Scientists have just uncovered a breakthrough in liver health. A vitamin-like compound found in a common green vegetable that can help fight off dangerous fatty liver disease.
And chances are you’ve been tossing it in the trash.
But it’s not your fault, we all do. After all, it’s typically a garnish, used to add some decorative color to your plate.
I’m talking about parsley, of course.
Scientists say parsley is one of the best sources of a powerful antioxidant called pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ. And a recent breakthrough animal study has found that PQQ may have the ability to stop fatty liver disease in its tracks.
Cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have exploded in the United States. Which has left countless folks facing liver cancer and liver transplants in their future.
The new study, published in the journal Hepatology Communications, focused on mothers passing a “fatty liver disease immunity” of sorts along to their offspring.1 However, scientists say what they discovered might also help folks already suffering with fatty liver damage.
More on that in a moment. But first let’s take a closer look at PQQ, and the experiments which revealed this nutrient’s powerful liver-protecting properties.
Powerful plant compound fights disease of aging
PQQ is a potent antioxidant found in plant foods. Experts say this compound has important benefits for your brain and heart function, immune system, and more.
And while PQQ hasn’t been named a vitamin—or been listed as “vital to life” yet—we do know it’s critical for certain functions in our body. In fact, one day soon scientists may decide it is essential and grant it vitamin status.
In animal experiments when it’s removed from the diet it leads to growth problems, a weakening of the immune system, reproductive issues and white blood cell impairments. And PQQ works hand in hand with certain enzymes that are involved in the function and growth of your cells.
It improves energy production in your mitochondria, while at the same time protecting them against oxidative damage. And perhaps most exciting of all PQQ can trigger the birth of new energy centers inside of aging cells, serving as a sort of fountain of youth. In other words, the powerful compound could help shied us from some of the worst diseases of aging.
Which brings us to that exiting new experiment conducted at the University of Colorado.
Fight off—or reverse—fatty liver disease with PQQ
Researchers found when they fed momma mice a typical Western diet they passed along the ill effects of that diet to their newborns in the form of mild fatty liver disease.
In an earlier experiment, the team proved that raising the PQQ in the diets of baby mice with mild liver disease helped to reverse some of the damage. In the new experiment, the team tried bumping up the PQQ in the diet of momma mice while they were still growing their babies. And a remarkable thing happened.
The compound targeted the still-developing microbiomes (the microorganisms that inhabit the body) of the baby mice and prevented the development of NAFLD in the first place. In effect, they had passed a sort of fatty liver disease immunity on to their offspring!
We don’t yet know for sure how raising the PQQ in human mom’s diets will affect their babies. But the researchers are pretty confident it will have a positive effect on the liver health of the babies. And they believe their research may have some benefits for us adults too.
Increasing the PQQ in our own diets might help protect us from NAFLD ever developing. And according to the lead author on the new study, folks who already have fatty liver disease may see benefits from increasing their PQQ too.
Although some PQQ is in all plant foods, you can raise your PQQ levels by eating more foods that are rich in the compound.
As I mentioned earlier, parsley is a readily available and affordable source of the antioxidant. So stop tossing it in the trash and start eating it instead.
Other good sources of PQQ include…
- natto (fermented soybeans)
- green pepper
- green tea
- oolong tea
- kiwi fruit
- papaya fruit
- spinach
PQQ is also available in supplement form. Just be sure to check with your doctor about taking it if you’ve already been diagnosed with a liver issue or NAFLD.
And don’t forget, PQQ isn’t the only way you can protect your precious liver. Click here to discover four more almost effortless ways to keep your liver healthy for life.
Reference:
1. “Pyrroloquinoline quinone prevents developmental programming of microbial dysbiosis and macrophage polarization to attenuate liver fibrosis in offspring of obese mice,” Hepatology Communications, First published: 22 January 2018, 10.1002/hep4.1139</font?
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