THE LIVER AND DETOXIFICATION The liver keeps us clean on the inside and prevents dangerous chemicals from ingratiating their way deeper into our bodies. The liver is the gateway to the body and in this day and age has an enormous workload that frequently overloads its detoxification systems. The liver must cope with every toxic chemical in our food chain as well as excessive amounts of unhealthy fats and animal protein that are ubiquitous in fast foods. Let us examine in more detail the mechanisms by which the liver keeps our internal body clean. Let us examine in more detail the mechanisms by which the liver keeps our internal body clean. THE LIVER FILTER If we examine the liver under a microscope we see rows of liver cells separated by spaces called sinusoids. Sinusoids are structured like a filter or sieve through which the blood stream is filtered. During this process the filter removes unwanted particulate matter, microorganisms and metabolic waste products. These noxious thing are ingested by specialized cells in the sinusoids called "Kupffer cells" which break down and destroy these things, rendering them harmless. The sinusoids and Kuffer cells are like a "garbage disposal unit" inside the liver. Thus you can see that the liver is the filter and cleanses the blood stream which is of vital importance. DETOXIFICATION PATHWAYS Inside the liver cells (hepatocytes) we find sophisticated enzyme pathways or chemical pathways that have evolved over millions of years, to breakdown toxic substances. Every drug, artificial chemical, pesticide and hormone is broken down or metabolized by these pathways inside the liver cells. Basically there are two major detoxification pathways inside the liver cells which are called the Phase One and Phase Two pathways. PHASE ONE This is called the cytochrome P450 enzyme system where a liver cell takes a toxic chemical and through a process of oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis or hydroxylation turns it into a less harmful substance. During this process oxygen free radicals are generated, so there is a need for antioxidants, especially Vitamin C, to prevent cellular damage. For efficient phase one detoxification to occur the liver requires adequate amounts of the nutrients selenium, folic acid, vitamins B2, B3, B6, phophatidyl choline and bioflavonoids. If these nutrients are lacking, toxic chemicals will become far more dangerous. Fast foods and processed foods are deficient in these vital liver nutrients. Thus although many people are over-eating they are still suffering with malnutrition which exacerbates toxic overload. Dr. Sandra Cabot's Liver Cleansing Diet reduces the toxic load on the liver and also provides the vital nutrients required by the liver for detoxification. PHASE TWO This is called the conjugation pathway whereby the liver cells add either a glycine or sulphate molecule to a chemical to make it water soluble. It can then be excreted from the body via fluids such as urine or bile. Through conjugation the liver is able to turn drugs (xenobiotics and hormones), neurotransmitters and phenolic compounds into excretable substances. For efficient phase two detoxification the live requires Vitamin E, carotene, sulphur containing amino acids (taurine, methionine, cysteine), glycine, glutamine, choline and inositol. Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts) are a good source of natural sulphur compounds for the liver. These things can spike up and support the phase two detoxification system. the liver cleansing diet has been designed to support and enhance the phase one and two liver detoxification systems. If the phase one and two detoxification pathways become overloaded, there will be a build up of toxins in the body. Many of these toxins are fat soluble and incorporate their way into the fatty cell membranes where they may stay for years, if not a lifetime. Some of these toxins, such as pesticides, petrochemicals and aspartame are highly toxic to the nervous system and endocrine glands producing chronic neurological and hormonal dysfunction. They are also carcinogenic and have been implicated in the rising incidence of breast, prostrate and brain cancer. If the filtering and/or detoxification system in the liver are inefficient this will cause harmful substances and micro-organisms to build up in the blood stream. This will increase the workload of the immune system, which may then become overloaded and hyperstimulated. This often is so in symptoms of immune dysfunction such as allergies, inflammatory states, recurrent infections, swollen glands, chronic fatigue or auto-immune disease. These disorders are very common today and usually get treated on a symptomatic basis with drugs. Unfortunately thousands of people visit doctors everyday complaining of these symptoms and rarely does anyone think of the liver. The simplest and most effective way to take the load off the immune system, is to improve liver function. Dr. Sandra Cabot has been able to help many people with chronic immune and liver dysfunction through her LIVER CLEANSING DIET BOOK. In this book she fully explains that you cannot have a healthy immune system if your liver is dysfunctional. This is a revelation for millions of people struggling with poor health. End: Dave: I will send this to lists it will help like MCS, Immune, CFIDS and our Mission Possible list. I would put it on your web page under detoxification of aspartame. Tell people they can get Dr. Cabots book by calling 1 888 782-7014. Dr. Cabot's USA office is based with Donna Medoff in Scottsdale, Arizona, 9828 East Windrose Drive, Scottdale 85260. Her email address is whantwrk@aol.com Also put Dr. Cabot's book under publications under books on aspartame with (detoxification) on the side. Those who know of lists this information may help can pass it on.