healthy metabolism Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Regular Exercise May Help Prevent Fatty Liver Disease Through Bile Acid Metabolism

The AHA! Team — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 05:30:05 +0000

American Physiological Society (APS) via Newswise – Aerobic exercise and a high capacity for exercise may protect against metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as fatty liver disease, by increasing the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids, according to a new study published in Function. The paper has been selected as an APSselect article for July by the American Physiological Society (APS). MASLD is a chronic condition in which excessive fat is stored in the liver. It is tied to high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance. It can also lead to liver disease and increases the risk of heart disease. While exercise is known to prevent and treat fatty liver, researchers don’t yet understand exactly how this happens. This new study offers insights: Researchers propose that exercise prevents or reduces fatty liver, in part, by improving bile acid metabolism. The most prominent way cholesterol is removed from the body is by its conversion to bile acids, which aid the digestion of fat and trigger signals that improve how the body uses sugar and fat. By stimulating bile acid metabolism, exercise increases the disposal of cholesterol and activates signals that improve how the body processes food. In the study, rats bred to have genetically high- or low-exercise capacity were provided a high-fat diet, which normally causes fatty liver. This design was chosen because exercise capacity has been independently linked to lower risk for fatty liver disease in people. In addition, genetically identical mice were fed a high-fat diet, and half were allowed access to voluntary running wheels to simulate daily exercise in humans. A separate group of mice that lacked the ability to make bile acids were studied to test whether bile acid metabolism is necessary for the protective effects of exercise. Key findings included: High-exercise capacity rats had higher liver bile acid production, more bile acids in their feces, and lower blood levels of bile acids compared to the low-exercise capacity group. Daily exercise also increased bile acid synthesis, fecal bile acid loss and protected against fatty liver in the genetically identical mice. This demonstrates that daily exercise provides the same benefit as high exercise capacity due to genetic differences. Mice with an impaired ability to produce bile acids experienced no benefit of exercise in preventing fatty liver. Aerobic exercise increased bile acid production, and this process was required to prevent fatty liver. “Importantly, our results identify bile acid synthesis as a key mediator between aerobic capacity, exercise and hepatic energy metabolism that may also be linked to whole-body metabolism and long-term risk for Type 2 diabetes and MASLD,” the researchers wrote. “[B]ile acid synthesis plays a critical role in aerobic capacity and exercise ability in combating MASLD.” Read the full article, “Aerobic Capacity and Exercise Mediate Protection Against Hepatic Steatosis via Enhanced Bile Acid Metabolism.” It is highlighted as one of this month’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society’s APSselect program. Read this month’s selected research articles.   To read the original article click here.

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Sip Your Way to Better Health: The Secret Drink that Could Transform Your Metabolism

The AHA! Team — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 05:56:45 +0000

Patrick Tims via NaturalHealth365 – Think your metabolism is just about the genes you inherited? New research suggests otherwise. Scientists at Washington State University recently published findings in Nutrients that challenge this common belief. Their study points to something interesting: elderberry juice might help rev up your metabolism. While it might sound surprising, this dark purple juice does more than just taste good – it seems to boost your metabolism and could even help you maintain a healthy body weight. The research behind the surprising benefits of elderberry juice This wasn’t just any quick study – researchers at Washington State University conducted a carefully controlled, 5-week crossover trial to understand what elderberry juice could do. The findings are particularly interesting because obesity affects over 70% of adults in the United States, and we’re always looking for natural ways to help. Here’s how they did it: They gathered 18 adults with higher BMIs (over 25 kg/m²) who were otherwise healthy and had them drink either elderberry juice or a matching placebo for a week, took a break, and then switched drinks. What makes this study solid is that they controlled participants’ diets (40% fat diet) for 4 days during each test period to ensure accurate comparisons. Each participant drank about 12 ounces (177.5 grams) of elderberry juice daily, which delivered about 720 mg of beneficial compounds called cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents. How elderberry juice improves your metabolism The study revealed some fascinating changes in participants’ bodies. At the most basic level, the juice shifted their gut bacteria, increasing helpful bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium while reducing less beneficial types. This matters because gut bacteria are crucial in how the body processes nutrients. Most notably, the elderberry juice improved how participants’ bodies handled sugar and fat. When testing blood sugar levels after meals, researchers saw significant improvements in glucose control. Participants’ insulin levels dropped by nearly 10%, suggesting their bodies were becoming more efficient at processing sugar. Perhaps most impressively, the juice enhanced participants’ ability to burn fat – a process called fat oxidation after meals and during exercise. The data showed a remarkable 27% increase in fat burning among those drinking elderberry juice. Tips to implement elderberry juice into your daily meals While elderberry juice, native to Europe, might not be available at your local store, you can likely find it at a nearby health food store. You can also purchase it online. Many enjoy elderberry juice “straight” in a glass or mixed with water, seltzer, or tonic. It also works well blended into smoothies for a metabolic boost. Sources for this article include: MDPI.com Medicalxpress.com To read the original article click here.

