Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to liver health.
Liver Health Formula is a supplement sold by a company called PureHealth Research. The brand claims their supplement can "recharge your body's 'youth battery'" and is made from "premium quality botanicals."
But does Liver Health Formula contain ingredients shown in medical studies to improve liver health, or are these just marketing claims? Does the supplement contain any unhealthy additive ingredients? Do liver health supplements even make sense? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Liver Health Formula?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Liver Health Formula based on medical studies to give our take on whether the supplement is likely to be effective or if it's a waste of money.
We'll also highlight some questionable claims on the manufacturer's website, share our concerns about liver health supplements generally and feature real, unsponsored Liver Health Formula user reviews, along with a price down documenting which retailer sells the supplement for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Liver Health Formula have been updated since initially publishing this article. The updated ingredients are shown above.
L-cysteine is the highest-dosed ingredient, and we can't find any clinical evidence that it improves liver health, nor does PureHealth research cite any on the product page.
A similar compound called N-acetyl-l-cysteine is clinically shown to have therapeutic effects in patients with liver damage, but this doesn't necessarily mean that l-cysteine will as well.
Vitamin D3 is an active ingredient, but a medical review published in the Cochrane Library examined 15 clinical trials on vitamin D and liver disease, and concluded that “vitamin D has no beneficial or harmful effects on liver diseases.”
Turmeric root powder is included at a dose of 300 milligrams (mg), while the minimum dose in every clinical trial in a medical review on turmeric for fatty liver disease was 500 mg, and most doses were at or over 1,000 mg.
Also most of the studies used turmeric extract or curcumin (the main bioactive chemical compound in turmeric) rather than raw turmeric powder, which is less potent.
Beet root powder is included at a dose of 200 mg. An animal study suggests that beet root extract may be beneficial for ameliorating liver injury, however the dosage used in the above-linked clinical trial is 300 mg per kilogram, or over 1000x the dose included in Liver Health Formula for an equivalent human dose.
Silymarin is derived from milk thistle and is commonly included in liver health supplements. As we documented in our review of supplement brand 1MD, milk thistle is described in clinical studies as the most well-researched plant for liver support.
However, the amount in Liver Health Formula may be significantly underdosed at 40 mg.
A meta-study published in the Advances in Therapy journal examined clinical trials on silymarin for liver disease. The minimum dose used in any of the reviewed trials was 280 mg/day, and the vast majority of the trials used over 400 mg/day.
While it's a good sign that the inactive ingredients in this formulation are safe and non-toxic, we are unable to identify a single active ingredient in Liver Health Formula that we consider effectively dosed for liver support.
But do liver health supplements even make sense as a category? We'll review in the next section.
Do Liver Health Supplements Make Sense?
We have not come across much convincing medical research suggesting that over-the-counter (OTC) supplements are effective for healing the liver, or treating liver-related health conditions.
The liver and kidneys already perform highly-efficient detoxification processes, and any failure of the liver or kidneys should be treated with the help of a licensed healthcare practitioner and not dietary supplements.
Liver health can be optimized through lifestyle changes such as abstinence from alcohol, illicit drugs and OTC pain medications such as Tylenol which may injure the liver in high doses.
There are also dietary modification strategies proven in medical research to benefit liver health. The linked review documents how a removal of processed foods from the diet, an increase in fiber consumption and an increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish) can improve liver health and reduce incidence of liver diseases such as fatty liver disease.
As we discussed at length in our Rescue Detox review article, circumstances where a patient requires external detoxification (such as mercury detoxification from dental amalgam removal) are pretty narrowly defined and rare, and are not typically treated with supplements.
While there are some compounds that are clinically shown to naturally support the health of the liver (which we'll discuss later), we recommend that consumers be wary of brands making health claims that their products can "heal" the liver or directly "remove toxins," which we consider to be unscientific.
