There has been a lot of research done that shows how quercetin may affect the liver. What surprised me was the significant positive impact it has on this organ and its function.
What’s even more interesting is that this bioflavonoid can help heal the liver from different types of damage, such as food, alcohol and exercise.
So, how does it affect the liver exactly?
Can Quercetin Clear a Fatty Liver Due to Poor Nutrition?
First of all, Byron J. Richards, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist, states that taking quercetin can help clear a fatty liver. That is, mice who were fed a high fat, high cholesterol and high sugar diet started developing fatty livers.
However, after 8 weeks of taking quercetin, their livers began to clear and scientists saw significant improvement after 30 weeks.
I discovered another interesting article titled, “Natural Antioxidants for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”. It reports that people taking quercetin reduced liver fat accumulation by stimulating omega-oxidation of fatty acids.
I thought you might enjoy this video by Dr Josh Axe. He talks about cleansing the liver through diet. He makes an important point. Before you start taking any supplements to help cleanse the liver, you need to first clean up your diet. He recommends eliminating foods like processed grains, sugars, fast foods, conventional meats and dairy products. Here’s why:
Milk Thistle | Turmeric | Dandelion Root
Does Quercetin Protect Against Alcoholic Liver Disease?
In regards to alcoholic liver disease, quercetin also demonstrates protective effects. The US National Library of Medicine has reports on rat studies having acute liver injury.
The rats consumed quercetin, which revealed increases in ethanol metabolizing enzyme activities. In addition, scientists discovered an increase in antioxidant system activities against oxidative stress and decreased expressions of pro-inflammation cytokines.
A study printed in the Journal of Hepatology determines that quercetin helps reduce liver antioxidant damage. As you’d expect, it does this by keeping antioxidant protection high within the body.
Can Quercetin Reverse Exercise-Induced Liver Damage?
In addition to liver damage caused by food and alcohol consumption, The FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) states that quercetin also protects the liver from damage due to intense exercise. This could prove to be a useful method in treating over-training injuries in athletes.
…and Radiation
I came across a journal article by the International Atomic Energy Agency. “Effect of Quercetin on Paracetamole-Induced Liver Disjunction in Irradiated Rats”. Researchers are studying quercetin for a possible protection effect against gamma irradiation and paracetamole-induced hepatic damage. In short, quercetin shows to improve the regeneration in biological tissues of the liver.
How Does Quercetin Affect the Liver: Prevention is Key!
Finally, you can help detox your liver naturally through the quercetin-containing foods you eat. Dr. Group gives his list of the top 14 Foods to help cleanse the liver.
You’ll notice a theme of high antioxidant foods. Furthermore, apples (which contain a good serving of quercetin) made the list.
Before taking any quercetin supplement, however, you want to also take a look at the potential side effects. The same goes for natural flavonoids, too.
Some products contain more potent doses of this nutrient, such as quercetin dihydrate or Source Naturals Activated Quercetin. The combination of ingredients provide a greater number of quercetin benefits.