Gut Health

Liver Health + Gut Health: How Rebalancing Your Microbiome Can Help Your Liver Thrive

Have you checked in with your liver lately? If you answered no, you're not alone. MOST people don't even think about their liver...until there's a problem. 

But you might not take your liver for granted after reading this: Your liver is vulnerable to a growing health epidemic that no one's really talking about.

This growing health concern is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and it’s harming and killing millions of people every year. What’s more, you probably won’t notice any symptoms until your liver is in real danger… that’s why liver disease is sometimes called a “silent killer.”

Luckily for all of us and our livers, researchers are making great strides when it comes to testing for - and treating - this sneaky disease. And both of those solutions start with rethinking how you take care of your gut microbiome (a.k.a. the trillions of good and bad bacteria that live in your gut). 

Bottom line? There are truly clues in your gut that tell how healthy your liver is! Let's find out more...

 

A Few Fun Liver Facts

Before we keep going, let's stop to ponder how important your liver is to your body and overall health...

Your liver is responsible for more than 500 critical functions – all necessary for life. In fact, your liver is so important, it’s the only organ that can regenerate on its own. WOW!

The liver is also set up differently than other organs. It’s made up of a bunch of liver “blocks” called lobules. There are lots of connectors (called canals) that carry things like bile and blood between those blocks.

Blood goes straight from your digestive system thorough the portal vein, which connects your gut and liver. That blood carries everything from medications to nutrients to toxins to the liver. Then, your liver processes all of those and decides what to do with them next.

Some things – like nutrients – go back in the blood to circulate to other organs. Other things – like toxins – are cleaned out, contained, detoxified, and then sent through for elimination. In fact, your liver acts as your main detox organ, filtering out all sorts of harmful substances. Who knew?! 

And your liver has some more specialized functions, including: 

  • Producing special proteins that (along with vitamin K) help blood clot
  • Breaking down fats to produce energy
  • Making the bile your digestive system needs to break down and absorb fats
  • Producing cholesterol needed to create hormones and bile
  • Storing essential vitamins A, B12, D, E, and K
  • Keeping blood sugar levels steady
  • Storing energy with glycogen (a special form of sugar)

When your liver stops working properly, your overall health can decline very quickly. And since your liver and gut are directly connected, problems with your gut bacteria – especially toxic streaming – can take a nasty toll on your liver.

Did you know your liver did all this?! 

 

The Danger of NAFLD

When most people think about liver damage, their minds usually go straight to alcohol. But non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects many more people… nearly 100 million in the U.S. alone! It’s the main cause of liver disease and it’s affecting more people every day.

Like the name spells out, NAFLD involves a build up of excess fat in the liver. Without