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My Personal Journey of Healing

Chang, MSc

1. Liver functions, liver disease, and liver cleanse

Constant fatigue, age-related vision and memory loss

The liver is our body's most important organ after the heart,

performing many important functions including metabolism,

detoxification, and formation of important compounds including blood

clotting factors. It also filters, regulates, and stores blood.

Stress, poor diet, and over-medication are common problems in

our " civilized " lifestyle. These may lead to stress and functional

damage to the liver. As a result, " sluggish " liver has become a

common ailment. It may affect memory, sleep, thyroid, body weight,

and other body functions.

Both estrogen and androgen stimulate cell division. Elevated levels

of these hormones may lead to abnormal cell growth such as womens'

uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, breast cysts, and

breast cancer or mens' prostate enlargement and prostate cancer.

Since the liver is the principal organ which removes these hormones,

its failure to remove them efficiently often leads to their

accumulation in the body and is a major cause of the above diseases.

It has been known for thousands of years in China that liver problems

are the source of many ailments. However, hormonal imbalances are

still little understood in Chinese medicine. As a result, most

womens' problems are treated for blood and energy stagnation. " Blood

moving " herbs such as Don Quei, licorice, and ginseng are frequently

used for reducing stagnation and stimulating circulation without

realizing their effect on estrogen levels. These herbs may initially

help improve circulation, but the elevated estrogen levels can

eventually make the problem worse.

Liver functions

The liver is the most important organ after the heart. It performs

hundreds of functions including:

Circulation: transfer of blood from portal to systemic circulation,

activity of the liver's reticulo-endothelial system (kupffer cells)

in the immune system. The liver stores and regulates the blood and is

responsible for nourishing every cell in our body. Every part of the

body depends on blood from the liver for nourishment and sustenance.

Excretion: formation and secretion of bile for digestion and

cleansing of blood; removal of ammonia from blood; excretion of

substances filtered from the blood by the liver such as heavy metals

or dyes.

Metabolism: carbohydrate, protein, lipid (fat), mineral and vitamin

metabolism; manufacturing and storage of many nutrients such as

glucose and vitamins; production of heat through metabolism.

Protection and detoxification: removal of foreign bodies from the

blood (phagocytosis); detoxification by conjugation, methylation,

oxidation and reduction.

Production; formation of urea, serum albumin, glycogen and blood

coagulating proteins such as prothrombin, fibrinogen and heparin;

erythrocyte (red blood cells) destruction.

Regulation of hormones: inactivation and elimination of hormones

through the bile or urine. Since estrogen and androgen are both

growth hormones which stimulate cell division, elevation of their

levels in the blood due to the liver's failure to remove them

efficiently can cause their accumulation in tissue. This in turn may

lead to abnormal growths such as uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts,

endometriosis, breast cysts and breast cancer, prostate enlargement

or prostate cancer. Excessive estrogen is also the most common cause

of painful menstruations.

The liver also regulates body functions which affect emotional and

mental activities. In a diseased condition, the liver's blood storage

and regulatory functions are affected, and bleeding or clots can

result. When liver blood is deficient, nourishment to tendons and

blood vessels is curtailed, the joints become stiff, and muscles

become spasmodic and numb. Blood deficiency in the liver may even

lead to stroke, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, deafness, fainting or

convulsion. When the liver blood is so deficient that it cannot

nourish the eyes, night blindness or blurring may result. If the

liver is affected by stress or unhappy feelings, its vitality may be

repressed and the sides hurt, and hiccups or hernia may develop. The

bowels may become constipated and sleep may be disturbed causing

nightmare or insomnia [2].

The liver is the most emotion sensitive organ and its weakness is

often connected to emotional sensitivity. Individuals who are

emotionally sensitive are more prone to weak liver even if they do

not have a poor diet or are not taking medication regularly.

" The liver causes heart attacks " (Reference 3)

The structural position of the liver as a bridge between the

returning blood from the digestive system and the lower part of the

body to the heart makes the liver an important organ for the health

of the heart. A weakened and swollen or congested liver can obstruct

the venous blood flow to the heart causing heart palpitations or even

heart attacks (see reference 3). In other words a healthy liver is

essential for maintaining an adequate amount of blood flow to the

heart and the heart can only pump the blood it receives.

