Of all your vital organs, your liver may be the most amazing. In addition to playing a vital role in multiple facets of energy metabolism, a damaged liver has the capacity to repair and rebuild itself. Scientists are still unlocking the cellular processes that contribute to liver maintenance and repair. One important finding is the role played by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in liver regeneration.
Why You Should be a Liver Lover
Located in your upper right abdominal cavity, your liver is closely situated near your gallbladder, duodenum, pancreas and stomach. It plays a key role in the absorption and metabolism of dietary nutrients, and in regulating the energy balance in your body.
Some Liver Fun Facts
- The human liver weighs about three pounds
- Your liver holds about a pint of blood at any given time (about 15% of your total blood volume)
- It filters and cleanses your blood of toxins
- It produces bile, which gets transported to the gallbladder and duodenum to facilitate digestion
- It stores glycogen, the storage form of glucose, as an emergency reserve of energy
- It breaks down fatty acids to be used for energy
- It synthesizes clotting factors for blood coagulation
- It converts excess carbs and protein to fatty acids, and exports them to adipose tissue
- It breaks down amino acids from dietary protein, and synthesizes non-essential amino acids
- Your liver is part of your immune system, and is the first line of defense for detecting, capturing, and clearing pathogens that enter your gut
- The size of your liver is proportionate to your body size
- It can regrow itself, even when 90% has been removed due to disease or injury
- Donors who give a portion of their liver to a loved one regain normal liver function within 2-4 weeks, and the liver regrows to its original volume within a year
Taking care of your liver can help you to manage your weight, fight off infections, and boost your energy levels. NAD+ IV therapy can support your liver function by enhancing and supporting the mitochondria in your hepatocytes, the major functional cells of your liver.
Causes of Liver Malfunction
Aside from trauma or being a liver donor, many of the things that cause liver damage are lifestyle related. You can protect and heal your liver by making lifestyle changes and avoiding activities, foods and substances that harm your liver.
Things that can cause liver damage include:
- Chronic excess alcohol consumption
- Being overweight or obese
- Type 2 diabetes
- Tattoos
- Body piercings
- Injecting street drugs
- Blood transfusions
- Exposure to infected body fluids
- Having unprotected sex with an infected person
- Exposure to certain toxins
Fortunately, you can reverse liver damage in the early stages of liver malfunction and restore healthy liver function.
Symptoms of Liver Disease
In its early stages, liver damage may not produce noticeable symptoms. Fatigue, bloating, inflammation, and weight gain can be early signs, but many other metabolic conditions produce the same symptoms.
As liver damage advances, symptoms may include:
- Yellowish hue in the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Abdominal swelling and discomfort, especially in the upper abdomen
- Fluid pooling in the legs and ankles
- Itchy skin
- Dark yellow or brown urine
- Pale poop
- Chronic fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Bruising
- Nausea and vomiting
Despite your liver’s capacity for repair and regeneration, there is a point of no return. Diseases like cancer and hepatitis, exposure to environmental toxins, drug overdoses and chronic alcoholism can cause your liver to completely shut down. When that happens, you will need a liver transplant, or you will die. In the USA, over 7000 liver transplants are performed each year. However, many die while waiting for a donor liver to become available.
There are currently no pharmacological interventions that successfully resolve liver disease. Lifestyle changes are your best hedge against ongoing liver damage that leads to liver failure and death, or to the need for a liver transplant.
NAD+ and Liver Regeneration
Over the past decade, research on the role of NAD+ in the human body has exploded, revealing its importance in a plethora of metabolic processes. From physical fitness, to aging, to beauty and health, NAD+ is emerging as a rockstar nutrient that promotes wellbeing.
Some of the latest research on NAD+ zeroes in on the liver:
- NAD+ works as a coenzyme for several signaling classes of enzymes, including Sirtuins 1-7. This family of enzymes depends on NAD+ to regulate their distribution, localization, and activity. In a recent study, researchers found evidence to suggest that SIRT3 may play a significant role in influencing liver cell mitochondria and mediating the effect of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor to NAD+, on liver regeneration.
- Another study found evidence that NAD+ deficiency in older adults may be a critical risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and that supplementing with NAD+ may be a promising treatment for preventing and reversing the disease.
- A third study found that nicotinamide, another NAD+ precursor, regulates the liver regeneration process and restores liver function after the surgical removal of liver tissue, by activating SIRT1.
There is a multitude of research to support the regenerative effect of NAD+ on hepatocytes. Maintaining sufficient levels of cellular NAD+ is essential to preventing liver disease and maintaining a healthy liver.
Treat Your Liver to NAD+ IV Therapy in NYC
Hectic urban lifestyles often involve high-risk activities and exposure to toxins that take a toll on your liver. Proactively providing your liver with the nutrients it needs to support its many functions can help you rebuild and maintain a healthy liver.
NAD IV therapy is a convenient and affordable way to boost your NAD+ levels. Not only does NAD+ support your liver function, but it boosts your immune system, suppresses withdrawal symptoms from drugs and alcohol, and slows the aging process.
Because NAD+ is a nutrient and not a drug, there are no bad side effects, and you don’t need a prescription. To boost liver regeneration with NAD+, contact InVita Wellness, and give your liver a lift for a healthier life.
Resources
Andersson, Emma R. “In the zone for liver proliferation.” Science 371.6532 (2021): 887-888.
Mukherjee, Sarmistha, et al. “SIRT3 is required for liver regeneration but not for the beneficial effect of nicotinamide riboside.” JCI insight 6.7 (2021).
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, March 16). Cells that maintain and repair the liver identified. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cells-maintain-repair-liver-identified
Zhou, Can‐Can, et al. “Hepatic NAD+ deficiency as a therapeutic target for non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in ageing.” British journal of pharmacology 173.15 (2016): 2352-2368.
