Liver Disease and Nutrition

Six and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with Liver Disease, and referred to the University of Virginia to see some liver specialists. The first thing they did was to refer me to the Transplant Program, where I underwent a battery of tests over several months to determine if the rest of my body was healthy enough to withstand the rigors of a liver transplant.

At the time, I was also having the same intermittent low thyroid symptoms I'd had for most of my life. I show all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, yet the thyroid tests always come back in the normal range. This time, the endocrinologist talked to me about foods that adversely affect the thyroid, most notably cruciferous vegetables and soy products. They are goitrogens, meaning they suppresses thyroid function and the uptake of iodine needed by the thyroid.

Cruciferous vegetables lose a lot of the goitrogens when cooked, but soy does not. I thought I had pretty much eliminated soy from my diet years ago... that is, until I discovered soy masquerades under 40 or more names as food additives. The first thing to eliminate from my diet was any food that came in a package with a long list of chemical ingredients on the label, many of which are soy-based (and from GMO soy).

The next thing to eliminate was sugars, high fructose corn syrup in particular. Fructose damages the liver and causes mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction in the same way as any other toxin.

Sucrose (table sugar) is 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is anywhere from 42 to 55 percent fructose depending on which type is used. Glucose is the form of energy our bodies are designed to run on. Every cell in our body uses glucose for energy, and it's metabolized in every organ of our body; only about 20 percent of glucose is actually metabolized in our liver. Fructose, on the other hand, can only be metabolized by the liver, because the liver is the only organ that has the transporter for it. 

Since all fructose gets shuttled to the liver, when we eat a typical Western-style diet, we consume high amounts of it, so fructose ends up taxing and damaging the liver in the same way other toxins (including alcohol) do. In fact, fructose is virtually identical to alcohol with regards to the metabolic havoc it wreaks. 

According to Dr. Lustig (an endocrinologist at the Univ. of California), fructose is a "chronic, dose-dependent liver toxin." And just like alcohol, fructose is metabolized directly into fat—not cellular energy, like glucose. So when eating fructose, it just gets stored in our fat cells, which leads to mitochondrial malfunction. 

The liver is the major site for converting excess carbohydrates and proteins into fatty acids and triglycerides, which are then exported and stored in adipose (fat) tissue.  I was advised to cut my carb intake to 50 grams a day until my system got clean, and then keep the intake to under 100 grams a day. 

The last thing to eliminate was any meat and eggs from animals that may have been fed the same soy and grain I was to avoid, as well as avoiding all fresh produce grown in a chemical cloud. That meant local free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork, free-range chickens, and the Farmer's Market for veggies I don't grow.

Well, let me tell you, for 2-3 weeks I thought I would starve to death! Giving up the obvious addictive sugars was hard enough, but giving up bread and pasta was even worse. That's when I really started to delve into Real Foods, and things started to turn around.

Within a month, my energy levels and mental outlook began to increase, and my liver enzymes improved enough in 3-4 months that my liver docs took me off all meds.

I also began to lose a little weight. I learned to always carry a wholesome snack when I was away from home, usually a hard-boiled farm egg, or a piece of raw milk cheese (for the enzymes not found in pasteurized cheese). (Do not believe raw milk cheese might harbor pathogens. By Law, they must be aged at least 60 days before they can be sold, and if there were pathogens, the cheese would be rotten before the 60 days were up.)

Unfortunately, I have fallen partially off the "good diet" wagon over the last 12 months, mostly due to the increased cost of food and utilities versus my income (just a monthly social security check) and partly due to laziness. Eating right requires planning ahead and making time to prepare nutritious foods. In the last 3 weeks, I've had 3 sodas because I was experiencing low blood sugar while away from the house. That's 3 more than I've had in 5-6 years.

It's time to climb fully back up on that healthy food wagon no matter what else I have to give up. (Or continue a downward spiral in my health.)

There are many, many good things I can make from cheap cuts of meat and bones. Slow cooking a crockpot full of bones produces an incredibly nutritious broth/stock that's like jello when cooled.  Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals.  Bone broth also supports joints, hair, skin and nails due to its high collagen content. In fact, some even suggest that it helps eliminate cellulite as it supports smooth connective tissue.

Cooked long and slow, bone broth also contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons, stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

The "odd bits" like heart, liver, kidneys, sweetbreads, etc. contain so much more nutrition than the muscle meats, and they are much cheaper to purchase. I just received a Christmas gift of the book Terrine, plus I found a used copy of Terrines, Påtes and Galantines on ebay for under $4 earlier this year. (If you are not familiar with terrines, think meatloaf... and a galantine is just a meaty loaf encased in a pastry shell.)