Age-related vision and memory loss: the importance of the liver

According to the Chinese, the liver and kidneys are the organs

that " age " us. That is why almost all longevity herbs used in Chinese

medicine are liver and kidney tonics. Without a clean, efficient

liver and healthy kidneys, blood is not filtered clean. " Dirty "

blood, loaded with toxins or waste products, is heavier and more

sluggish. This causes poor circulation and reduced capacity to carry

oxygen and nutrients. As a result, tissue and organ cells are

undernourished. If this condition persists the cells will deteriorate

and inevitably age. The eye and brain cells are especially affected

because the blood has to flow against gravity to reach them. In an

article on Alzheimer disease in the January 1988 issue of the Mayo

Clinic Health Letter, malfunction of the liver and kidneys was

mentioned as one of the causes leading to Alzheimer disease. Brain

tumour, which physically blocks blood flow to the brain, was also

cited as one of the causes.

The brain is only 2% of our body weight, yet it needs 20% of our

oxygen supply. If the toxin-loaded blood from a weak liver has

limited capacity to carry oxygen, the brain cells are affected most.

I was born with a photographic memory, but I lost it at the age of

17. Up to the age of 16, I could remember every single word in

textbooks that I glanced through just once. I was surprised to learn

that I could not do that any more before I finished my high school.

Looking back, my very stressful childhood must have congested my

liver and my inadequately filtered blood had difficulty flowing up to

my brain to nourish my cells. The fact that I fainted in school at

the age of 11 indicated that my blood flow to my brain was already

sluggish even at an early age. As the years went by with stressful

life, my memory kept going down hill and reached the bottom at age

47, the year that I was diagnosed with badly congested liver. When I

cleansed out my liver and gallbladder, changed my diet and started

doing daily morning exercise, my memory improved. I don't think I

will get my photographic memory back, but I did gain back some of my

memory power and stopped its deterioration.

Constant Fatigue

When blood is loaded with toxins due to a weak and inefficient liver,

there is limited capacity for the blood to carry oxygen and nutrients

which are necessary for energy production. The result is constant

fatigue. A clean and efficient liver which produces cleaner blood

would help energy production because clean blood can carry more

oxygen and nutrients. Clean blood is also lighter; it flows better

and results in better blood circulation.

Liver problems: liver congestion and stagnation

Liver congestion and stagnation are common liver problems. Yet

conventional medicine does not understand them and has no test to

detect them. In hepatitis or liver inflammation, liver enzyme levels

in the blood are elevated because of the ruptured liver cells which

contain high contents of liver enzymes. However, in liver congestion

or stagnation, liver cells are still intact and liver enzyme levels

in blood are normal. Therefore normal clinical tests which rely on

liver enzyme levels as a measure of liver condition cannot detect

liver congestion or stagnation.

I had blood tests performed a few months before I was diagnosed with

badly congested liver by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

These tests showed no abnormal liver condition because they simply

could not detect liver congestion. I never knew I had liver problems

until the Chinese doctor correctly diagnosed my congested liver

condition. This was the turning point for my health problems. When my

liver became healthy again through a lengthy jouney of self-healing

(see the Liver cleansing section below), most of my chronic health

problems disappeared.

According to Chinese medicine, all internal organs work as a team in

the body; the liver is considered the " General " or " Chief of Staff: " .

Unfortunately, many of our modern prescription drugs are damaging to

the liver or kidneys. Over the counter drugs such as painkillers can

also cause liver toxicity. Therefore it is not surprising that many

people over the age of 50 develop liver weakness or toxicity. Even

among healthy people who are not dependent on drugs, the liver has

been filtering blood day and night throughout life without

being " cleansed " . Over the years, circulating blood has deteriorated

in quality which goes unnoticed. The end result is often a feeling of

sluggishness and heaviness due to poor circulation. Studies linking

liver damage to excessive or long-term use of painkillers have been

reported.

I come from a family with weak livers. My father died of a stroke at

the age of 59. It was very likely related to liver problems as he had

been diagnosed as having a weak liver. My uncle became quite sick at

the age of 67. His extremities were dark in colour due to poor blood

supply and he was very tired and weak. He went to see a western

medical doctor and was told that he was beyond help and would not

live much longer. He decided to seek a second opinion from a

traditional Chinese medical doctor who prescribed a liver cleansing

herb (Chinese Gentian) which purges the liver. He is now over 80 and

is still healthy.

Weakening of the liver and eventual toxicity are usually slow

processes. In many cases the only sign of liver weakness is poor

digestion and low energy level. Most people pass this off as

something that happens with age. As a result they do little or

nothing about it until it is too late. Fortunately, nature has

endowed our liver with excellent regenerative powers. If we are able

to understand the early signs of degeneration, we have an excellent

chance of restoring it to optimal functioning with proper care.

