What Dr. Gundry Says About The Liver

Dr. Gundry is one of the most influential doctors in the world.

He is a nationally known heart surgeon.  He is a medical researcher. And he is a multi-time bestselling author. He also seems like a super nice and quirky guy.

One of his most popular books is the PLANT PARADOX– a must read! You might not agree with everything he has to say (I’ve not once met a person I 100% agree with when it comes to health) But he certainly has a perspective worth investigating. And I wanted to ask him some questions about the liver. Like I wanted to hear HIS take on XYZ— when it comes to the liver.

So enjoy these quotes from him! Little nuggets that I got. I thought it was great advice— I believe it was 2019 that him and I talked via skype. Very cool that I got to pick his brain.

Here are some takeaways:

Liver Health Tips From Dr. Gundry

TIP ONE: Don’t binge drink.

“The first thing women need to do for their liver is NOT binge drink. It’s amazing how much damage alcohol does. What alcohol does first is harm the lining of your gut. This can cause leaky gut… everything that comes from your gut is carried to the liver through a very large vein called the portal vein… A war takes place between the particles and bacteria that leak from the gut into the liver. It’s that war that damages liver cells. Unfortunately for women, only a couple of glasses of wine are enough to start a war.”

On red wine, which is often touted as one of the “healthier” alcohols: “I’m the first to be a fan of red wine because of the resveratrol and the low sugar content. But there is interesting data that 6oz or more of red wine can cause high blood pressure. One of the mistakes we make is social drinking without food. In the Mediterranean, they drink wine consumed WITH a meal. This dilutes the alcohol. If we have alcohol, we should have it consumed with a meal.”

TLDR: Don’t binge drink! It can cause leaky gut which in turn harms your liver. And if you do drink, do it alongside a meal.

TIP TWO: Watch your insulin resistance.

“About 80% of people in the United States are now insulin resistant and deal with a fatty liver.  What so many people utilizing the western diet don’t realize, is that they are developing a fatty liver from consuming too many refined carbs. Carbs like breads, cookies, pasta, and even rice. We need to stop eating so many simple carbs if we want to lower our insulin resistance- which in turn helps our liver. We don’t want a fatty liver!”

“And yes- unfortunately, rice is a simple sugar. But here’s a tip with rice! We want to take the starches in things like rice and make them harder to digest. We want to turn them into resistant starch. The trick is to cook the rice with a teaspoon or tablespoon of coconut oil and then after it is cooked, refrigerate it and cool it down. Then reheat it. The actual process of cooling a starch will increase how hard it is to digest it into sugar.”

“The more resistant you make a starch, the slower you break it down into simple sugars and the slower your liver has to deal with it.”

TLDR: Stop consuming so many refined carbs and simple sugars. This is hard for the liver to deal with!

TIP THREE: There are some “add-ins” to your diet that help the liver

Two things we can add into our diet to help our livers–

Artichoke hearts or baby artichokes. “Artichokes have a very important compound in them that are healing to the liver. It is in the THISTLE family which is also good for the liver.”

Dandelion greens. “These are great for the liver. Their bitterness acts as a liver tonic.”

TLDR: Dandelion greens and artichoke hearts are amazing for the liver! But there are plenty other things that are great as well.

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I wanted to share this interview with you because I don’t ever want you forgetting how important your liver is. Once you start to care more for the liver, a lot of your body starts to work better. It is SUCH an important organ yet it is mostly an afterthought. Be ahead of the game— do things every day to care for your liver.

A great place to start is proper hydration and sweating.

Visit Dr. Gundry’s website here.

Follow Dr. Gundry on IG here.

Thank you Dr. Gundry!