It is true that as we age we tend to become fatter. Is it because we just slow down and exercise less? These things may be relevant for some people but not for most.

What my research and clinical experience has shown me is that the liver plays a crucial role in weight control. Many overweight people have a sluggish liver or a fatty liver and this is a huge factor in their inability to control their weight. Being overweight is bad for our whole body – our joints wear out and begin to ache, we have more inflammation and aches and pains and it affects our self esteem.

Being overweight makes us feel and look older and indeed will speed up the rate of aging, as obesity generates more free radicals and thus oxidative damage in our bodies

How does the liver influence weight?

A healthy liver burns fat and pumps excess fat out of our body via the bile into the intestines, and if our diet is high in fiber, this fat is carried out of our body in the feces.

The conversion of thyroid hormone (thyroxine or T 4) into the active form of thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine or T 3) mainly occurs in the liver. The active form of thyroid hormone speeds up our metabolism and we burn calories faster.

The liver detoxifies our blood and our fat cells and converts fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble forms so they can be excreted from our body via watery fluids such as the bile, sweat and urine. If these toxins are not broken down by the liver, they damage the mitochondria in our cells, which slows the metabolism and we burn calories slower.

The liver breaks down hormones such as estrogen, cortisone, aldosterone and insulin etc, and if this function is impaired we will have hormonal imbalances which contribute to weight gain.

The liver stores glucose in the form of glycogen which releases extra glucose into the blood stream if our blood sugar levels drops too low; this reduces cravings for fattening carbohydrate foods

Thus you can see that a healthy liver is absolutely crucial to weight control

Recently I saw a lovely lady in my clinic who had lost 20 pounds and regained her energy after taking Livatone Plus and NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine). She had excluded sugar and grains from her diet and increased the amount of green leafy vegetables and protein in her diet. She had battled with her weight for over a decade, as she did not realize the importance of her liver in the metabolism of fat and sugar.

I also have another patient who is doing very well simply by improving her liver function. She was drinking too much wine (which is very high in carbohydrates) and her liver enzymes were elevated indicating liver inflammation. She stopped drinking the wine, with help from a counsellor who enabled her to cope with stress. She started eating more vegetables and protein. She took Livatone Plus in a dose of 2 capsules twice daily with food, to support her liver function. After 10 weeks she had lost over 20 pounds, had normal liver enzymes and felt much more in control of her life. She did have a nasty rash on her legs and arms which was inflammatory in nature, and was due to her body releasing toxins via her skin. She had no sign of cancer or autoimmune disease so I was able to reassure her that the rash would gradually clear.

As we get older we need to avoid becoming overweight. The best way to do this is by supporting our liver function so it can regulate the metabolism of fat and hormones efficiently.

Bowel toxicity is another common cause of poor health and inability to lose weight. An overgrowth of harmful gut pathogens such as certain strains of bacteria and fungi can place enormous stress on the liver. This is because these microbes can inflame the intestinal lining, causing leaky gut syndrome. This means a large amount of endotoxins (such as lipopolysaccharide) will travel to the liver and compromise its detoxification abilities. Intestinal Para Cleanse capsules help to rid the gut of harmful pathogens. FloraTone capsules help to replace healthy levels of microflora in the gut.

Exercise is important as well but we need to be motivated and energised to exercise and we want to see results! Some people become disheartened if their weight loss is slow or plateaus for a few weeks, but this is quite normal. This does not mean that beneficial changes are not occurring in your body. For example it takes time for the toxins to be broken down by the liver so they can be eliminated from the body and it takes time for fatty inflammation in the liver cells to be reversed. The Livatone Plus can make a huge difference in the success of this healing process. It also takes time for the balance of thyroid hormones to be restored by the liver and for your hunger hormones to get under control. Hang in there and you will be rewarded as weight loss and fat burning will recommence.

 

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.