We never think about our liver until it becomes inflamed or scarred, or it gets infected or  overwhelmed and stops functioning properly. Probably the most common liver ailment is food poisoning that leads to inflammation of the liver. This is called hepatitis in medical terminology.

There has been a sudden rise in children experiencing liver inflammation, and it’s happening across the United States. In other words, it’s not limited to a food outbreak in one state from a bad sandwich! The weird rise in hepatitis has attained global scale! This week alone, there have been more than 300 reported cases of hepatitis spanning 20 countries.

The CDC is looking into causes for the terrifying uptick and disturbing trend in otherwise healthy young children. So far, the children impacted are very young, like ages 5 and younger. The current thinking is that a virus is involved, one called “adenovirus.”

Regardless of the cause, it’s very sad to think about, so today I’d like to help you understand what your liver does in simple terms, and how you can support good liver health.

Your liver is the largest organ in your body aside from your skin. The liver has the mundane task of secreting all sorts of chemicals that break down food, medications or synthetic dyes, hair-color treatments, plasticizers and other chemicals. Its job is to clear out chemicals that don’t belong in your body. It also is the place where we make CoQ10, Glutathione and Catalase, three critical antioxidants that keep us healthy and thriving. 

The more pollutants we encounter, or toxins we ingest, the harder our liver has to function. Some of the very first signs of an inflamed liver include vomiting or a sensation of nausea along with itchy skin, a tummy ache and eyes that appear a little bit yellow. Furthermore, there could be weakness, fatigue, ankle swelling, abdominal pain or swelling, and darker-colored urine. Another less discussed but common first sign of hepatitis is a strange, bitter or “metallic” taste in the mouth.

Aside from the three antioxidants I mentioned above, here are other ways to support the liver. 

Milk Thistle: Contains silymarin, which is a strong liver antioxidant.

Artichoke Leaf: Contains cynarin, which helps clear out poisons.

Dandelion: A mild diuretic, popular as a tea and herbal supplement.

Yellow dock: Cleanses the liver and lymphatic system, and provides natural vitamin C.

Beets: The reddish-purple pigments are great at reducing liver toxins.

Selenium: A mineral that helps your body make the liver antioxidant glutathione.

Phosphatidylcholine: Helps shuttle triglycerides and cholesterol out of the liver.

Please talk to your physician about any herbs, teas or vitamins that you’d like to take because we all have an individual response. These also may interact with your current supplement regimen, so always seek professional opinions about making changes to your health regimen. If you’d like to read a longer version of this article, please visit my website, suzycohen.com.