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How Might Ginger Help with Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease?

AHA Publisher — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 07:00:52 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Ground ginger powder is put to the test for weight loss and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Ginger has been used in India and China for thousands of years to treat illnesses, but so has mercury, so that doesn’t really tell you much. That’s what we have science for. But, when you see article titles in the medical literature like “Beneficial Effects of Ginger…on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome: A Review,” for example, you may not be aware the researchers are talking about the beneficial effects of ginger on fat rats. Why don’t they just conduct human clinical studies? That may be attributed to “ethical issues” and “limited commercial support,” for instance. Limited commercial support I can see: Ginger is dirt cheap, so who’s going to pay for the study? But ethical issues? We’re just talking about giving people some ginger. Cross-sectional studies in which you take a snapshot in time of ginger consumption and body weight are relatively inexpensive and easy to do. Researchers have found that people who are obese tend to eat significantly less ginger, so they suggest this “demonstrated that the use of ginger could have relevance for weight management.” You can see a chart below illustrating this and at 0:59 in my video Benefits of Ginger for Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease. But, maybe ginger consumption is just a marker of more traditional, less Westernized junk-food diets. You don’t know…until you put it to the test. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effects of a hot ginger beverage made with two grams of ginger powder in one cup of hot water, so about one teaspoon of ground ginger stirred into a teacup of hot water. That’s about five cents’ worth of ginger. The findings? After drinking the ginger beverage, the participants reported feeling significantly less hungry and, in response to the question “How much do you think you could eat?” described lower prospective food intake. Since the control was just plain hot water, the participants knew when they were getting the ginger so there could have been a placebo effect. The researchers considered putting the ginger into capsules to do a double-blinded study, but they thought part of the ginger’s effect may actually be through taste receptors on the tongue, so they didn’t want to interfere with that with a capsule. Not all of the effects were just subjective, though. Four hours after drinking the hot beverage, the metabolic rate in the ginger group was elevated compared to control, as you can see in the graph below and at 2:12 in my video. Though, in a previous study, when fresh ginger was added to a meal, there was no bump in metabolic rate. The researchers of the hot ginger beverage study suggest this discrepancy is “likely due to the different method of ginger administration,” giving participants fresh ginger instead of dried ginger powder, and there are dehydration products that form when ginger is dried that may have unique properties. “Although satiety and fullness were greater with ginger compared to control, [the researchers] have no objective measure of food intake.” They didn’t then go on to follow the participants to see if they actually ate less for lunch. The problem is there’s never been a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of that much ginger and weight loss…until now. After 12 weeks of that same teaspoon of ginger powder a day, but this time hidden in capsules, consumption of ginger “significantly reduced BMI,” that is, body mass index. As you can see in the graphs at 3:12 in my video, there was no change in the placebo group, but there was a drop in the ginger group. Body fat estimates didn’t really change, though, but that was kind of the whole point. What about using ginger to pull fat out of specific organs, like the liver? Evidently, “treatment with ginger ameliorates fructose-induced fatty liver…in rats.” You know what else would have worked? Not feeding them so much sugar in the first place. We aren’t rats, though. We didn’t have this type of study on humans…until now: “Ginger Supplementation in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study” in which participants were given a teaspoon of ginger a day or placebo for 12 weeks. All of the subjects were told to get more fiber and exercise, and to limit their dietary cholesterol intake. (My video How to Prevent Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease discusses why this is important.) So, even the placebo group should improve. And how did the ginger group do? Any better? Yes. Daily consumption of just one teaspoon of ground ginger a day “resulted in a significant decrease in inflammatory marker levels,” improvements in liver function tests, and a drop in liver fat. All for five cents’ worth of ginger powder a day. And what are the side effects? A few gingery burps? I searched for downsides and didn’t find any other than ginger paralysis. What? Indeed, “in 1930, thousands of Americans were poisoned by an illicit extract.” Hold on. Who drinks ginger extract? The year 1930 was during the Prohibition, so some people bought ginger extract as a legal way to get their hands on alcohol. “It was the poor man’s way of getting a drink of liquor.” But, “bootleggers had taken advantage of the demand for this old household remedy as an alcoholic beverage” and swapped in a cheaper ginger substitute—a varnish compound—”in order to make greater money profits.” The moral of the story: Don’t drink varnish. The video about the dietary cholesterol effect that I referred to is How to Prevent Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Oats might help, too, as you can see in Can Oatmeal Help Fatty Liver Disease?. And, for even more on fatty liver disease, check out The Best Diet for Fatty Liver Disease Treatment and How to Avoid Fatty Liver Disease. Key Takeaways Ginger has been used for thousands of years to treat illnesses in China and India Cross-sectional studies (snapshots in time) have found that ginger may be useful for weight management, but its consumption may simply be a marker of less Westernized junk-food diets. A randomized controlled trial found that a hot ginger beverage (with about five cents’ worth of the spice) was more satisfying to participants so they felt significantly less hungry and thought they could eat less afterwards, compared with the control of just plain hot water, but that still leaves the possibility of placebo effect. The researchers didn’t put the ginger into capsules to do a double-blinded study because they thought some of ginger’s effect may be through our tongue’s taste receptors. Dehydration products form when ginger is dried, and they may have unique properties that fresh ginger doesn’t. This may explain why the study using dried ginger caused a bump in metabolic rate while the trial with fresh ginger didn’t. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of ginger and weight loss that followed participants to see if they actually ate less in a subsequent meal, researchers found that consumption of ginger (hidden in capsules) significantly reduced BMI. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled ginger study for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in which participants were given a daily teaspoon of ginger or placebo for three months, the ginger group achieved significant decreases in their inflammatory marker levels, a drop in liver fat, and improvements in liver function tests. To read the original article click here.

