Speed Up Your Metabolism – Fatty Liver Disease
The Liver – Your Biggest Fat Burning Organ
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It is constantly cleansing your blood; maintaining your blood sugar levels; digesting fats, proteins, and carbohydrates; and producing bile and other enzymes…amongst many other functions (like storing vitamins, minerals, and glycogen). While we have machines that can fill in for your lungs and your heart, there is no machine that can fill in for your liver (and you only have one of them!).
So when things start going wrong with your liver, you can sure expect your health and other functions tied into the liver to decline with them…one of them being your ability to burn fat. The liver is an amazing organ (and one you can not do without) but is not indestructible. Once overwhelmed it will start malfunction with impaired enzyme production (key for thyroid, protein utilization and fat burning), bile development and maintaining hormonal balances (estrogen in control). If you are experiencing weight gain (and trouble losing weight), bloating, high blood pressure, fatigue or high cholesterol, these could just be a few indications that your liver is being overwhelmed and needs your help!
“Speed Up”…means get your Fat Burning Metabolism Running Strong!
Many people are overweight despite eating hardly any food…so while calorie deficit is needed to lose weight, it’s only in relation to how optimal the overall metabolism is running in the first place. Have a hampered liver and it will also negatively affect your fat burning metabolism.
A healthy liver with help you burn and discard of excess fat…a compromised one will slow down that process. Also the liver is tied into the function of the thyroid and its hormones (which regulate full body metabolism), namely in the conversion of T4 to T3. Here’s just a little more science for those that like the nerdy stuff:
Thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) are essential for normal organ growth, development and function. These hormones regulate the basal metabolic rate of all cells, including hepatocytes, and thereby modulate hepatic function; the liver in turn metabolizes the thyroid hormones and regulates their systemic endocrine effects.
The conversion of T4 to T3 in extra thyroidal tissue occurs through a rapidly equilibrating pool via the D1 enzyme system and a slowly equilibrating pool via the D2 system. The type 1 deiodinase is mainly found in the liver and kidney, 18 and accounts for approximately 30–40% of extra thyroidal production of T3.
The relationship between the thyroid gland and the liver; Centre for Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Royal Free Campus, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, UK
What Can Go Wrong?
We all know that too much alcohol is detrimental to the liver. Since it is effectively a poison, the body must detoxify the ethanol and the liver is the organ for handling that task. But alcohol isn’t the only way to destroy your “second brain”.
Today, an increasingly common disorder is known as “Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”. The Mayo Clinic describes the various stages of NAFLD as:
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver. It’s not normal for fat to build up in your liver, but it won’t necessarily hurt you. At its simplest form, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can cause excess liver fat, but no complications. This condition is thought to be very common.
- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. In a small number of people with fatty liver, the fat causes inflammation in the liver. This can impair the liver’s ability to function and lead to complications.
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-associated cirrhosis. Liver inflammation leads to scarring of the liver tissue. With time, scarring can become so severe that the liver no longer functions adequately (liver failure).
So we can start to have a buildup of fat (which is not harmful instantly…but leads to), the next stage is increased inflammation…and finally internal tissue scaring (full blown liver disease). Sadly these are conditions that build up due to what we expose our body and liver to.
What Causes a Fatty Liver?
Basically, anything you do that chronically overloads your liver can knock it out-of-whack. Excessive alcohol intake is the most common way of destroying your liver. But it’s not the only way. The standard Western diet is pretty efficient at pulling it off as well, which is why we’re seeing so many people with screwed up livers.
So did we go wrong? The largest issue is the storage of too much bodyfat (aka obesity). As you gain more fat (especially around the abdominal…the old “pot belly”), you will also increase all your risks for getting a fatty liver.
What else? How about a buildup of excess fructose in our diets (high fructose corn syrup and sugar, anyone?)…that builds up in our liver, forms fatty deposits and takes us down the road of potential long term damage.
In the past, fructose was considered beneficial to diabetics because it is absorbed only 40 percent as quickly as glucose and causes only a modest rise in blood sugar. However, research on other hormonal factors suggests that fructose actually promotes disease more readily than glucose. Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of test animals fed large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrhosis, similar to problems that develop in the livers of alcoholics.
What else you may ask? How about excessive sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and omega-6 fatty acids? You can probably also add pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and environmental toxins to the list as well since anything coming into the body is handled by the liver.
