Liver Health (Caffeine, Dopamine Agonists, Fasts, All The Hot Topics Etc.)

[Jsaute21]

This is going to be an open ended post but i am looking for different experiences with improving ones liver health. I have always had healthy liver enzyme results (pre & post Peating) so this post is more out of interest than need. I have read countless opinions and even studies posted by smart users such as @haidut, @tca300 & others that vouch for caffeines countless benefits as a liver & metabolic aid. I have certainly experienced more favorable liver health since finding Peat, upping sugar & using more caffeine. However, i have come across several posts of folks claiming that fasting works wonders for their liver, recommending remedies such as the snake diet, amongst others etc. I am curious to see how folks have improved this metric in real life, opposed to studies.

Thanks.

 

[Collden]

I think the most basic requirement to clean up your liver is to create a caloric deficit and especially reduce intake of fat and carbs while upping intake of protein and soluble fibers that help with excretion of bile and lipids. Caffeine can be especially useful for this, I feel whenever I up my intake of caffeine that my appetite for fat and sugars go down while my appetite for protein and soluble fiber (i.e. classic "clean" foods) goes up, its likely a natural reaction to caffeine mobilising and dumping hepatic lipids into your blood stream and stimulating bile acid production. Other micronutrients may also help but the most basic thing is to stop overloading your system with fat and carb calories.

Caffeine can however be counter-productive since it stimulates bile acid production and lipid mobilisation, you need to simultaneously clean up your diet (protein + soluble fiber, or just eat less) to facilitate the excretion of bile and other waste liberated by caffeine, otherwise you can get a toxic accumulation and impaired liver clearance with symptoms such as acid stools, lactate build-up (pain + fatigue) and impaired detox of oestrogens among other things.

 

[Jsaute21]

I think the most basic requirement to clean up your liver is to create a caloric deficit and especially reduce intake of fat and carbs while upping intake of protein and soluble fibers that help with excretion of bile and lipids. Caffeine can be especially useful for this, I feel whenever I up my intake of caffeine that my appetite for fat and sugars go down while my appetite for protein and soluble fiber (i.e. classic "clean" foods) goes up, its likely a natural reaction to caffeine mobilising and dumping hepatic lipids into your blood stream and stimulating bile acid production. Other micronutrients may also help but the most basic thing is to stop overloading your system with fat and carb calories.

Caffeine can however be counter-productive since it stimulates bile acid production and lipid mobilisation, you need to simultaneously clean up your diet (protein + soluble fiber, or just eat less) to facilitate the excretion of bile and other waste liberated by caffeine, otherwise you can get a toxic accumulation and impaired liver clearance with symptoms such as acid stools, lactate build-up (pain + fatigue) and impaired detox of oestrogens among other things.

Your answer here is why i find this topic so interesting. I truly think everybody reacts differently to caffeine and craves different foods when consuming it. Some get hungrier, others get less hungry etc. I guess the over arching question would be: does overall reaction to caffeine administration dictate ones overall liver health, or should it be avoided if one is in a compromised state of health? I have certainly benefited from its use but I am curious to how others have fared and if respectable supplements have overall improved or worsened symptoms of a poor metabolic rate.

 

[Collden]

Your answer here is why i find this topic so interesting. I truly think everybody reacts differently to caffeine and craves different foods when consuming it. Some get hungrier, others get less hungry etc. I guess the over arching question would be: does overall reaction to caffeine administration dictate ones overall liver health, or should it be avoided if one is in a compromised state of health? I have certainly benefited from its use but I am curious to how others have fared and if respectable supplements have overall improved or worsened symptoms of a poor metabolic rate.

Yeah I'm guessing if you don't have problems related to chronic energy overload like myself, then the natural response to caffeine should be increased appetite for sugar and to a lesser extent fat to reflect the increased metabolic demands, and perhaps also if you are overweight with poor metabolic flexibility caffeine will still make you crave sugar since you cannot efficiently burn fats.

I know I tolerate caffeine a lot better today than I did six months ago, I think it is in large part due to weight loss and a concerted effort to improve metabolic flexibility by aerobic exercise training and adherence to strict meal times (i.e. no snacking between meals or after dinner). I went through a period in the beginning of gradually increasing my caffeine intake where I would get hypoglycaemic and crave more sugar, but it eventually passed, which I guess reflects improved liver function. I expect as I continue to lose weight and clean up my liver my appetite for carbs and fats will eventually come back to normal.

 

[LCohen]

How about herbals like milk thistle, artichoke, dandelion ?