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Discover 3 Powerful Herbs that Improve Liver Health

AHA Publisher — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 07:00:04 +0000

Natalie Robins via NaturalHealth365 – Along with the skin, kidneys, and intestinal tract, the liver is one of the body’s main organs for removing poisons from your body. The liver does a lot to keep toxins from building up inside your body and causing you harm, but you still need to take care of it so it can keep looking after you. You can help with detoxification or by taking natural remedies to help improve liver health. Many natural health experts recommend three powerful herbs: burdock, dandelion greens, and milk thistle. In fact, convincing research supports the role these herbs have in promoting liver health, and you can easily add them into your daily routine. Learn How to Improve Liver Health Quickly and Naturally The liver helps remove toxins from your body, allows metabolism to occur, and helps regulate hormone production. Common liver diseases include cirrhosis, hepatitis A, B, and C, plus fatty liver disease. You can help protect your liver by eating organic food, proper hygiene, and cleaning up your immediate living space by avoiding personal care products loaded with toxic chemicals, plus purifying your air and water supply daily. But, in some cases, herbal remedies may be helpful. Which Herbs Are Best to Help Detoxify the Body and Improve Liver Health? Burdock, or Arctium lappa, is an herb whose roots can be eaten as a vegetable like it is commonly done in Asia. It has a diuretic effect, and the excess urination it produces can help lower your blood pressure. It is also known as a diaphoretic – which means it increases sweating. Remember, one of the best ways to detoxify the body is through sweat. Another important benefit of burdock root is its high antioxidant content. The antioxidants in burdock root can help protect the liver against poisonous substances. In addition, burdock can cleanse the liver, allowing it to do a better job of detoxifying the blood. Dr. de Souza Predes from the Department of Biological Sciences at the Universidade Estadual do Paraná in Brazil and colleagues recently published research investigating the ability of burdock to improve liver health. The authors found that “the liver function indicators showed that A. lappa [burdock] protected the liver against cadmium toxicity damage.” You can eat burdock root like a vegetable by cooking it. You can steam or roast it or make a stir fry dish, as Asian cultures might do, with toasted sesame oil, non-GMO soy sauce, and organic chili flakes. Dandelion roots and leaves can help improve liver health, especially in the case of hepatitis C. Taraxin, the active compound in dandelion, is a choleretic, which means that it stimulates bile production by the liver. This aids in fat absorption and digestion, and another benefit is to fight constipation. You can cook dandelion greens with other greens or on their own with onions and garlic. You can also use dandelion root to make tea. Just keep in mind, these greens are bitter to taste. Milk thistle is another herb known for its liver health benefits. It has been used to help treat chronic liver disease and hepatitis B and C. Its active component is a compound called silymarin, and like, dandelion, it is a choleretic. Milk thistle seeds are most potent, but you can also eat the rest of the plant. For example, you can stew the stems and seeds after removing the prickles and roast or boil the roots. It’s always best to remove any known toxic agents, from your life, before starting any supplemental routine. Of course, when dealing with a severe health condition, it’s best to work with an experienced healthcare provider to develop a plan of action. By taking better care of yourself, you can put your liver in a better position to take care of yourself. Depending on your situation, plant remedies usually will provide a powerful yet safe way to improve overall health without harmful side effects. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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