Both experimental and epidemiological studies have shown that dietary linoleic acid (polyunsaturated Omega 6 fatty acid) is required for the development of alcoholic liver damage.[75] Animals fed tallow and ethanol had no liver injury, but even 0.7% or 2.5% linoleic acid with ethanol caused fatty liver, necrosis, and inflammation.
Sadly it also seems that as childhood obesity is on the rise…so is the potential for long term liver damage with our overweight children.
In a new and disturbing twist on the obesity epidemic, some overweight teenagers have severe liver damage caused by too much body fat, and a handful have needed liver transplants.Many more may need a new liver by their 30s or 40s, say experts warning that pediatricians need to be more vigilant.
Quote and picture from MSNBC story on Childhood Obesity.
The Good News, You can Turn things Around
Remember that we said the “buildup” of fat while hampering optimal liver function, is not yet doing any permanent damage. So if you can start to turn things around, and get the liver to start getting rid of those fat deposits…then you can also “speed up” that fat burning metabolism (keep it running optimally).
Here’s some tips to take into action to help get the liver working optimally (taking the load/stress off it and letting it clean things up…think of it like a messy/dirty house, how are you expected to get it cleaned up if you keep throwing more dirty clothes and junk all over the place?)
- Remove hydrogenated oils from your diet (fried foods, baked good), namely excess Poly-unsaturated Fats (PUFAs) Omega 6.
The quality of fat you eat has a very large influence on health, and especially on the liver. Excess omega-6 is damaging to the liver. This type of fat is found primarily in refined seed oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, and safflower oil… Sugar is also a primary contributor to fatty liver. Reducing your sugar intake will go a long way toward reversing it. Omega-3 fats also help reverse fatty liver if an excess of omega-6 is present. There was a clinical trial using fish oil that was quite effective. You might try taking 1/2 teaspoon of fish oil per day.
Yellow cooking oils which remain liquid at room temperatures are usually high in Omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These seed based oils go by many names, including: corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and others. Do not cook with these oils, and don’t eat food prepared in them when you go out to eat. And lastly, don’t eat any processed and pre-packaged foods which contain them in their various forms. Instead, try replacing these oils with more traditional fats like coconut oil, ghee, or real olive oil.
Conventionally raised livestock eat a diet unnaturally high in corn and soy — whether it be cows, chickens, pigs, turkey, or even some farmed fish. Because of this, the foods these animals produce is unnaturally high in Omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and — in some cases — devoid of any Omega 3 fats with which to balance them out. Avoid any animal products from animals fed these unnatural diets. If you eat fish, meat, eggs, and dairy (which you should!), you’ll want to stick to grass-fed, pastured, or wild animals.
- Remove all concentrated sugars, including white & brown sugars, agave nectar, honey, and high-fructose corn syrup. Which can be found in processed foods, sodas and other foods “made by man”.
- Try adding Omega 3 Fish Oil to help combat any inflammation issues (and imbalances with excess omega 6s).
- Lose the excess weight (eat less and move more…simplest way to put it)
- Remove/reduce stressors to the liver including alcohol, caffeine, and unnecessary drugs/medications* (*Important note, always check with your doctor before deciding to reduce or stop taking any drug that you are on…while reducing and eventually removing them is a good goal, work with your doctor so there are not any serious negative side effects in the process. I am not a doctor and not a professional substitute for one)
- Try a “Fruit elimination” period for several weeks to reduce the amount of fructose coming in. An elimination diet means you can always add it back in later on…but remember that fruit is meant to be “seasonal”.
- Fasting can help the body to naturally clean up and detox…so using intermittent fasting as a lifestyle tool is a good way to start out.
- Clean up the environment around you trying to remove as many chemicals as possible which can include:
- What is in your foods & drinks (and this includes ALL artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, and other additives not naturally found in foods…read a label and see everything you are putting in your body, or better yet…don’t eat or drink anything that has a label!)
- In-home pollutants such as cleaning chemicals, laundry detergents, mold, carpet cleaners, pesticides (outside and around the house), scented candles, air fresheners (read the label, you are inhaling those chemicals)
- Personal care products including what we put on our skin like soaps, makeup, perfumes, lotions, detergents for our clothes (especially dry cleaning)
- The water in your shower (full of chlorine…would you drink chlorine? Get a shower filter.)
