The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-07-18

lOus attacks; i tnlnk tneSe are
really cases of abdominal mi
graine, but the nausea and vomit-
ing of bile makes them seem bill
ious. "Choler" means bile, and
melancholia means literally black
bile, so TO be choleric or melan-
cholic, according to medieval
thought, means TO have some part
Of the liver secretion in the as
cendancy.
The modern physician is not
very far behind the thought Of the
populace in his conceptions Of liv-
er physiology. For long time in
the not-so-distant past he could
ascribe only one function TO. the
liver-the formation Of bile. II
seemed a relatively unimportant
function for such large organ
the liver is the largest solid organ
in the body. True, bile is q very
important digestive juice, espe-
cially for the digestion of fats.
And a good secretion of bile gives
the digestive canal a feeling of
wellbeing.
Functions of Liver
We have enlarged our knowl-
edge Of the liver in the past 75
years and justified its size. 1t
has plenty of functions. 1t is the
great detoxifer Of the body, all
the blood from the intestines
passes first through the liver hold
ing in solution those chemicals
foods and otherwise-that were
picked up in the intestines, before
they go out into general circula-
ton. The liver disposes of the poi
sonous elements, which alone
would justify a fellow in feeling
liverish if that function went
wrong.
Then, for the same reason-that
all the digested food goes to the
liver trst-it IS the great store
house Of the body. II stores starch
and sugar which are our machines
gasoline. 1t stores Vitamin D and
the blood stimulating principle to
name two out of many. That is
why liver is used as a source OF
Vitamin D and for anemia.
It is the great intermediary In
fat and protein metabolism.
One can understand therefore
that if the liver does go wrong
there is a good deal of hell to pay.
No animal can live for more than
a few hours after the liver is re-
moved. Fortunately it doesn't go
wrong very often-I mean badly
or irretrievably wrong. Cirrhosis
of the liver, which is due to the
constant assault of alcohol abb
sorbed from the drunkard's intes-
tines, is one though a rare organic
liver disease. Hepatitis from the
effect of toxins is probably more
frequent than we are able TO rec
A9nlze.
Treatment Of Liver
A great improvement has oc-
Cured in the treatment of diffuse
liver degeneration by diet. 1t has
even been claimed that eirrhosis
of the liver has been cured in this
way. The diet is high in carbo-
hydrates (starches, sugars, vege-
tables and fruits) and also high in
protein, but low in fat. The pro-
teins of meat, however, are for
hidden and the daily amount spe-
cited for a proper liver diet Is
made up from eggs, milk, cheese
and vegetable proteins. The total
daily protein of the liver diet is
10 grams (nearly twice the nor
NAL requirement., the carbohy-
drateS are put at 500 grams and
the fat content at so grams, a
total caloric value Of about 5000
calories. Vitamins are also pushed
as extra amounts Of them are sup
posed TO stimulate the liver cells
to regeneration.
This is not a hard diet TO take
and those who are convinced that
their feelings are properly de-
scribed as liverish or bilious can
Just as we'll go on it, no matter
what the doctor says. Oh, also, I
almost forgot--no alcohol