Help Your Liver Detox Your Body

Dr. Michael Cutler
Mar 18, 2013

To a medical professional, the term “toxin” refers to an acute, life-threatening chemical like arsenic or strychnine. That’s why I used to mock people’s references to toxic molecules from food or from our environment. What modern medicine fails to recognize is that toxins can be anything that clearly wears down your health or contributes in a significant way to aging or illness. It is obvious that cigarette smoke, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and many other xenobiotic chemicals from our environment are significant toxins.

In this article I’ll give you some important details about supplements to protect and cleanse your liver.

First however, here’s a quick review of the antioxidants that help your liver thrive.

The Antioxidant Molecules Your Liver Knows Best

In the liver you find the highest concentration of the three key endogenous antioxidant molecules. These are ones you were born with and which are being constantly formed to protect you from the effects of free radical damage, also known as oxidative stress. These three molecules are:

• Glutathione peroxidase (aka glutathione).
• Superoxide dismutase (SOD).
• Coenzyme Q10.

Glutathione: the most prevalent and thought to be the most effective antioxidant in the liver. It naturally recycles back to its reduced state so it can repeatedly act as an antioxidant. Low glutathione measurements directly correlate with disease states. As you get sicker and older, the measureable levels of glutathione in your blood drop.

Glutathione was first synthesized in 1935. By 1965, it was found that it does not improve liver health when taken by mouth as a supplement. You can benefit from glutathione given intravenously and also when you supplement with the amino acid components glutamine, cysteine and glycine, which are incorporated into glutathione. People who supplement with these glutathione precursors report significant improvement with energy, quality of sleep, mood and mental focus, as well as decreasing aches and pains.

You can get some glutathione from foods such as fish, fresh fruits, beans, almost all leafy green and solid green vegetables, colorful non-starchy vegetables, whey protein, eggs, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, raw nuts, and legumes.

Still, you must adopt healthy habits that encourage your body to make adequate levels of glutathione naturally. That is to say, people who are sick and have low glutathione levels and those who have accelerated aging have usually mistreated their bodies by eating heavy meats, refined sugars, fake fats and high-calorie, low-nutrient foods for many years.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD): an enzyme that breaks down superoxide free radicals to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The two types of SOD are copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) SOD and manganese (Mn) SOD. Superoxide dismutase is found in foods such as barley grass, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, wheatgrass and almost all green vegetables. It is also available as a supplement. It is sold in topical forms to reduce facial wrinkles, scar tissue, wounds and burns. It is also used to reverse hyperpigmentation and protect against harmful UV rays.

Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone): a powerful antioxidant naturally synthesized in the liver and essential for the liver detoxification process. Coenzyme Q10 is found in each cell’s energy-producing organelles, called the mitochondria, and is required energy production in all cells. Tissues with higher ATP energy needs that, therefore, require more coenzyme Q10 include the heart muscle, eye retina, brain, liver and lungs. There is a natural, age-dependent decrease in coenzyme Q10 from its peak blood concentrations at about age 20. It drops by 65 percent by age 80. ^[1] Other factors leading to coQ10 deficiency include nutrient-poor food consumption, environmental stress and certain prescription medications (including statins).

Supplements To Assist Your Liver Detoxification

Silymarium (milk thistle): helps protect liver cell walls from damage by toxic substances and helps regenerate healthy new liver cells. Studies conducted by the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver suggest that milk thistle helps protect the liver from compounds that trigger abnormal cell growth in the prostate and breast.

Selenium: supports proper function of P450 liver enzymes.

Soy lecithin (phosphatidylcholine): helps blast away the accumulated fat and cholesterol that can clog the liver (and lead to fatty liver). It repairs liver damage from alcohol, improves muscle function and boosts overall energy. A fatty liver produces no symptoms but can lead to liver damage that includes inflammation and scarring.

Artichoke leaf: one of the most powerful nutrients to help improve the secretion of bile, which eliminates toxic waste.

Turmeric: reduces liver inflammation while boosting bile production. It also helps regenerate liver cells and excrete toxins.

Burdock root: helps clear congestion in the urinary, lymphatic and circulatory system. These actions ease the load on your liver.

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC): helps reduce the effects of chemicals and toxins in the liver.