Liver cleansing

The liver is the most important organ for hormone regulation. Because

of my weak liver, I had severe hormone imbalance resulting in

many " women's problems " . Although the Chinese medicine practitioner

correctly diagnosed my congested liver condition, his treatment

actually made my problems worse! He prescribed several herbs

including Dong Quei, licorice and ginseng which contain plant

estrogens. Although these had beneficial effects initially because

they improved my blood circulation, the plant estrogens eventually

aggrevated my hormone imbalance problems. I realized Chinese medicine

does not understand hormones and conventional medicine also offers no

help for my chronic liver congestion problems. I therefore decided to

treat myself, using my combined knowledge of clinical chemistry and

Chinese herbs.

At first I tried several commonly used liver cleansing herbs such as

dandelion, chrysanthemum and Swedish Bitters. Dandelion and

chrysanthemum were too weak. Swedish Bitters helped for about 3 weeks

but my condition became actually worse because there are 3 herbs in

it which contain plant estrogens. I searched Chinese herbal medicine

literature (including some ancient Chinese texts) on liver remedies.

Several herbs are mentioned as beneficial to the liver including

Coptis, Gentian, Self-Heal and Scutellaria. Chinese Gentian (Lung-tan

Tsao) has been known for thousands of years to be useful in the

treatment of fever, rheumatism and general debility. It is also said

to benefit the liver, aid digestion, strengthen the memory and give

lightness and elasticity to the body. It is primarily used in the

treatment of acute hepatitis, acute conjunctivitis, acute

tonsillitis, jaundice and most liver disorders (Ref. 2, 5 ). It is

also helpful in alleviating " sluggish liver " which can be caused by

hormone therapy, medications or other problems such as stress or poor

diets.

I recalled my uncle's very postitive experience with the herb Chinese

Gentian and decided to try it. From my research, I knew that the

Chinese herb Bupleurum increases " energy flow " in the liver. I

decided to use a combination of Chinese Gentian and Bupleurum

prepared in an alcoholic tincture. I reasoned that alcohol is a

better carrier than water for the herbs through the liver because the

liver detoxifies water-insoluble toxins for which alcohol is a better

solvent. Within a few months of using this mixture in conjunction

with daily morning exercise and diet control, I experienced

significant improvement as judged by reduction in menstrual pain from

endometriosis, arthritic pain, stiffness and improved quality of

sleep. This improvement was gradual but steady.

I then came across information on apple juice fasting and olive

oil/lemon juice liver and gallbladder cleansing. I decided to give it

a try. The result was dramatic. After just the first cleanse, my

pains, alergies and arthritis all disappeared. Apparently, malic acid

in apple juice is excellent in dissolving the stagnant bile

accumulated in the liver. I was really amazed by the amount of

stagnant bile driven out by the apple juice. Details of the apple

juice fasting and olive oil/lemon juice cleansing procedures are

given in gallbladder flushing.

After my experience, a friend of mine who had gallstones for years

decided to try this liver and gallbladder cleansing procedure. She

did not get any result the first time. There was one difference

between her procedure and mine. She did not use the Chinese Gentian

and Bupleurum tincture before the cleansing, like I did. I reasoned

she probably had a congested liver (many people with gallstones are

likely to have congested livers) which made it difficult for the

apple juice to penetrate. She took my advice and used the Chinese

Gentian and Bupleurum tincture for about one month before her second

cleansing. This time it was successful.

I have subsequently prepared the Chinese Gentian and Bupleurum

tincture in commercial form (called " Chinese Bitters " ). For certain

conditions such as gallstone problems or absence of gallbladder

(removal by surgery), it is best used in conjunction with another

herbal tincture called Coptis which stimulates bile flow.

Restoring my liver health

Nutritional deficiency is a common problem for individuals with liver

disorders. Most nutrients pass through the body without being

assimilated if the liver is weak. I was taking many vitamins,

minerals, and herbal supplements for years without any effect. My

improvement came only after my liver was cleansed and strengthened.

It was after my experience that I realized that supplements taken by

individuals with weak livers may end up as waste products for the

body to dispose because the supplements cannot be digested or

assimilated.

