Love Your Liver & Gallbladder
Welcome back to our Tour of the Body series! This post is all about the lovely liver, and its sidekick the gallbladder. The heart might be the hardest working muscle in the body, but the liver is probably the hardest working organ.
The liver is about the size of a football, and weighs roughly three pounds. It’s located on your right side, just behind the bottom of your ribcage and extending over to the left side of your body capping your stomach. All of our body bits are important, but the liver performs hundreds of functions for us. It’s both an organ and a gland, meaning it makes proteins and hormones other body parts need.
WHAT DOESN’T IT DO?!
All of the blood leaving our stomach and intestines passes through the liver. This is important because the liver filters this blood, breaking down, balancing, and creating nutrients, all day, every day.
The liver breaks down old red blood cells, makes bile (think of this like the body’s natural fat degreaser), breaks down bilirubin (the stuff that makes a bruise purple and yellow), metabolizes proteins, carbohydrates, and fats for use, makes fibrinogen (this is what helps our blood clot), and regulates the amount of blood in the body, it also makes glycogen (the storage form of body sugar), vitamins (like B12) and minerals (like iron) to be used by the body later.
Amazingly, the liver can regenerate up to 70-75% of its mass if a portion of it is removed or damaged. Unlike most other organs, the liver doesn’t just heal damaged tissue; it actually regrows lost tissue, maintaining its original size and function. Regeneration doesn’t mean it creates new lobes or completely new liver structures. Rather, the remaining liver cells (hepatocytes) undergo hyperplasia, meaning they increase in number to replace lost cells.
LIVER BIOTRANSFORMATION (DETOXIFICATION)
Whatever the liver deems toxic, or a waste product, is either excreted into the bile or the blood. Bile by-products get dumped into the intestines to “exit” via poop. Blood by-products get filtered by our kidneys and then exit via pee.
This liver is why “detox” protocols exist. I say that in quotes, because the liver is detoxifying (aka biotransforming) all the time. Without the liver we couldn’t break down our nutrients into the building blocks we need to live. When our liver doesn’t get the resources and support it needs to do its job, the whole body suffers, and that’s when we start hearing about detox diets. Diet implies restriction. What the liver really needs is plentiful nutrition.
There are three phases of detoxification (or biotransformation) in the liver. They are essential processes that help the body metabolize and eliminate toxins. As I alluded above, these phases convert fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble compounds, making them easier for the body to eliminate. Here’s a brief overview of each phase:
Phase I (Activation): Toxins are modified by enzymes to prepare them for further breakdown, but some intermediates may become more reactive (toxic). B vitamins, antioxidants (like vitamins C and E), and flavonoids help support Phase I detox.
Phase II (Conjugation): The liver adds molecules to the reactive toxins to neutralize them, making them water-soluble and safe for excretion. Glutathione (or it’s precursor NAC), sulfur-containing compounds (like garlic, onions), amino acids (glycine, taurine), vitamin B12, folate, and magnesium are critical for supporting Phase II.
Phase III (Transport): The liver expels the neutralized toxins into bile (for fecal elimination) or the bloodstream (for urinary elimination). Adequate hydration, fiber, and bile flow (stimulated by foods like bitter greens) support this phase to ensure effective toxin elimination from the body.
THE GALLBLADDER
Probably my favorite anatomy comic of all time. If you’ve never checked out The Awkward Yeti’s Heart and Brain Comics…you’ve been missing a delightful corner of the internet.
I forever think about that last image when I think about the gallbladder now.
The GB is the lil pear-shaped green dude located right under your liver, it stores and releases the bile the liver makes. As I said above, bile is our body’s degreaser. When we’re fasting our gallbladders are full; as we start eating it releases bile into the small intestines to help out with fat digestion. Fats are big hydrophobic (anti-water) globs. Bile helps us disperse those big globs into little droplets that are easier for digestive enzymes (compliments of the pancreas) to break down and use.
The bile is a delicate mix of cholesterol, bile salts, and bilirubin (bile pigment, kind of like resveratrol is a plant pigment). Odd but true: cement, and even precious gemstones are a precise mixture of minerals and time. So is the bile, and when there’s too much of any one ingredient, bile starts to shift from fluid, to sediment, to stones. Thus: “I maked these” gallstones.
What we eat and liver health determine the health of the gallbladder.
Fiber, bitters, protein, (and other nutrients) support the liver and gallbladder by promoting bile production, digestion, and the body’s natural detoxification pathways. Fiber (~30 grams a day) helps bind and remove toxins (including excess hormones), while bitters (life dark leafy greens) stimulate bile flow for fat digestion. Protein provides essential amino acids for liver detox enzymes, helping to process and eliminate toxins efficiently. Together, these elements nourish and protect our livers and gallbladders, ensuring smooth detoxification and overall health.
