liver detoxification
Phase 1: Liver detox.
Your liver’s job is to cleanse or metabolize toxins that enter the body to reduce harm
The goal of phase 1 is to alter toxins so that they can work with enzymes in phase 2.
Phase 1 enzymes use chemical processes to alter these toxins:
- Oxidation
- Reduction
- Hydrolysis
These processes are what allow phase 2 enzymes to interact with the toxins by either adding or exposing a gap in the toxin. This is a positive reaction, however there is a catch: Phase 1 reactions produce a large number of free radicals.
Free radicals can harm cells and affect cellular function.
Some of these free radicals have the potential to bind to your DNA and serve as carcinogens, while some may attach to proteins resulting in an unwanted immune response.
Ways to support Phase 1:
Lifestyle Factors:
- Choose organic food to minimize toxin exposure
- Get outside and take deep breaths to increase oxygen levels
- Eat antioxidant rich foods (think: eat the rainbow)
Nutraceutical support:
- NAC
- Glutathione
- B Vitamins
- Zinc
- Milk Thistle
Phase 2: Conjugation.
Phase 2 involves combining phase 1 toxins with additional molecules. Toxins become more water soluble, less harmful and are able to be easily discharged into your blood or bile for excretion as a result.
There are a few pathways in conjugation, but the top 3 are:
- Glucuronidation
- Glutathione conjugation
- Amino acid conjugation
Ways to support Phase 2:
Lifestyle Factors:
- Eat protein rich food
- Eat broccoli sprouts and other cruciferous veggies
- Eat food rich in flavinoids like berries
Nutraceutical Support:
- Glycine
- Taurine
- Cysteine
- B Vitamins
- Ellagic acid
Phase 3: Liver drainage.
Similar to a garbage truck, transport proteins remove the newly water-soluble toxins from out of the liver to be released into your bile or bloodstream. From there:
- Toxins that enter your bloodstream are filtered by your kidneys and excreted through urine.
- Toxins that made their way into your bile are eventually released into your digestive system.
- And bile can be excreted through your stool.
Ways to support Phase 3:
Lifestyle Factors:
- Eat lots of fiber
- Get your sweat on
- Stay hydrated
- Non-habit forming motility agents
Nutraceutical Support:
- Carbon based binders (as needed)
- NAC
- Melatonin
- Motility herbs (ginger, etc)
- Calcium d-glucarate
The success of this process relies on keeping all phases healthy, so it’s essential that you do everything in your power to support it! (see images above!)
Keeping our liver healthy is essential to keeping our hormones happy!
