The Liver
Majid Ali, M.D.
It is one of the profound ironies of prevailing drug medicine that
there is no concept of liver detox among liver specialists. Treatment of most
liver diseases in the hands of gastroenterologists and hepatologists is confined
to the use of immune-suppressive therapies, such as steroids, chemotherapy
drugs, large doses of agents such as interferon, or liver transplants.
Otherwise, medical texts recommend "supportive treatment," which is a euphemism
for symptom suppression with drugs. In most patients with nutritional, ecologic,
immune, and heavy metal toxicity disorders, liver blood tests are often
considered "within normal limits," and no attempt is made to prescribe
nutritional, herbal, and natural detox therapies.
In contrast to gastroenterologists and internists, naturopaths nearly all
develop an abiding lifelong interest in this organ. That is so because the use
of liver-friendly nutrients, herbs, and liver detox is emphasized as the core
strategy in their schools. They recognize the clinical benefits of liver detox
therapies, not only in patients with known liver diseases but also with chronic
immune, nutritional, and ecologic disorders. Many of them are awkward in
describing their concepts of the structure and function of the liver. And yet,
their clinical results are superior to those obtained with drug therapies,
except in cases of advanced liver failure.
The Liver Has a Guardian Angel: the
Bowel
The above statement is based on my work in surgery, pathology, and integrative
medicine over four decades. As a pathologist, I examined more than 14,000 bowel
biopsies, 5,000 stomach biopsies, and 2,000 liver biopsies. In my clinical work,
I have cared for about 10,000 patients with chronic health disorders. I realized
some individuals recovered from chemical and microbiologic liver injury
expeditiously while others developed long- lasting liver disorders. I also
recognized people in the latter group suffered from mold allergy, adverse foods
reactions, prolonged bowel transit time, increased bowel permeability, and
altered gut microbiota. Those observations led me to conclude a robust
alimentary tract guards the liver against indolent liver injury.
I emphasize the bowel/liver dynamics here to underscore the importance of
undertaking mesaures to restore bowel ecology in all instances of liver
detoxification. I discuss this subject at length in Integrative Nutritional
Medicine, the fifth volume of The Principles and Practice of Medicine.
CASTOR-CISE: A TIME FOR HEALING
Once all indigenous cultures had healing rituals that provided people with
purpose and structure for physical and spiritual renewal. A language of silence
was an integral part of most rituals. We now live "fast." What the benefits are
of the time saved is unclear to me. Those healing rituals have fallen victim to
the pace of modern life. Today we need healing rituals far more than ever. In
clinical medicine, I recognize the absolute need for regular periods of physical
and spiritual renewal that include the language of silence, physical exercise,
and detoxification measures.
We live in the age of toxic environment, toxic foods, and toxic thoughts. These
toxicities create a state of molecular and cellular burn-out. From the
evolutionary perspective of oxygen/inflammation/liver dynamics presented above,
it should be evident that the liver bears the brunt of such toxicities. For that
reason, I consider it essential to diligently assess the health of the liver in
all my patients with chronic and subacute disorders, and recommend a robust
liver detox program to serve my overarching goal of restoring
oxygen homeostasis.
Castor-Cise is my term for an integrated program of: (1) a castor oil liver
detox based on the ancient Indian tradition; (2) a castor oil bowel detox based
on the ancient Chinese tradition; (3) a sesame oil oral detox based on its
empirical benefits; and (4) limbic, non-competitive, meditative exercise. Below,
I describe my own routine of Castor-Cise three times a week. I regularly
prescribe it for all my patients and strongly urge them to be innovative once
they have learned the basic routine.
For most patients, I also recommend: (1) a lemon juice-maple syrup "spicy
lemonade" fluid fast once weekly, which can be done on a scheduled Castor-Cise
day; and (2) Dr. Ali's breakfast five days a week (comprising two tablespoons of
granular lecithin taken with two tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed and
high-quality protein powder mixed with 16 ounces of organic vegetable juice).