Here's an article I wrote for the August 2004 KCWellness Magazine.....

"When The King Of Organs Is In Trouble"

I have always thought of the liver as the king of organs. Most folks do not realize what our livers do for us. Here's a sample of what this amazing organ does for us:

• Metabolizes fats, proteins and carbs
• Stores sugars, minerals and vitamins
• Is a filter for our blood and helps remove bacteria and harmful chemicals
• Creates bile for breaking down fats
• Helps process and store vitamins A, E, D and K
• Stores extra blood as an emergency reserve
• Breaks down and eliminates excessive hormones
• Creates immune substances such as gamma globulin
• Helps maintain water and electrolyte balance

Now that you have an idea of some of the tasks that the liver accomplishes, you can imagine how much trouble you can get into when the liver is invaded by a disease such as Hepatitis. Hepatitis is a viral infection of the liver that causes liver inflammation. This disease is marked by anorexia, nausea, a sensation of fullness, dull pain in the liver area and general weakness. Sometimes the person has a fever and jaundice (the skin has a yellow color to it). As an herbalist, the difference in clients is basically if they have jaundice or not, this determines different stages of damage.

Generally, when there is jaundice, we are talking about severe inflammation or what the Chinese refer to as "Liver Fire". When this fire is present, all the symptoms experienced are exaggerated or increased. A client with this issue may be experiencing severe digestive problems, headaches / neck pain, skin rashes, constipation or loose stools and vomiting. The herbal approach to this situation is eliminating the fire and restoring harmony to the liver and associated organs.

When a client does not have jaundice, a more supportive herbal approach may be taken. In both cases, there are some basics that need to be applied to their life. The first is proper diet. Here we are talking about eliminating greasy, raw or cold foods and drink. We are talking about the elimination of alcohol, coffee, sugar, artificial sweeteners (diet pop), no recreational drugs and a very careful review of any prescription medications taken by the prescribing physician. We are talking about stress reduction, especially any anger issues. When possible an exercise program can be helpful and it's obvious that lots of rest and good sleep are needed.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the liver is where we hold any anger we may have. I have had many a client that embarked on tuning up their liver with a cleanse or flush only to find out that all kinds of anger and upset started coming up. Sometimes this anger is based on issues that happened a long time ago. It is my belief that we have a cellular memory of these issues that we have not resolved and this electrical / chemical imprint is stored in the liver and the brain. When we stir up the pot, we can bring these memories to the surface. Fore warned is fore armed but knowing ahead of time what may come up presents a wonderful opportunity to resolve your emotional baggage!

When I was starting out as an herbalist, I was studying an herb called Radix Bupleuri. I had a great idea of trying out this herb on my wife and my five kids over a weekend. I mixed up some liquid extract in with the fruit juice we always kept in the refrigerator. After the gallon of juice was polished off by them that afternoon, all hell broke loose! They were arguing over the most mundane things, everyone had a snappy edge about them and I was back into the books trying to figure out a formula to counteract the adventure I had just started. Needless to say, this was a valuable lesson learned on developing liver programs for clients! It is also a lesson for the reader, self-medication with herbs and supplements requires training and an understanding of the implications involved with TCM. I was taught that if something has the power to resolve health issues, it has the power to harm if misused. By misused I mean that quite often you may need to go to your primary healthcare provider for help. For example, if you are having chest pains, go to the nearest medical facility, don't call me, your massage therapist or chiropractor!

The liver filters every drop of blood in your body, is the gatekeeper for hormones and blood sugars, is a major player in your digestive process and has tremendous equity in your daily emotional stability. When this organ is in trouble, we are talking about a life-changing situation. It can take years to run your liver down since it is a very forgiving organ but when a problem such as hepatitis shows up in an already compromised liver, we are talking about a life-threatening situation. By the time one has the symptoms of an damaged liver, the problems have already entrenched themselves in your body and can be difficult to resolve.

The key to keeping your liver out of trouble is really rather simple. A reasonable lifestyle, proper diet, moderation or zero alcohol intake, elimination of diet pop and zero artificial sweeteners and resolving emotional issues in real-time can go a long way to maintaining liver health.

There are a wealth of herbal formulas that can help sustain liver functions as well as it's digestive aspect. Using a liver formula can be prudent to use long-term since we live in a toxic world. Working at having a healthy liver is a lot smarter than hoping traditional medicine will have a transplant available if you get into trouble. There are very few prescription medications that have a positive influence on a diseased liver. I would hate to see the king of organs reduced to being a servant of toxins.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at viableoptions@sbcglobalnet. I'd love to hear from you!

Be well!

Dave Laskowski, Herbalist
Viable Options - N. Kansas City, MO