Just Ask Terry

Just Ask Terry - July 23, 2010

Terry is happy to provide his opinion on diet and nutrition, supplements and lifestyle choices. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the advice of your physician and is not to be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you have any concerns please contact your physician directly.

Q. Terry, “I am a chiropractor and I have a patient who has a lot of liver issues. He had hepatitis B when he was younger, though he is fine now. I also suspect he doesn’t make as much bile as he should for proper detoxification and bowel elimination. Are there herbals I could suggest to this gentleman that will help?” —Larry C., Indianapolis, IN A. Dear Dr. Larry, I have two excellent herbs to recommend: milk thistle and curcumin. Look for a potent milk thistle extract standardized to specific components called “silybin” or “silymarin.” Curcumin has extremely healthy liver effects, both by increasing bile production, reduction of inflammation, and facilitation of the liver’s detoxification process. When most people think of curcumin, which is an extract of the spice turmeric, they often think arthritis, cancer or Alzhemier’s disease. While it is true there are excellent studies indicating curcumin’s impact on these disease processes, its proven liver health properties should not be overlooked. In fact, there was a study last year on the potential for curcumin to help prevent liver cancer in individuals with a history of hepatitis B or C. [Ralhan R, Pandey MK, Aggarwal BB. Nuclear factor-kappa B links carcinogenic and chemopreventive agents. Front Biosci (Schol Ed). 2009 Jun 1;1:45-60.] The only negative with curcumin is that it is very hard to absorb. Look for a curcumin product that has published human data showing that it is absorbed at a much higher level than plain curcumin. But avoid curcumin blended with a black pepper extract called piperine, because it may increase absorption, but piperine interacts with a lot of prescription drugs and is hard on the liver. Curcumin and milk thistle together would be extremely effective. However, you need to be aware that since both improve liver function, you are also increasing bile flow. This is a good thing, because bile is the taxi cab that carries toxins out of the liver into the intestines and out of the body. If a person has a gall bladder full of large stones, the increased flow of bile can cause discomfort. In very rare cases, it can push a stone into the bile duct, but I have never seen this happen. Usually, it actually helps flush gravel out of the gallbladder because of the increased flow and prevents the development of larger stones. Still, if a person has known gall stones or advanced gall bladder disease, proceed with caution.