Today's episode is - after the host of positive feedback I received from my last "solosode" deep dive into how to interpret your own bloodwork - another solosode. Long story short is this... ...I recently tested my liver enzymes and they were shockingly high... ...so I decided to test whether this whole "liver detox" thing actually works... ...and I walk you through exactly what I did (and the relatively shocking results) in today's show. Enjoy! In this Solosode, you'll hear... -Why I got my liver tested in the first place...5:48 When I got my blood panel done, my liver enzyme numbers were through the roof. High liver stress. Around the levels of non-alcoholic liver disease. My aspartate aminotransferase was 172. It's considered risky if it's above 40. My alinine aminotransferase was 83. Anything above 55 is considered risky. My alkaline phosphatase was also mildly elevated. High albumin levels. Inflammation was low, but had signs of significant liver stress. I wanted to test out the liver cleanses on the market. Create a doable detox that I can do at home, I can still workout, and can accomplish in a fairly short period of time. -About Liver Flushing...9:18 A liver is a central processing mechanism that cleanses 1.5 liters of blood per minute. Around 500 different biochemical reactions that occur within the liver. Division and breakdown of chemical substances: catabolism Synthesis of protein molecules: anabolism If any of the processes don't work properly, it will affect other processes' ability to work properly. Liver is more or less a purification plant for the blood. Plays a role in excreting both endogenous and exogenous compounds. Regrows rapidly, with around 10% of healthy liver tissue. Myth of Prometheus: Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and an eagle picks at his liver during the day. His liver would regenerate the same amount at night. Greek physician Hippocrates described "humors", one of which was yellow bile of the liver. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver holds your soul. Full of energy and power. Your "ki" is unable to flow when the liver is not functioning properly. Cleansing the liver involves amplifying these processes to work properly. Also assists with bile production; assists with the gallbladder. Bile in the gallbladder can condense and become "stones." If the bile isn't expelled, you can get congestion in the liver. -Some more basic terms you should know...15:05 Fatty liver: cells in the liver are saturated with fat. Intrahepatic bile ducts are full of bile but have a high concentration of cholesterol in them. The cholesterol in the liver accumulates, and you end up with excess. During a flush, the liver is encouraged to increase its excretory function to eliminate excess bile, and allow gallbladder to evacuate the bile. If you know what you're doing, you can regularly go to a liver clinic and maintain the health of your liver. Exercise can elevate liver enzymes to a certain extent, but high levels indicate more than just exercise is the problem. -The actual results of my lab test, post liver cleanse...19:21 In addition to elevated to elevated enzymes: Hormones were pretty good: free testosterone = 78. Total testosterone = 880. Sex hormone binding globulin = 84 (lower is better) GGT (gamma glutamyl transferase) is a good proxy for gallbladder health. My alinine aminotransferase dropped from 83 to 33. My aspartate aminotransferase dropped from 172 to 37. GGT was 15. Extremely low risk. Free testosterone jumped from 78 to 115; Total testosterone went from 880 to 1154. -What I ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner during my liver cleanse...25:10 Kitchari recipe for 3-4 servings: Ingredients: ½ cup split yellow mung beans 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1-inch stick of kombu (optional - I used organic, non-GMO miso instead) 4 cups homemade Kettle & Fire bone broth 2 tablespoons coconut cream Spices: 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds 1½ teaspoons fennel seeds 1½ teaspoons