Alpha lipoic acid: one of the few free radical fighters that is both fat and water soluble. Why is that important? Toxins hide out in fat cells but they can’t hide from ALA. As a result, alpha lipoic acid is one of the most powerful nutrients to help restore the health of a liver damaged by drugs, alcohol or environmental toxins.

Trimethylglycine (TMG): helps protect against fatty deposits in the liver caused by alcohol, obesity and diabetes. In an impressive Italian study, patients taking TMG experienced better liver function and reduced fat in the liver. It also helped relieve their abdominal pain.

Dandelion root: has been shown in studies to double bile flow and help keep the liver enzymes in natural balance.

Olive leaf extract: contains oleuropein, a compound that destroys virus-infected cells while keeping healthy cells intact.

Remember also to consume the liver-supporting foods: onions, garlic, artichoke, beets, burdock and leafy green vegetables. Be careful with grapefruit. It is known to shut down the P450 liver enzymes needed for detoxification.

To your ongoing great health and feeling good,

Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options

[1] Harmon D. Free radicals in aging. Mol Cell Biochem 1988;84:155-166.

Source:  Help Your Liver Detox Your Body

Olive Leaf Extract Prevents Osteoporosis ...

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Danica Collins

 

Did you know…

that a delicious fruit enjoyed in Mediterranean cuisine can fight infections, strengthen your immune system, protect against heart disease, prevent osteoporosis and help you lose weight?

Olive leaf extract is one of the most powerful, all natural antimicrobial agents known to science. It has been shown to treat colds, flu, and infections of the sinuses and upper respiratory tract. But the health benefits don’t stop there.

Olive leaf extract fights a wide range of disease-causing bacteria and helps cure…

• Yeast infections
• Fungal infections
• Herpes
• Chronic fatigue
• Allergies
• Psoriasis
• A host of other pathogens

Olive leaf extract has been praised for boosting energy…invigorating heart health…strengthening the immune system…preventing osteoporosis…and even aiding in weight loss!

An Antioxidant Bonanza

Antioxidants protect the body from scavenging free radicals that promote disease and premature aging. Olive leaf extract from the Mission and Manzanillo olive trees contains the noteworthy antioxidants resveratrol and tyrosol, but the true antioxidant champs are the phytochemicals oleuropein and hydroxytrosol.
 
In fact, hydroxytrosol has a free radical absorbance capacity ten times higher than that of green tea and 400% higher than that of vitamin C!

A Heart-Healthy Nutrient

The benefits of olive leaf extract have been shown to treat all the major precursors of cardiovascular illness.

It inhibits the oxidation of LDL cholesterol by discouraging this disease-causing cholesterol from collecting on blood vessel platelets and clogging arteries.

It reduces inflammation (the number one cause of heart disease) and boosts circulation, thereby relaxing arteries, lowering blood pressure, and normalizing arrhythmias.

A Powerful Weapon Against Osteoporosis

A recent study published in Osteoporosis International showed that concentrations of oleuropein stimulated the number and activity of osteoblast cells (the cells that are responsible for bone formation).
 
Not only did the compound increase osteoblasts, but it also increased the expression of genes linked to osteoblast production.

Researchers summarized the results of their findings, stating: “Our data suggest that oleuropein, highly abundant in olive tree products included in the Mediterranean diet, could prevent age-related bone loss and osteoporosis.”

Good news for the 75 million around the world who have or are at risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition that results in low bone mass and significantly increases your risk of fractures, particularly of the spine, hips and wrists.

A Slimming Infusion

Results from an animal study published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that the benefits of olive leaf extract helps stimulate the thyroid compound that sheds pounds.

Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia gave coffee or green tea infused with olive leaf extract to rats with health issues such as fatty liver, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance.

Within 8 weeks, the rats had shed the fat and completely reversed all their obesity-related health conditions.

Reap the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

People who follow a Mediterranean diet have a reduced risk for certain cancers, heart disease and viruses. Health experts say you can enjoy these same benefits by supplementing with olive leaf extract in the form of a liquid concentrate, dried extract, dried leaf tea, powder, or capsule.

If supplementing with a capsule, take 1-2 pills a day (approximately 500mg). If suffering from a cold or flu, take 2 capsules every 6 hours, and if battling an infection take a maximum dose of 3-4 pills every 6 hours.

Do not take olive leaf extract if you are on statin drugs, diabetic drugs, or are pregnant or breast-feeding.