What else did I eat when I felt so great?? Bacon, eggs, sausage, homemade yogurt, salads dressed with fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of EVOO, cheese, real butter, real cream in my coffee (not UP), fresh veggies, olive oil and coconut oil, sardines, not much fruit because of the sugar content, no legumes, no grains, and grass-fed meats daily. My one daily treat was a half-inch square of an 85% cacao bar at bedtime, and it was enough.

Eating those foods also brought the ratio of my Omega-6 to Omega-3 back into a better balance (about 4:1) than the SAD (Standard American Diet) which is as much as 40:1. 

All the meat and dairy provided the essential amino acids necessary to build proteins (essential because our bodies cannot produce them internally). The failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids has serious health implications and can result in degradation of the body's proteins. Muscle and other protein structures may be dismantled to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. "Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use; the amino acids must be in the food every day.

I bought some wonton wrappers yesterday and intend to make and freeze some wontons (they contain just 4 grams of carbs per wrapper). A lunch of a wonton or two added to some home canned stock is quick, easy, and nutritious. 

It's a start. Salads will be scarce over the winter because I'm leery of bagged greens, even organic ones. Thankfully I froze lots of green veggies from my summer garden.

Struggling with Food Choices

I mentioned in an earlier post that my intention is to get back on the recommended food protocol from my endocrinologist (I'm hypothyroid), and I began that journey on the first day of this year. So far it is a very real struggle between what my mind knows and what my appetite cravings seek. As when I did this the first time (even though I eventually failed to stay faithful) my goal is better health, and weight loss is just a happy by-product.

I was surprised to see a tiny weight loss over the first week, which I didn't expect. It seems that when I announced I was going to eliminate some specific things from my diet (like sugars), my body just increased the desire for those very things!

The biggest challenge so far really is sugar, but it's followed closely by obesogens and goitrogens (both are endocrine disruptors, which cause weight gain regardless of calorie intake). Sugar is a problem because I got re-addicted to it with all the holiday foods from my birthday cake in early November, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and on through New Years' Day. I discovered in just 1 week that cutting back on sugar doesn't work for me... any more than reducing alcohol intake works for an alcoholic who wants to be free of the addiction.

So, eliminating sugar is going to have to be the cold turkey approach. However, one problem with sugar is those foods that don't necessarily appear laden with sugar, but convert to sugars during the digestion process. Those include some grains and legumes, some tubers and even packaged orange juice (although I don't buy OJ).

Whole wheat bread or cereals are high on that list, but not if they are made from whole wheat grains that are first sprouted, then dried before grinding into flour. (Do you think Kellogg's does that for their packaged cereals?) You can buy bags of several kinds of sprouted flours in addition to a few sprouted, dried whole grains and legumes to make your own here. (There may be many other sources, I just happen to know of that one.) Of course, my local stores do not carry any sprouted grains, nor sprouted grain breads like Ezekiel Bread. I can buy frozen Ezekiel Bread in most natural food stores, but the closest stores are a hundred miles away. 

My options then are to eliminate bread altogether, or order some sprouted flours and make my own. Although I am not a very good baker, I did make my own bread for a couple of years, mostly sourdough which I love. I suppose I will start making bread again, like I need one more thing to do! sigh

Obesogens are also a problem because so many are not just in foods. Many of them come from faux fragrance chemicals added to things like laundry soaps, dish detergents, and shampoos. Some come from plasticizers used in plastic meat packaging, clear plastic wrap, food cans (BPA) and even in tap water which is increasingly tainted with drugs that mimic hormones.  We absorb them through our skin (like water in the shower) even if we don't ingest them.

I solved the laundry detergent problem when I diverted the laundry water out to the garden recently... and switched to biodegradable, low-sodium detergents without phosphates, brighteners, boron, borax, enzymes or bleach. I switched to good handmade bath and facial soaps last year, but now I need to address shampoos and dish detergents.


I am particularly sensitive to obesegens now. I wasn't always so sensitive, but the body collects them in fat cells in the liver and elsewhere rather than eliminating them, and they build up over time. 

The obesogens in pesticides and herbicides used on growing commercial foods (except organic), along with chemical food washes and plastic packaging "for safety" are harder for me to avoid during winter when I have few (if any) fresh greens or vegetables growing.

I don't knowingly eat soy products because soy contains both obesogens and goitrogens (besides the fact that most soy is GMO) but a double-whammy comes from the hidden soy products. "Mysterious ingredients that frequently (if not always) include soy are: hydrolyzed plant protein, isolated vegetable protein, vegetable gum, vegetable broth, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, isolates, methylcellulose, mono- and diglycerides, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, vegetable protein, vegetable starch, and vegetable fat. 

