Liver

• Headaches
• Irritable, easy to anger
• Mood swings
• Tension, difficulty relaxing
• Wide awake at night
• Sluggish in the morning
• PMT
• Period problems
• Skin disorders: rash, spots etc.

Synthesis

1. Amino Acid Synthesis ( the liver synthesises a large part of our amino acids)
2. Carbohydrate Metabolism (the liver performs several roles in carbohydrate metabolism)
3. Gluconeogenesis (the synthesis of glucose from certain amino acids, lactate or glycerol)
4. Glycogenolysis (the breakdown of glycogen into glucose)
5. Glycogenesis (the formation of glycogen from glucose) Muscle tissues can also do this
6. Protein Synthesis: (the liver is responsible for most of the protein synthesis, as well as metabolism and degradation.)
7. Lipid Metabolism (the liver performs several roles in lipid metabolism)
8. Cholesterol synthesis
9. Lipogenesis, the production of triglycerides (fats).
10. Lipoprotein synthesis (the bulk of lipoproteins are synthesized in the liver)
11. Production of Coagulation Factors I (fibrinogen), II (prothrombin), V, VII, IX, X and XI, as well as protein C, protein S and antithrombin.
12. Foetal Red Blood Cell production In the first trimester, (the liver is the main site ofthis but by the 32nd week of gestation, the bone marrow has almost completely taken over that task.)
13. Bile (the liver produces and a yellowish liquid excretes, bile, that is required for emulsifying fats and helps the absorption of vitamin K from the diet. Some of the bile drains directly into the duodenum, and some is stored in the gallbladder)
14. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), (this is a polypeptide protein hormone that plays an important role in childhood growth and continues to have anabolic effects in adults)
15. Thrombopoietin (The liver is a major site of thrombopoietin production whichis a glycoprotein hormone that regulates the production of platelets by the bone marrow)

Metabolism

1. Carbohydrate metabolism and absorption
2. Glycogenolysis (the breakdown of glycogen into glucose)
3. Protein metabolism
4. Lipid (fat) metabolism
5. The breakdown of insulin and other hormones
6. Glucoronidation (a form of detoxification when no longer useful) of bilirubin.
7. Detoxification: Phase I � Hydroxylation; Phase II � Conjugation: Methylation and secondary Amino acid conj, Glutathione conj, Sulphation, Acetylation, Glucoronidation, Glycine conj
8. Converting ammonia to urea (urea cycle

Other functions

1. Stores glucose (glycogen), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin K, iron, and copper, other.
2. Immune System Functions: immunologically active cells, act as a 'sieve' for antigens.
3. Production of albumin, the major osmolar component of blood serum.
4. Synthesis of angiotensinogen, a hormone that is responsible for raising the blood pressure when activated by renin, an enzyme that is released when the kidney senses low blood pressure.