- Medication (over the counter) and prescription drugs (very toxic to the liver)
- Lack of natural air (open the windows, put some live plants in your work/home…best natural air filters there are)
- Even that “new car” smell…..all chemicals going into you!
Start to really look around and clean up your daily environment. More and more chemicals that you are exposed to even on small levels is not going to help you long term.
taken from the Break Free Life ebook.
- Milk Thistle has been widely “touted” to be of benefit for liver healing in the natural healing community…but as with many “natural solutions”, use that information at your own risk (and maybe your own research).
So there you have it…be kind to your liver and your metabolism will thank you. On the flip side, treat your liver like an amusement park and you will suffer the consequences over time. Eat real natural foods, as clean as you can. Live clean and get plenty of fresh air. It’s a simple message…now go live it!
22 Reader Comments
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good read, appreciate the info.
I’ve been taking a fish oil supplement for a few years now, but with all the different brands and variations being introduced these days, I was wondering if you have a favorite or recommendation?
Thanks!
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Awesome post! I wonder how bad acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Motrin) and other common over the counter drugs are? Also, could there be a wide range of responses where some people are greatly affected with small, occasional dosing and others can tolerate frequent larger doses? With the recent story on acetaminophen and warnings against fairly heavy use, I am considering just living with the headaches or other aches that lead me to take these drugs, albeit rarely. Thanks again for an interesting read!
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Good post. Scares the hell out of me, though. I need to cut down.
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Hey Mike,
Just got a quick question on the fruit elimination period? Is this really necessary? I thought since fruits were higher in fibre and generally have a high water content their fructose concentration was quite low. I thought they were generally a good food choice. Is this not the case?
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Mike OD Reply:
@Graham – I used liquid only (no caps) and either Nordic Naturals or Carlsons (2 big brands). Now with a more balanced 3:6 ratio (less grains in my diet, less inflammation), I just stick to eating more fatty fish like sardines and herring.
@Rodney – Everything has to be processed by the liver on some level, and overuse of COX-2 inhibitors (NSAIDS) have their own set of issues especially on the protective lining in the gut/stomach. As for headaches, you could try tracking certain foods and eliminating for 2-3 weeks all grains, sugars, dairy….then slowly reintroducing them back in. For me, I get migraines with 1 diet cola….and I never drink soda anyways.
@ Rick – We all need a little scare now and then to get back to what we know we should be doing….including myself.
@Tom – People with real liver issues could do well with 100% fruit elimination for a short period (heck I go weeks without wanting to eat fruit anyways sometimes). It’s not so much that small amounts of fructose from fruit on a “healthy liver” are an issue….it’s when the liver is already having issues and on fructose overload, that one should give it some time off to repair and get rid of fatty buildups. Veggies are still ok though, as there is plenty of fiber and water in those as well.
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Excellent post. I just finished having a discussion with a patient at the specific chiropractic center about fat and metabolism. I am going to direct him to your post thanks.
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Excellent post! Thank you!
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I thought you’d find this new take on omega-3s interesting: http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-vanishing-youth-nutrient/6dec72fe5deb2210VgnVCM10000030281eac____/news.voices/in.the.magazine/september.2009.issue/0/0/1
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Mike OD Reply:
@Susan – thanks for the link, good read. It’s amazing to think there is such a huge difference metabolically at the cellular level with an excess of omega 6s….but there is. Although I found this suggestion at the end to be a bit humorous “Look for potato chips that are fried in canola oil rather than cottonseed, soy, safflower, or sunflower oil.”….where I would of said to dump the chips altogether!
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My nutritionist recommended I stay away from all fruits as well when I always thought they were key in a healthy diet… apparently not .. his diet pretty much consisted of what is mentioned above .. . Great read!
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One of your best articles guys! great mix of science put into layman’s terms. I’ve been trying to explain to clients how toxicity and inflammation thwart weight loss so I am going to point them to this article.
Keep’em coming through…
Amelia
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I don’t see the need for a fruit elimination diet unless you have a serious problem. For most of you, eating fruits should be a part of life. Nature is well balanced, don’t worry too much about the fructose in fruits.
Other than that, good article. A proper liver-detox should also be considered for those with serious problems.
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Aloha!
Wonderful post!
From and herbal point of view, we can nourish the new liver cells with burdock, chickweed and dandelion- with every cell in the liver being replaced every six weeks – and the old cells and waste can more optimally removed.