“Natural Flavors” indicates soy. Because soy can be grown organically [although rarely, ~editor], and it is a naturally occurring plant, it is not seen as dishonest labeling practice to include “natural flavors”, or “flavoring” when manufacturers really mean soy. Unless the ingredient is specified, such as “natural vanilla flavors”, or “natural cocoa flavors”, do not trust this catch-all of ingredient euphemisms." (Source)

I don't have any problems with the natural goitrogens found in sweet potatoes, spinach and the brassica family (cruciferous vegetables) because I cook them, and cooking inactivates those goitrogens in vegetables. (I do eat raw spinach from my garden on salads in season, but it isn't much.)

As for the rest of my food protocol, I'm not having any problems with animal proteins, dairy (like cheese, real cream for my coffee, and butter) and other good fats because I never deviated from buying grass-fed / pastured animal products, or good fats like coconut oil and olive oils (in spite of the food miles). Nor am I having any problems with getting enough daily vegetables. I don't do as well with fruits, being against the food miles that are coupled with outrageous pesticide usage on imported fruits. I do have some local organic apples still in the larder, but I didn't store enough and they go fast!

Remembering to take my vitamins (D and B12) every morning remains a hurdle. Even if I put them right in front of my computer screen so I can't miss them with my morning ritual of coffee and checking email, I tend to push them aside thinking I'll take them in a few minutes when the coffee is ready.

There is a lot of fine-tuning to do with my food protocol, like pH balance... but I'll address those in future posts. Right now I'm busy battling the Dragon named Sugar.

 '

The Thyroid and City Water

Photo from WaterWatch USA

For some of you who have been following this blog a long time, you may remember I have a hypothyroid condition. Last year with a change in diet, I managed to get off the meds, but I have backslid on that diet for months now, with a noticeable drop in energy.

I wrote about the importance of iodine and the thyroid in several posts on this blog recently regarding radiation fallout, and possible contaminated vegetables. I just recently came across something that really made sense to me about iodine, city water and my own thyroid.

"Iodine is an essential trace mineral the body depends on for production of thyroid hormones and normal metabolism of cells. According to Oregon State University, iodine deficiency is a significant problem worldwide. The iodine content of foods produced in the ground depends heavily upon the iodine content of the soil it developed in." (Source)

Photo Source

It turns out iodine is part of the Halogen group, along with fluorine, bromine and chlorine. (I did not take chemistry in school, which I now regret.)  Each chemical has a known atomic weight, listed here:

Fluorine 9

Chlorine 17

Bromine 35

Iodine 53

Now here's the catch: 

"The critical activity of any one of these four halogens is in inverse proportion to its atomic weight. This means that any one of the four can displace the element with a higher atomic weight, but cannot displace an element with a lower atomic weight. For example, fluorine can displace chlorine, bromine and iodine because fluorine has a lower atomic weight than the other three. Similarly, chlorine can displace bromine and iodine because they both have a higher atomic weight. Likewise, bromine can displace iodine from the body because iodine has a higher atomic weight. But a reverse order is not possible. 

A knowledge of this well-known chemical law brings us to a consideration of the addition of chlorine to our drinking water as a purifying agent. We secure a drinking water that is harmful to the body not because of its harmful germ content, but because the chlorine content now causes the body to lose the much-needed iodine." (Source)

While my first source (quoted above) was an old-time Vermont country medical doctor who sometimes urged a few home remedies in favor of more expensive prescription medicines, I did some double-checking and found a lot of full corroboration from online medical sites about the thyroid, and also found many sites verifying the action of the atomic weights of the Halogen group that contains chlorine, fluoride and iodine regarding replacement of one for another.

What it all really means to me is that no matter the condition of my thyroid, nor how much iodine I consume in iodine-rich foods like seafood, dairy products from grass-fed cows, kelp, other seaweeds or even iodized salt (which the government instituted years ago to counteract the lack of iodine in our foods), or taking iodine tablets as protection against nuclear fallout, it is all for nothing if I drink chlorine-containing city water. Chlorine blocks the iodine receptors in the body... and besides, chlorine is not healthy anyway! (The same blocking of iodine holds true for fluoride added to toothpaste and mouthwash.)

"The addition of chlorine to our water began in the late 1800's and by 1904 was the standard in water treatment and for the most part remains that way today.

Chlorine is not used because its the safest or even the most effective means of treatment, its used because it is the cheapest means of treatment. In spite of all our technological advances over the 100 years we still essentially pour bleach into our water before we drink it. The long term effects of chlorinated drinking water have just recently been documented. It is not uncommon to find more chlorine in tap water than is recommended safe for a swimming pool." (Source)

It poses a problem for me because I have sworn off bottled water (for the most part) due to the enormous strain of millions of bottles on our landfills. I was buying Aquafina, which is processed by reverse osmosis, which filters out most things including chlorine. What kind of water do you drink, even if you don't have a thyroid problem?
 