As described above, I restored my liver to health in less than a year

by cleansing it with Chinese Bitters, by liver and gallbladder flush

and by eliminating all liver and kidney weakening foods such as white

flour, white sugar, caffeine, chocolate, deep fried foods, all citrus

fruits, tomato, banana, cold drinks and foods which chill the liver

and kidneys. I took supplements or foods rich in Vitamin B's, C and

minerals to nourish my organs and used the various Chinese herbs to

increase " Chi " (energy flow) in the liver. I also perform daily

morning exercises which involve stretching and deep breathing, based

on an exercise regimen widely practiced in Taiwan called Y-Dan (a

simple and easy to learn alternative to Tai Chi with only 19

movements). A video that provides clear, easy-to-follow instructions

on Y-Dan is available for order.

Exercise stimulates blood circulation. When blood circulates better,

all organs function better. Stretching and deep breathing kind of

exercises early in the morning provide the most benefit for anyone

with sluggish liver. According to Chinese medicine, the liver works

hard to filter our blood between 1 to 3 am during our sleep. A fair

amount of blood may be still retained in the liver when we wake up in

the morning if the liver is congested. Early morning exercises help

to bring the blood out of the liver into the circulating system. One

of the symptoms for the excess blood retained in the liver is waking

up in the morning with stiffness or numbness in the fingers or

dizziness due to lack of blood circulation.

Because of my high estrogen levels, I also had to avoid foods or

herbs that have estrogenic activities such as Don Quei, Licorice,

Ginseng, Royal Jelly, fennel, anise, flaxseed oil, clover, red

clover, evening primrose oil, etc. I avoided taking all

pharmaceutical drugs because most of them are weakening or damaging

to the liver or kidneys.

Stress congests the liver and constricts the blood vessels. It causes

poor blood flow and the whole body becomes sluggish. Furthermore, it

is believed in Chinese medicine that anger (especially suppressed

anger) injures the liver, grief injures the lungs, fear or fright

injures the kidneys and worry injures the spleen. As mentioned

earlier, all these organs support each other and work together.

Disharmonies in one of these organs tend to produce an imbalance in

the corresponding emotions and vice versa.

According to Chinese medicine, cold and raw vegetables such as salads

tend to weaken the spleen unless the individuals who consume them are

robust and strong ( " Yang " type person). This could be the reason why

many vegetarians look pale because of their weak spleen although

Vitamin B12 deficiency may also be responsible. Also, most

vegetarians eat a lot of salad, even though cooked vegetables are

better to eat. One of the common signs of weak spleen is dry lips or

frequent thirst. Chronic diarrhea or loose bowel may be another sign

of weak spleen. Since the spleen is an important organ for red cell

production, weak spleen is a common cause of anemia, especially in

cases that do not respond to iron supplements.

I suffered from heart palpitations since my early teenage years. I

fainted for the first time in my life in school at the age of eleven.

It was due to a hereditary weak heart according to the doctor who saw

me. He warned me that I might faint easily throughout my life. He was

right in that prediction: I fainted more than 10 times in my life.

But I have not fainted again ever since the health of my liver was

restored at age 47, and my heart palpitations disappeared as well.

When my liver became healthier my vision also improved and is

actually better than it was in 1989 when I was still suffering from

liver congestion. I had never used eyeglasses at any time during my

life and I still don't need them. The Chinese have a saying: " The

liver opens into the eyes. When the liver is harmonized, the eyes can

distinguish the five colors " . Clean and nutrient-rich blood from a

healthy, efficient liver can flow easily and nourish the eye tissues

better. Stimulation of blood flow to the eyes by massaging also

helps. I massage the pressure points for blood circulation to the

eyes twice daily, morning and night when I lie flat in bed. In this

position blood does not have to flow against gravity.

I am in my mid-60s now and I can still read without reading glasses,

although I do have difficulty reading small print.

References:

Harper, H.A., Review of Physiological Chemistry, 14th ed., Lange

Medical Publications (1973).

A Barefoot Doctor's Manual, the American translation of the official

Chinese Paramedical Manual, Running Press, Philadelphia (1990).

Neufeld, W.P., MD The Liver Causes Heart Attack, Morning Dawn

Publishing Company, Surrey, B.C., Canada (1987).

Selkurt, E.E. (editor), Physiology, 2nd edition, Little, Brown and

Company, Boston (1966).

Chinese Medicinal Herbs, compiled by Li Shih-Chen, translated by F.

Porter , M.D., and G.A. Stuart, M.D., town Press, San

Francisco (1973).