Source:  Olive Leaf Extract Prevents Osteoporosis and Helps Shed Fat

Olive Leaf Extract Benefits

Olive Leaf Extract Benefits Shown to Eliminate Cancer Tumors By Oleropein

No article date

Danica Collins

Did you know about Olive Leaf Extract Benefits? The phytochemical known as oleuropein found in olive leaf extract have been shown to eliminate cancer tumors in 9 to 12 days.

It’s no wonder that people who live in the Mediterranean area — who consume 20 times more olive oil than Americans — have half the incidences of cancer than the U.S. Both the olive leaf and olive fruit have active polyphenol properties, but in the processing of the fruit and oil, many are removed.

Even so, olive oil contains enough polyphenols that deliver many healthful benefits. It is the olive leaf, however, that is prized for its anti-tumor, anti-microbial and anti-viral properties.

The olive leaf comes from a small evergreen tree that is native to the Mediterranean regions. Its medicinal use dates back 6,000 years ago, and the olive leaf is even referred to in scriptural passages as “the tree of life”.

Almost 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates — who is acknowledged as the “father of medicine” — prescribed concentrated olive oil extracted from the olive leaf for numerous health conditions, such as muscular pain, ulcers, and intestinal infections.

After four decades of research, scientists have identified oleuropein as the substance in the olive leaf, which accounts for its medicinal properties.

Oleuropein is a phytochemical that contains one of the most powerful polyphenol antioxidants in existence, and has been shown to be a potent anti-cancer compound.

12 different antioxidants — including hydroxytyrosol, which has an oxygen radical absorbance capacity 10 times higher than green tea, and tyrosol, which helps protect cells from injury caused by oxidation.


Olive Leaf Extract Benefits May Help Stop Cancer Dead In Its Tracks…

Scientists initially believed that olive leaf extract had the ability to “cure” various diseases. But they later found that it actually does not cure disease directly — rather, it stuns or kills off pathogens.

A pathogen is a disease-producing agent (such as virus or bacteria).

When the olive leaf extract interrupts pathogen activity, it essentially “unplugs” and “derails” disease in the making… or inhibits the proliferation of disease in the body. Once pathogens are stopped dead in their tracks, the immune system can rebuild itself and “cure” disease at its root.

Some of the most amazing anti-tumor results were reported by Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. When oleuropein was administered orally to mice that had developed tumors, it regressed the tumors in 9 to 12 days.

The biochemists in this study reported that, “No viable cancer cells could be recovered from these tumors. These observations elevate oleuropein from a non-toxic antioxidant into a potent anti-tumor agent with direct effects against tumor cells.”

And it’s not just cancer that olive leaf extract has been shown to treat successfully.

Clinical tests conducted by the New York University School of Medicine showed that olive leaf extract is able to change the pathways of HIV-type infections as well, and may even reverse these conditions.

In his book titled Olive Leaf Extract, Dr. Morton Walker recommends using olive leaf extract for its miraculous effects on more than 125 infectious and chronic diseases.


Olive Leaf Extract Benefits and Therapeutic Uses Include

• Inactivation of bacterial, viral, and retroviral infections
• Prevention of dental and surgical infection
• Eradication of the HIV virus, as well as herpes and shingles
• Effective treatment for colds, flu, and pneumonia
• Decrease of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms
• Increased circulation, blood flow, and reduction of free radical damage (which help combat heart disease, hypertension, and arthritis)
• Antifungal and antibacterial action on athlete’s foot, mycotic nails, yeast infections, and chlamydia

Along with a host of other therapeutic effects.

Studies show olive leaf extract is safe to take at therapeutic levels with no side effects. It is widely available at health food stores in the form of capsules or tablets.

Dosing will necessarily vary depending on the severity of the disease or health condition. As a general rule, the higher the concentration of oleuropein in a particular product, the more effective it is thought to be.

Dr. Walker recommends an olive leaf extract with an oleuropein concentration of at least 6%. There are brands that have a concentration of 15% or higher. Consult with your naturopathic doctor for proper dosing.

As a preventive measure, health professionals recommend one or two capsules equaling 250 to 500 milligrams. Caution: It is not advisable for olive leaf extract to be administered in conjunction with antibiotics or other fungus or mold medicines.

Source:  Olive Leaf Extract Benefits Shown to Eliminate Cancer Tumors By Oleropein