Be Well!
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Caffeine seems to always bring out the questions and controversy, and since no one else has commented, I’ll have a go! What constitutes “too much caffeine”? I know there is probably some variance from person to person, but is there a general rule of thumb? I guess what I am asking, is I drink either a double americano in the a.m. or about 1/2 pot (20 oz appx) of black coffee. Sometimes there will be a follow up serving after my first meal…sometimes not. Then I like some iced green tea with lunch and dinner. Too much for the liver…or general health? Taking care of toddler and a baby pretty much full time I need the dopamine haha!
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[...] Your liver burns fat …. take good care of it. [...]
[...] Take it easy on your liver Bro! [...]
What about sugar in infant fomulas? When normal sugar is added, it is 50% glucose + 50% fructose. Mothers milk is lactose and is 50% glucose +50% galactose which all normally metabolizes to glucose. Zero fructose here! A lot of new born babies are now fed fructose -from birth! Two downsides are fatty liver and visceral fats starting to build around the new organs…
Since fructose metabolizes similar to ethanol, other side effects as uric acid (high blood pressure) and gout could show up early…
When it comes to liver damage, is adding fructose to infant formula same as adding alcohol? How could we get here?
See this Israeli study re soft drinks:
http://www.israel21c.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7022:israeli-study-soda-and-fruit-juice-drinks-cause-liver-damage&catid=57:health&Itemid=63
and GOOGLE: video Robert Lustig -for much more about fructose!
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I really enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work.
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[...] Original article source: http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2009/08/18/speed-up-your-metabolism-fatty-liver-disease/ [...]
Great post!! I’m on an all liquid diet to remove fatty deposits from my liver via my doctor. The 3 shakes total about 900 calories, 100 grams of protein, 20 gr of carbs (10g of sugar)….I’m limited with what I can do exercising, due to a back/neck injury. What can I do in between the 3 shakes to keep my metabolism from going into a shutdown phase?? I’m not diabetic or have any long term diseases (just got checked out), I don’t really drink. I dip and drink too many caffeine free diet pepsi’s, but I’ve cut down A LOT. Diet pop is the biggest vice. My problem is I’ve put on weight due to the inactivity and injuries, and my metabolism has all but shut down. Since I’m going to be on all liquids for a while, I’m just looking for something to keep the metabolism going in between the myoplex shakes. Thanks again for the great post and I would love to hear advice from you. Of course, whatever it is, it can’t really have more protein, b/c I heard that too much is bad for you if you’re not seriously pumping the iron.
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Mike OD Reply:
I’m not going to go against your doctors orders, so my advice is going to be pretty general. 900 cal a day is not much, and the only way I would know to maintain metabolism on low calorie diets is by keeping muscle (through exercise). Inactivity along with a very low calorie diet is not going to ideal in the long run as weight can always and usually does come back on. Cut out all soda/caffeine if you want to help your liver too, as that is just stressing it more.
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Matt Merkle Reply:
Thanks! I’m down 35 so far, and I’ve been exercising as much as possible…I’ve replaced most of my caffeine free sodas with water/Crystal Lite.
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need to work on loosing fat from the liver!!
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I always had a very high metabolism. The most I ever weighed was 107 lbs. I have end stage Cryptogenic Liver Disease. I was diagnosed when I was 31 yrs. and now I’m 41 yrs. old. The past three/four years is when I started gaining weight and also became a type II diabetic. I crave sugar all of the time and I’m still trying to get my sugar levels under control. My question is since I’m end stage, can I take anything to speed up my metabolism? I now weigh160 lbs. and that is really heavy on my small frame. I’m needing something to get my weight down and I don’t know really what I could do. My weight gain is mainly my abdomen and over my hips. I look like I’m pregnant. I really need some advice or information on how I can lose this weight. Thanks so much!
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Mike OD Reply:
Because of your condition it is important that you work with your physician with your eating, but cutting out sugar is a good start. Eat more “real foods” to get your blood sugar levels under control. Diabetes is serious to get under control otherwise it can lead to many other diseases down the road. Managing what you eat is an important vital step. Getting exercise is also important for helping improve your glucose based metabolism.
This article should help as well:
http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2008/02/25/fat-loss-101-master-the-basics/
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Thanks so much. The article did clear up some of the questions I had.
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