Keto Means
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Does fiber detox your liver?

Dietary fiber has been shown to increase the activity of antioxidant and detox enzymes in your liver. It can alter bile acid pools. These pools are involved in liver metabolism and the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins.

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Your Detox Organs Need Dietary Fiber

In your gut, you really are what you eat. Food is a big factor in determining your microbiome. That’s the collection of bacteria, fungi, yeast, and other microbes living in your digestive tract.

But the impact of your food choices spreads beyond your microscopic friends.

A new article in Advances in Nutrition tackles the way dietary fiber—a variety of indigestible carbohydrates—can influence your liver and kidneys. It’s well-known that dietary fiber benefits human health. But the review of over 150 studies summarizes fiber’s influence on your detoxification organs.

How Dietary Fiber Makes an Impact

The process starts with dietary fiber feeding the growth of beneficial microbes. Then the microbes contribute to:

Gut barrier function

Immune function in your digestive tract

Endocrine (hormone) response

Nitrogen metabolism

Signaling between the gut, liver, and kidneys

These consequences in the gut are good for the liver and kidneys, too. Which makes total sense. Your gut supplies blood to these organs through the portal vein. So shifts in microbe activity and diet impact the liver and kidneys. For example, enhanced gut-barrier function protects your key detox organs from the spread of bacteria that stimulate inflammation. That allows your liver and kidneys to focus on metabolism and detoxification.

More Good News for Your Liver

Dietary fiber has been shown to increase the activity of antioxidant and detox enzymes in your liver. It can alter bile acid pools. These pools are involved in liver metabolism and the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. Dietary fiber also supports the microbiota that help generate secondary bile acids. A surprising finding also links dietary fiber and the body’s fat-burning state (ketosis). This is accomplished by altering patterns of gene expression and the products of metabolism. The new patterns look like those found during the body’s fasting state. That’s when your body is burning energy from fat storage.

Don’t Forget Your Kidneys

Nitrogen is central to the findings about the kidneys and dietary fiber.

When you feed your gut microbes dietary fiber, you increase your gut’s ability to contain more nitrogen. In the gut, nitrogen acts as a fertilizer for the microbes. So the microbiome uses more of the nitrogen produced. That keeps too much nitrogen gas from escaping through the portal vein to your detox organs. Reducing your kidneys’ nitrogen burden is important. Dietary fiber also helps insulate your kidneys from other potential stresses. Not having enough fiber fermenting in your colon allows other substances to undergo fermentation. When things like amino acids ferment, they can produce harmful products that stress your kidneys. So keep your colon stocked with dietary fiber—for your kidneys’ sake.

Feed Them Fiber

Dietary fiber plays a significant role in supporting good health. And it’s clear most people don’t get enough of it. In fact, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee made fiber a nutrient of concern. This decline in fiber intake isn’t new, though. It’s been sliding since the Industrial Revolution. And what follows is decreased microbial diversity in our guts. Dietary fiber probably won’t ever be cool or hip. But it’s not just for old people. Everyone could do their detox organs a favor. The research shows you can help protect your liver and kidney health, and support the important detox work these organs do. All it takes is getting your guts’ microbial tenants some dietary fiber. Kieffer DA, Martin RJ, Adams SH. Impact of Dietary Fibers on Nutrient Management and Detoxification Organs: Gut, Liver, and Kidneys. Adv Nutr. 2016;7(6):1111-1121. Can’t find what you are looking for? Please try your search again or submit a question here

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How do you detox your liver and pancreas?

Instead of cleanses, you can do these five things to support your body's natural detoxification process: Drink plenty of water. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Maintain bowel regularity through high fiber intake. Eat probiotic foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, tempeh, etc.) More items... •

Maria Petzel, senior clinical dietitian for the Pancreas Surgery Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center, answers a question on our minds: What’s the truth about cleanses? Here’s what she said: “Cleanses and detoxes are trendy and popular. But our bodies naturally ‘cleanse’ or ‘detox’ 24 hours a day. This is the process of removing toxins that we ingest, inhale or absorb or that are the result of byproducts of metabolism. Toxins are naturally excreted through urine, sweat, stools and exhalation. “Cleansing programs vary – some simply suggest removing processed and non-organic foods from the diet, so as to limit the intake of toxins. Other programs suggest a full fast – this may actually be harmful and could suppress the body’s natural detox process.” Instead of cleanses, you can do these five things to support your body’s natural detoxification process: Drink plenty of water Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits Maintain bowel regularity through high fiber intake Eat probiotic foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, tempeh, etc.) Get adequate amounts of protein in your diet (protein is also part of the detox process) Pancreatic cancer patients should consult with a doctor or dietitian before modifying their diet. Come back to our blog each week for more Friday Fix: Your Weekly Nutrition Supplement.

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