Questionable Health Claims on Liver Health Formula Website
There are a number of uncited and questionable health claims on the Liver Health Formula website.
As shown below, the manufacturer claims that their supplement can burn fat, improve digestion, and "skyrocket" energy:
However there is no citation or proof of these claims. Liver Health Formula does not appear to be clinically tested, so how can its manufacturer make specific health claims about the efficacy of this proprietary formulation?
PureHealth Research also claims that their supplement can reduce swelling and clear up skin:
Again, this claim is entirely uncited and we don't understand how the brand is comfortable making such specific health and disease claims without proof that their supplement is effective for treating these conditions.
We consider it a red flag of a low-quality brand to make specific uncited health claims, and it's a consumer safety issue. We urge consumers to be extremely wary of brands making health claims such as these without providing proof.
Does Liver Health Formula Cause Side Effects?
Liver Health Formula doesn't appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, so we can't say for certain whether or not the supplement causes side effects. However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredients.
All of the active and inactive ingredients are safe and non-toxic, so we consider Liver Health Formula unlikely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.
That being said, we consider the category of liver health supplements to be slightly more likely than the average supplement category to cause side effects, given that herbal supplements can cause liver injury, and according to a medical review published in the Hepatology journal, multi-ingredient nutritional supplements may be riskier than single herbs.
Consumers concerned about side effects should clear supplement use with their doctor prior to taking any supplement.
Where to Get the Best Price
Liver Health Formula is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here's a price breakdown accurate at the time of updating this article:
Brand website: $69 (link)
Walmart: $44.97 (link)
Amazon: $33.30 (link to official Amazon listing)
Liver Health Formula is currently 52% cheaper on Amazon than on the brand's website, which is one of the largest price discrepancies across sales channels of any product we've reviewed on Illuminate Health.
Real Customers Review Liver Health Formula
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
Liver Health Formula has been reviewed over 4,000 times on Amazon, with an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "El Guapo de McKinney" who claims the supplement has helped their fatty liver:
"I have suffered from fatty liver for a long, long time and nothing has made it better until I started taking this supplement."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Laurie E. Moore" who claims Liver Health Formula caused side effects:
"This product not only made me ill, but my husband as well. We checked the product out with our physicians and pharmacist prior to consuming. Both professionals gave us an okay to ingest the pills. Upon taking the Liver Health product, we both suffered EXTREME bloating, to the point that breathing became difficult. This encounter was my consuming only 1 pill."
PureHealth Research has an average review rating of 4.18 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, and the brand responds to every customer complaint and review at the time of updating this article, which is a sign of a high-quality brand.
Can Tea Support Natural Detox Processes?
We don't recommend the use of food products or supplements to "cleanse" or "remove toxins" from the body.
However, there are compounds which can naturally support the body's own detoxification processes for consumers intent on doing so.
Rooibos tea was shown to support optimal liver function in a clinical trial published in the Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity journal.
The study authors concluded the following:
"Results from this study suggest that the daily intake of unfermented rooibos herbal tea or a derived commercial rooibos supplement may benefit human health by providing the liver with an enhanced antioxidant capacity to reduce damage induced by toxicants."
Pique Rooibos Tea is our top rooibos tea pick, because it's conveniently in crystallized form and only hot water (no teapot) is needed to make it. The only ingredient in this product is organic rooibos.
Interested consumers can check out Pique Rooibos Tea at this link to the product page on the brand's official website.
We are not suggesting that rooibos tea should be used to treat any specific health condition.
Pros and Cons of Liver Health Formula
Here are the pros and cons of Liver Health Formula in our opinion:
Pros:
- No harmful active ingredients
- No harmful inactive ingredients
- Affordable on Amazon
- Brand responds to public customer complaints
Cons:
- Brand makes questionable health claims
- Product doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Many active ingredients may be underdosed
- We're unable to identify a single effectively-dosed ingredient
- Expensive on brand website
- Liver health supplements have questionable efficacy as a category
