Is Liver Cleansing Bullsh*^t? The Pre And Post Blood Test Results of Ben Greenfield's 7 Day Liver Cleanse (& Exactly How He Did It).

Today's episode is - after the host of positive feedback I received from my last "solosode" deep dive into how to interpret your own bloodwork - another solosode.

Long story short is this... ...I recently tested my liver enzymes and they were shockingly high... ...so I decided to test whether this whole "liver detox" thing actually works... ...and I walk you through exactly what I did (and the relatively shocking results) in today's show.

Enjoy!

In this Solosode, you'll hear... -Why I got my liver tested in the first place...5:48

• When I got my blood panel done, my liver enzyme numbers were through the roof.
  • High liver stress.
  • Around the levels of non-alcoholic liver disease.
• My aspartate aminotransferase was 172. It's considered risky if it's above 40.
• My alinine aminotransferase was 83. Anything above 55 is considered risky.
• My alkaline phosphatase was also mildly elevated.
• High albumin levels.
• Inflammation was low, but had signs of significant liver stress.
• I wanted to test out the liver cleanses on the market.
  • Create a doable detox that I can do at home, I can still workout, and can accomplish in a fairly short period of time.

-About Liver Flushing...9:18

• A liver is a central processing mechanism that cleanses 1.5 liters of blood per minute.
• Around 500 different biochemical reactions that occur within the liver.
  • Division and breakdown of chemical substances: catabolism
  • Synthesis of protein molecules: anabolism
  • If any of the processes don't work properly, it will affect other processes' ability to work properly.
• Liver is more or less a purification plant for the blood.
• Plays a role in excreting both endogenous and exogenous compounds.
• Regrows rapidly, with around 10% of healthy liver tissue.
• Myth of Prometheus: Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and an eagle picks at his liver during the day. His liver would regenerate the same amount at night.
• Greek physician Hippocrates described "humors", one of which was yellow bile of the liver.
• According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver holds your soul. Full of energy and power.
  • Your "ki" is unable to flow when the liver is not functioning properly.
• Cleansing the liver involves amplifying these processes to work properly.
  • Also assists with bile production; assists with the gallbladder.
  • Bile in the gallbladder can condense and become "stones."
  • If the bile isn't expelled, you can get congestion in the liver.

-Some more basic terms you should know...15:05

• Fatty liver: cells in the liver are saturated with fat.
  • Intrahepatic bile ducts are full of bile but have a high concentration of cholesterol in them.
  • The cholesterol in the liver accumulates, and you end up with excess.
• During a flush, the liver is encouraged to increase its excretory function to eliminate excess bile, and allow gallbladder to evacuate the bile.
• If you know what you're doing, you can regularly go to a liver clinic and maintain the health of your liver.
• Exercise can elevate liver enzymes to a certain extent, but high levels indicate more than just exercise is the problem.

-The actual results of my lab test, post liver cleanse...19:21

• In addition to elevated to elevated enzymes:
  • Hormones were pretty good: free testosterone = 78. Total testosterone = 880.
  • Sex hormone binding globulin = 84 (lower is better)
  • GGT (gamma glutamyl transferase) is a good proxy for gallbladder health.
• My alinine aminotransferase dropped from 83 to 33.
• My aspartate aminotransferase dropped from 172 to 37.
• GGT was 15. Extremely low risk.
• Free testosterone jumped from 78 to 115; Total testosterone went from 880 to 1154.

-What I ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner during my liver cleanse...25:10

• Kitchari recipe for 3-4 servings: Ingredients: ½ cup split yellow mung beans 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1-inch stick of kombu (optional - I used organic, non-GMO miso instead) 4 cups homemade