My Weight Plateau, or Body-Fat Set-Point

Photo courtesy of tibchris' photostream

I have been on a plateau with my weight for about 15 days now, with zero change in my food protocol. Weight-loss was not the goal, but it should be a large by-product, and it has stalled. After reading dozens and dozens of research papers online, I think I am beginning to understand some of the 'why'.

The human body has some amazing built-in abilities, one of which is the normal regulation of body-fat. What we consume is either burned for energy or stored for later energy use as fat. That system of regulation monitors our body-fat 'set-point' much as a thermostat on your heat/AC monitors the temperature and adjusts accordingly. When we have adequate stores of fat, that system tells us to eat less (few hunger pangs, and feeling fuller on less food), and conversely, to eat more when our body-fat storage is low, such as after lots of physical activity. There are many players (like insulin) that are part and parcel of this regulation, but I only have a general idea of how they work together.

When our bodies get out of whack from any number of reasons, the body-fat regulation suffers. One of the players is the hormone Leptin, which is made and secreted by fat cells, and it affects energy output and food intake via several neuro-endocrine pathways. Leptin's job seems to be reducing appetite and stimulating fat burning.

The more body-fat I have, the more leptin in my bloodstream, which should be stimulating fat-burning. So, why do I have an excess of body-fat? Well.... it seems I probably have built up leptin resistance over time with my previous food habits. That old diet of foods my body was not designed to handle caused (among other things) some inflammation. Not the kind of inflammation you can visibly see, like when you hit your thumb with a hammer or your ankles swell, but an internal (and probably widespread) inflammation.

Some of the inflammation is probably in my intestines, where they have had to deal with all the anti-nutrients I have eaten in the last several years. (The inflammation cause could be considered stress... dietary stress or cellular stress.) Inflammation raises the levels of insulin which cause my body to make more fat cells. My body has a response to stress-induced inflammation: my adrenals produce a hormone called cortisol, which fights the inflammation. However, cortisol also increases belly fat. Sigh.

The effects of inflammation have no doubt affected many of my body systems, including hormonal balance... and in particular, my thyroid. Fortunately, I do not seem to be insulin-resistant as far as I know, which could have led to diabetes. It's hard to say what may have developed (besides weight-gain) had I continued that disastrous way of eating.

I believe the food path I was on has built-up my leptin resistance slowly, over the last several years. Recent studies suggest high HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) increases leptin resistance. High levels of triglycerides also are thought to build leptin resistance. Mine are probably high (or were when I started this protocol several weeks ago) since triglycerides are made in the liver from any excess sugars that have not been used for energy. The source of these excess sugars is any food containing carbohydrates, but particularly refined sugar and grains.

What can I do about it, short of medical intervention? For one thing, keep eating Real Food. Eat the foods that can counter this kind of inflammation that is linked to fat gain. According to my doctor, good fats are top of the list, and those are mostly saturated fats... meat, bacon, egg yolks, cream, butter, cheese... but no regular milk because of the sugars.

It is imperative I get more omega-3's into my diet (and fewer omega-6's), which means grass-fed meats only, eggs from pastured hens, some fish high in O-3 like salmon (but not much ocean fish because of mercury), and leafy greens.

For now, my doctor has me on almost zero carbs to see if we can get past the leptin resistance just by giving parts of my system a rest, and giving the balance of my system a highly nutritious diet. I have to be absolutely sure I get about 10,000 IU of natural Vitamin A daily, and 4,000-6,000 IU Vitamin D daily. One third of my D comes from a high-vitamin fermented cod liver oil in the form of D2. I supplement at lunch and again before bedtime with 2,000 IU's of D3. The cod liver oil also has almost of the 'A' I need.

Other foods to eliminate entirely for now are ALL grains (even soaked grains), ALL sugars and ALL legumes. I really thought it would be hard to give up sugar, as I have been a sugar addict. I thought the half-teaspoon of sugar in my coffee would be the worst to eliminate because it was first thing in the morning after an all-night fast, but the real cream I can have instead replaced the satisfaction (and energy) of sugar without the problems. It has actually been easy to give up sugar. Giving up bread was very hard for the first 2 weeks, but the craving is almost gone. I love fresh, warm Old World breads or a good sourdough slathered in butter!

My intuition, my Guides/Angels, and my doctor all tell me I may get past the leptin resistance in another week or three. Regardless, I AM feeling lots better, even though I know I must be still shedding toxins.