Nature's Life Liver Support Products:

• Liver Vitality™
• Milk Thistle

One of the most crucial functions of the liver is detoxification; the removal of harmful toxins from the blood and their elimination from the body. In addition to detoxification, the liver produces bile, a fluid secreted into the intestinal tract to help digest and metabolize fats. Bile also serves as a carrier for many of the toxins filtered out by the liver.

Toxins enter the body through the environment (food additives, water, air, drugs, alcohol, industrial chemicals and pesticides), and via naturally-occurring pathways (digestion, metabolism).

When the liver functions properly, the human body can tolerate a wide variety of toxins, but even in healthy individuals, toxins can overload or inhibit liver function.*1 Along with certain lifestyle and dietary changes, supplementation with particular herbs and nutrients such as those found in Nature’s Life Liver Vitality™ can help protect and support healthy liver function and stimulate internal detoxification:*

• Standardized Milk Thistle Seed extract

• Hepatoprotective herbal blend protects liver cells*

• Supports liver detoxification and normal liver function*

• Stimulates bile flow for improved digestion*

Milk Thistle

Perhaps the best known and best researched herb used to promote liver health is standardized Milk Thistle Seed Extract (Silybum marianum). The primary active constituent in Milk Thistle seed extract is a group of water-soluble flavonoids collectively called silymarin.2,3,4

Silymarin is a potent antioxidant,5 and helps protect liver function by inhibiting depletion of important natural antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase.*6,7,8,9 Silymarin also helps protect liver cells by stabilizing cell membranes to prevent damage from leukotrienes and free-radicals.*2,10,11,12 Studies conducted on heavy alcohol drinkers confirm that silymarin and its constituents specifically protect the liver from alcohol-related free-radical damage.*9,13,14,15 Additionally, silymarin can stimulate the production of new liver cells.*2,10

The body’s level of the antioxidant protein glutathione is directly linked to the liver’s ability to detoxify, since it supports the transformation of fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble compounds that are easily eliminated in urine.*16 Exposure to toxins typically reduces the concentration of glutathione in the body.*17

Glutathione levels can be effectively increased through supplementation of certain key nutrients such as vitamin C,18 N-acetylcysteine (NAC),19 and Milk-Thistle.*20 Other nutrients that support glutathione synthesis are riboflavin, vitamin B-6, selenium, and zinc.*21

Lipotropics such as choline, inositol, methionine and betaine (not to be confused with the digestive aid betaine HCl) are a class of substances that play an important role in the body’s ability to metabolize fats.* One of the specific aims of supplementation with lipotropics such as betaine is to support the natural production of SAMe (S-adenosyl L-methionine) from homocysteine, reducing fat build-up in the liver.*22

Choline is involved in the production of bile and lipoproteins.*23,24,25 Diets deficient in choline and inositol may lead to undesirable changes in liver and kidney function.*26,27 Methionine is one of the nutrients required for the body’s production of choline and SAMe, and a deficiency in this essential amino acid will adversely affect fat metabolism.*28

Standardized Artichoke leaf (Cynara scolymus) extract is similar to milk thistle in its detoxification-enhancing and protective properties.*29,30,31,32 Artichoke also increases the formation and flow of bile from the liver.*33

Green Cabbage Leaf (Brassica oleracea) has been shown to support detoxification mechanisms.*34 Lemon Peel (Citrus limon) also supports detoxification.*35,36 Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale) supports liver function by increasing the flow of bile.*37

Ingredients

One serving of Liver Vitality™ (three cellulose vegetarian capsules) contains: 5,000 IU vitamin A (as mixed carotenoids), 300 mg vitamin C, 100 IU vitamin E, 5 mg each of thiamine, riboflavin and B-6, 20 mg niacin, 50 mcg B-12, 400 mcg folic acid, 10 mg pantothenic acid, 100 mg magnesium, 7.5 mg zinc, 70 mcg selenium (from yeast), 1 mg copper, 75 mcg molybdenum, 500 mg anhydrous betaine, 250 mg NAC, 175 mg standardized milk thistle (provides 80% or 140 mg silymarin), 150 mg choline, 75 mg each of methionine and inositol, and 80 mg Hepato-Protective Herbal Blend.

People with active liver or gallbladder disease should consult their physician before taking this product. Because it supports the secretion and flow of bile, some people may experience a mild laxative effect when taking milk thistle, though this side effect usually disappears within a few days.*10 This product is not contraindicated for pregnant or lactating women.