Think of the liver as a large city with thousands of houses and streets. There are underground pipes for delivering water, oil and gas. Sewage systems and garbage trucks take care of waste products. Power lines deliver energy to the homes and businesses. Factories, transport systems and shops meet the daily supply requirements of its inhabitants. The city is organized in such a way as to provide all that is needed for the continued existence of its entire population. However, if city life becomes paralyzed as a result of major strike actions, a failing power supply, a massive act of terrorism or a devastating earthquake, the population will begin to suffer serious shortcomings in all of these sectors.

The liver has hundreds of different functions and is connected with every part of the body. Every moment of the day it is involved in manufacturing, processing and supplying vast amounts of nutrients. These nutrients feed the 60-100 trillion inhabitants (cells) of the body. Each cell is, in itself, a microscopic city of immense complexity, with billions of chemical reactions per second. To sustain the incredibly diverse activities of all the cells of the body without disruption, the liver must supply them with a constant stream of nutrients and hormones. With its intricate labyrinth of veins, ducts and specialized cells, the liver needs to be free of any obstruction in order to maintain a problem-free production line and frictionless nutrient and hormone distribution system throughout the body.

The liver is the main organ responsible for processing, converting, distributing and maintaining the body's 'fuel' supply. Some actions involve the breakdown of complex chemicals; other important functions involve synthesis, particularly the manufacture of protein molecules. The liver acts as a cleansing station, inactivating hormones and alcohol and drugs.

In all cases, it is the task of the liver to modify these biological active substances so that that they lose their potentially harmful effects - a process known as detoxification. Specialized cells in the liver's blood vessels (Kupffer cells) mop up harmful elements and infectious organisms reaching the liver from the gut. The liver excretes the waste materials resulting from these actions via its bile ducts. To make sure all this occurs efficiently, the liver receives and filters three pints of blood per minute and produces two and a quarter pints of bile every day. Obstructive gallstones can greatly undermine the liver's capacity to detoxify all of these externally supplied and internally generated substances in the blood; they also prevent the liver from delivering the proper amount of nutrients and energy to the right places in the body at the right time. This can upset the delicate balance in the body, known as 'homeostasis', leading to malfunctioning of its systems and organs.

A perfect example for such a disturbed balance is the increased concentration of the endocrine hormones, estrogen and aldosterone, in the blood. These hormones, produced both in men and women, are responsible for the correct degree of salt and water retention; when not detoxified, as occurs in bile duct and gallbladder congestion, their excessive concentration in the blood causes tissue swelling and water retention. High estrogen levels are also considered the leading cause of breast cancer among women. In men, high levels of this hormone can cause excessive development of breast tissue. Nearly 60% of the American population is overweight or obese; that is, they suffer from fluid retention (with comparatively little fat accumulation). Fluid retention in the tissues forces other toxic waste matter to be deposited in various parts of the body. Wherever the storage capacity for toxins is exhausted, symptoms of illness begin to occur.

Written By: Andreas Moritz