Prior to the 1600’s the liver was considered to be the most important organ in the body, much more so than the heart and the brain. Throughout the ages this organ has been steeped in myth, in the case of the Romans, the liver held a key place in their religious rituals. Roman priests closely studied sacrificed animal livers, these signs could indicate such things as, prosperity, famine, wars, or curses.

Today, the heart and the brain seem to have more emphasis placed on their importance. However, the ancients may have known more than we give them credit for, we should not be too quick to dismiss the liver. Regardless of the heart and brain, without a functional liver most living creatures would not survive very well, or for very long.

The liver is fascinating, and in many ways, I find it to be the most complex of all the bodies organs. It is a single organ with a massive number of functions, below are just a few of the key functions.

Key functions of the liver
• The production of bile – bile clears waste products.
• Produces many blood proteins, e.g. albumin, ferritin, cholesterol etc.
• Produces lipoproteins that carry different fats throughout the body.
• Controls energy – rapidly converts glucose to glycogen (storage) and then rapidly converts glycogen back to glucose as the body calls for more energy.
• Regulates amino acids, the building blocks of protein within the blood.
• Regulating (storing and releasing) hemoglobin levels of minerals such as iron, copper, etc
• Conversion of excess ammonia to urea (a major issue in ruminant digestion)
• Clears toxins from the blood (think feed toxins, aflatoxins, mycotoxins, ergot toxins)
• Important in the immune response in that the liver detects and clears bacteria and viruses arriving from the gut.
• Regulates blood clotting
• Clears bilirubin (broken down red blood cells) from the blood.

These are just a few of the key processes involving the liver. You can see from the list that these are all very essential processes. They are all reliant on a healthy liver, with enough capacity to consistently carry out every single function.