Protecting and Supporting the Pancreas and Liver

The pancreas and liver produce the pancreatic juice and bile necessary for the digestion process. The pancreas secretes two vital hormones, insulin and glucagons, that regulate blood sugar in the body, as well as enzymes needed to digest foods and break down starches.

The liver makes and breaks down many hormones and hormone-precursors, including cholesterol, testosterone, and estrogen. Perhaps its most important function is serving as the body’s filter. The liver filters and processes all food, nutrients, alcohol, drugs, and other materials that enter the bloodstream. When the liver is not functioning properly, dangerous toxins build up in the body.

The vital importance of these two organs makes liver and pancreas supportive and protective elements indispensable. Research is finding the goji berry fits both these roles.

The cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin and glucagons into the blood are called “islets of Langerhans” or islet cells. Each of the islets contain up to two million insulin-secreting cells. These cells are vital for normal blood sugar levels. Because the pancreatic islet cells are subjected to dangerous oxidative damage from free radicals, Chinese scientists studied the effects of wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) polysaccharide on islet-cell damage in rats. They found “definite protective effects.”