Supporting Liver Function With Nutrition
Written by: Richard Mayfield, DC, CCN, DACBN
In the modern world, everyone is exposed to a mixture of chemical compounds daily and many foods and nutrients that can upregulate the body’s natural processes of eliminating those toxicants. An overloaded detoxification pathway may lead to clinical patterns such as immune dysfunction or endocrine disruption. Food and nutrients that support liver biotransformation may help alleviate toxic burden and allow the body’s pathways to operate more efficiently.1,2
Foods and Phytonutrients for Biotransformation and EliminationDietary changes may help patients with elevated toxicant exposures.1-3 Foods that may support the biotransformation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), for example, include cruciferous vegetables, berries, soy, garlic, and spices like turmeric.4 Among the vast array of phytonutrients currently being studied for this purpose, sulforaphane, curcumin, quercetin, and resveratrol have been reported to stimulate the expression of endogenous detoxification enzymes and may neutralize harmful environmental agents.5,6
Phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables, including a rich amount of glucosinolates that are hydrolyzed to bioactive isothiocyanates such as sulforaphane, regulate liver enzymes, phase I cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes, and phase II conjugation enzymes to increase biotransformation rates.7-9 As another example, soy and soy isoflavones have many effects on the CYP450 enzymes.10,11
While certain foods support the body’s natural detoxification pathways, food-based toxicant exposures may contribute to poor health. Metallic compounds in seafood,12 pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables,13 and hormones found in some dairy products14 are examples. To be sure, our diet can either be healthful and protective or have detrimental effects on our well-being.
Limiting or eliminating certain foods to reduce the total intake of toxicants while consuming more plant-based foods rich in fiber and in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients may support the liver and promote efficient biotransformation and elimination.1,2,15
As a cautionary note, dietary components that effect liver enzymes may influence the profile of some prescription medications, impacting the duration of effect for various drugs.16References
1) Chen JG, Johnson J, Egner P, et al. Dose-dependent detoxication of the airborne pollutant benzene in a randomized trial of broccoli sprout beverage in Qidong, China. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;110(3):675-684. doi:1093/ajcn/nqz122
2) Panda C, Komarnytsky S, Fleming MN, et al. Guided metabolic detoxification program supports phase II detoxification enzymes and antioxidant balance in healthy participants. Nutrients. 2023;15(9):2209. doi:3390/nu15092209
3) Peluso M, Munnia A, Russo V, et al. Cruciferous vegetable intake and bulky DNA damage within non-smokers and former smokers in the Gen-Air Study (EPIC Cohort). 2022;14(12):2477. doi:10.3390/nu14122477
4) Hodges RE, Minich DM. Modulation of metabolic detoxification pathways using foods and food-derived components: a scientific review with clinical application. J Nutr Metab. 2015;2015:760689. doi:1155/2015/760689
5) Jackson SJ, Singletary KW, Murphy LL, Venema RC, Young AJ. Phytonutrients differentially stimulate NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, inhibit proliferation, and trigger mitotic catastrophe in Hepa1c1c7 cells. J Med Food. 2016;19(1):47-53. doi:1089/jmf.2015.0079
6) Li D, Shao R, Wang N, et al. Sulforaphane activates a lysosome-dependent transcriptional program to mitigate oxidative stress. Autophagy. 2021;17(4):872-887. doi:1080/15548627.2020.1739442
7) Abbaoui B, Lucas CR, Riedl KM, Clinton SK, Mortazavi A. Cruciferous vegetables, isothiocyanates and bladder cancer prevention. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(18):e1800079. doi:1002/mnfr.201800079
8) Jiang X, Liu Y, Ma L, et al. Chemopreventive activity of sulforaphane. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2018;12:2905-2913. doi:2147/DDDT.S100534
9) Minich DM, Brown BI. A review of dietary (phyto)nutrients for glutathione support. Nutrients. 2019;11(9):2073. doi:3390/nu11092073
10) Ronis MJ. Effects of soy containing diet and isoflavones on cytochrome P450 enzyme expression and activity. Drug Metab Rev. 2016;48(3):331-341. doi:1080/03602532.2016.1206562
11) Zhou T, Meng C, He P. Soy isoflavones and their effects on xenobiotic metabolism. Curr Drug Met. 2019;20(1):46-53. doi:2174/1389200219666180427170213
12) Zhuzzhassarova G, Azarbayjani F, Zamaratskaia G. Fish and seafood safety: human exposure to toxic metals from the aquatic environment and fish in Central Asia. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25(3):1590. doi:3390/ijms25031590
13) Lamat H, Sauvant-Rochat MP, Tauveron I, et al. Metabolic syndrome and pesticides: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Pollut. 2022;305:119288. doi:1016/j.envpol.2022.119288
14) Malekinejad H, Rezabakhsh A. Hormones in dairy foods and their impact on public health – a narrative review article. Iran J Public Health. 2015;44(6):742-758.
15) van der Schoot A, Drysdale C, Whelan K, Dimidi E. The effect of fiber supplementation on chronic constipation in adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;116(4):953-969. doi:1093/ajcn/nqac184
16)Eagles SK, Gross AS, McLachlan AJ. The effects of cruciferous vegetable-enriched diets on drug metabolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary intervention trials in humans. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020;108(2):212-227. doi:1002/cpt.1811