Liver Supplements

Claims, Benefits: Detoxify your liver, help you lose weight, and fight PMS, chronic fatigue, food allergies, immunological problems, and a wide range of other ailments.

Bottom Line: The liver doesn't need to be detoxified. There's no telling what these combinations of herbs will do, good or bad.

Full Article, Wellness Letter, July 2002:

Filtering the Liver Claims

The French blame their livers for everything from headaches to digestive problems. If you believe the ads on the radio and in magazines, you may start worrying about your liver, too.

The ads sell herbal/nutritional formulas and tonics, such as Liver Cleanse, Liver Aid, and Liverite, which are supposed to "support healthy liver function," cleanse the liver, and prevent the buildup of toxins. A book called Liver Cleansing Diet: Love Your Liver and Live Longer, by Dr. Sandra Cabot, promotes still another liver tonic. "Detoxifying" your liver, the promoters claim, will help you lose weight and fight PMS, chronic fatigue, food allergies, immunological problems, and a wide range of other ailments. Some also say that the supplements can alleviate the toxic effects of medication, alcohol, pollutants, and pesticides.

Love your liver

The liver is essential in hundreds of ways. It processes nutrients so they can be used in the body, and also stores some of them. It regulates cholesterol and fat metabolism. It builds many important proteins and makes bile (needed for digestion). And it cleans the blood of impurities. But just because your liver helps detoxify your body, that doesn't mean that it needs to be detoxified. It is not like a clogged filter. The toxins do not stay in the liver, but are excreted. Moreover, a healthy liver has a remarkable ability to restore itself when damaged.

What's in the stuff

The supplements and tonics contain an array of herbs, as well as amino acids (the building blocks of protein), B vitamins, antioxidants such as vitamin E, and other ingredients, usually in unspecified doses. You don't need a liver supplement to get amino acids or vitamins, which you can get from food or a simple multivitamin, plus a vitamin E supplement.

The most interesting herb in these supplements is milk thistle. This contains a compound called silymarin, which may help block or remove harmful substances from the liver and repair damaged liver cells. Milk thistle is used in Europe for treating liver diseases, and preliminary evidence suggests it may have potential as a drug. But there's no evidence that it can "detoxify" or protect a normal liver or has any benefits for healthy people. And if you have liver disease such as hepatitis or cirrhosis, you certainly should not take any supplement without consulting your doctor.

Other herbs often found in liver pills include dandelion, licorice, reishi mushrooms, and globe artichoke. There's no telling what such herbs, used singly or in combination, will do, good or bad.

Further news: The Federal Trade Commission recently told the manufacturer of Liverite to stop making unsubstantiated medical claims and fined it $60,000. The ads for Liverite still appear on late-night TV, but now the health claims are vaguer—though ads for other liver aids remain as bold as ever.

Words to the wise: Don't believe claims that liver supplements protect you from the adverse effects of heavy drinking. The best things you can do for your liver: if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation; eat lots of fruits and vegetables; don't exceed dosing directions for drugs (such as acetaminophen, sold as Tylenol and other brands); and avoid herbal supplements, especially those known to be toxic to the liver (such as chaparral or comfrey).

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, July 2002