(NaturalHealth365)  New research published in Liver International reveals that tetrachloroethylene (PCE) – a chemical used in dry cleaning and found in adhesives, spot cleaners, and stainless steel polish – triples the risk of severe liver scarring.

Researchers analyzed data from 1,614 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2017 and 2020.  Among participants, 7.4% had detectable PCE in their blood.  Those with detectable PCE faced a 317% increased risk of significant liver fibrosis – excessive scarring that can lead to cancer, organ failure, or death.

The worst part?  The risk grew with exposure; for every one nanogram per milliliter increase in blood PCE, the risk of liver scarring jumped fivefold.

How you are getting exposed to toxins

People get exposed to PCE primarily through air, particularly from dry-cleaned clothes.  It’s also contaminating drinking water at sites across the country.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies PCE as a probable carcinogen.  Due to its toxicity, the EPA launched a 10-year phaseout for PCE in dry cleaning.

Here’s what shocked researchers: alcohol use didn’t play a role in liver scarring when PCE was present.

“Patients will ask, how can I have liver disease if I don’t drink and I don’t have any of the health conditions typically associated with liver disease, and the answer may be PCE exposure,” Lee said.

Other liver threats destroying your health

Liver disease is epidemic.  One in four adults has some form of liver disease, though most don’t know it yet.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects up to 25% of Americans – over 100 million people.  It’s become the leading cause of liver disease worldwide, driven by processed foods, sugar (especially fructose), inflammatory seed oils, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction.

NAFLD starts silently.  No symptoms.  But it progresses to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.  The liver can show no symptoms at all as it approaches failure.

Fructose is the biggest driver.  High-fructose corn syrup in sodas, processed foods, and “healthy” fruit juices is metabolized directly in the liver, leading to fat accumulation, inflammation, and insulin resistance.  Your liver literally turns fructose into fat.

Inflammatory seed oils – canola, soybean, corn, sunflower – create oxidative stress and inflammation throughout the liver.  They’re in virtually all processed foods, restaurant meals, and “healthy” products.

Environmental toxins like PCE aren’t isolated threats.  Heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, mold toxins, and thousands of chemicals burden your liver daily.  Your liver must process everything toxic entering your body, and it’s overwhelmed.

Medications stress liver detoxification pathways.  Statins, acetaminophen, antibiotics, and countless pharmaceuticals create an additional toxic burden.

Alcohol remains a major factor, but the combination of alcohol plus NAFLD plus environmental toxins creates a perfect storm of liver destruction.

Natural strategies to protect your liver

Eliminate toxic exposures.  Stop using dry cleaning and filter your drinking water.  Avoid adhesives, spot cleaners, and products containing VOCs.

Fix your diet.  Eliminate processed foods, fructose (including fruit juice and agave), and seed oils.  Focus on organic vegetables, wild-caught fish, grass-fed meats, healthy fats from olive oil, and avocados.

Support liver detoxification.  Milk thistle, vitamin C, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), glutathione, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts), dandelion root, and alpha-lipoic acid directly support liver function and detoxification.

Address insulin resistance.  NAFLD is fundamentally a metabolic disease.  Stabilize blood sugar, reduce carbohydrates, consider intermittent fasting, and exercise regularly.

Regular liver cleanses.  Coffee enemas, castor oil packs, and gentle detox protocols can help eliminate stored toxins.

Your liver can’t wait

Dr. Lee emphasized: “If more people with PCE exposure are screened for liver fibrosis, the disease can be caught earlier and patients may have a better chance of recovering their liver function.”

But screening isn’t enough.  You need to address what’s destroying your liver: environmental toxins like PCE, dietary disasters like fructose and seed oils, metabolic dysfunction, and toxic overload.

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Sources for this article include:

Wiley.com
Healthday.com