Basic Functions of the Liver – Nutrient Processing
Ronald Chia
Introducing you to our new contributor – Ronald Chia – who has kindly offered to work with LISN, by sharing information and research on liver health, illnesses and treatments. We look forward to learning so much more about how we can keep our livers healthy and about advances in hepatic care. Welcome Ronald!
Ronald is a second-year graduate entry medicine student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, with an aim to pursue hepatology/gastroenterology as his specialty in the future. Following his research on third-hand smoke and its effects on the liver, Ronald also has a keen interest in toxicology.
He states “Liver disease has a high level of complexity in terms of the knowledge surrounding its development, and my intent is to shed light on it through its direct and indirect outcomes. Even during my studies, I intend to provide as much support as I can towards improving the overall health of every liver patient throughout Ireland.”
We look forward to this exciting collaboration!
Basic Functions of the Liver – Nutrient Processing
The liver is one of the most powerful organs in the body because it can do many things. To start, the liver can build and break down sugars, and it does so through various processes in the cell. When the body does not have enough sugar, the liver can make more and that can be sent out into the bloodstream to nourish other parts of the body like the brain. If the body has too much sugar, the liver can take in a large amount to store for future use. However, the liver can also take some of the extra sugar and break it down into ATP molecules which are the driving forces behind many normal cell processes.
Sugar is not the only type of nutrient that can be processed by the liver. In addition, the liver also has a massive role in making proteins that are used for structural components and break down many chemicals in the body. Some structural proteins consist of collagen for a person’s connective tissues. The proteins that break down other chemicals are called enzymes, and these are wide in variety, name, and function. Enzymes are used in everyday processes for cells such as controlling the flow of sodium and potassium, making DNA, and destroying waste products or poisons. They are also used to process sugars for further breakdown or to make even more sugar. Fats are also broken down by enzymes when they reach the liver. Even other proteins can be made or destroyed depending on specific circumstances. In fact, without enzymes, many biological reactions would be much slower than one would expect. The rates at which these reactions happen would not be enough to sustain life if that was the case.
Lastly, fats can also be processed depending on the amount of fats in the body. The liver enzymes break down these fats, but it can also make proteins that transport these fats throughout the rest of the body. Fats in the liver are turned into either triglycerides or cholesterol, and with a proper diet, they can be used to sustain the body’s cells and as a source of great energy especially when hungry or fasting.
So far, this is a summary on the liver’s ability to process various nutrients. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the liver can do.
