Peat Archive

The liver plays a critical role in Ray Peat's framework as the primary detoxification organ, responsible for clearing estrogen, endotoxin, and other toxins from the bloodstream. Peat emphasized that liver health is essential for hormonal balance — an impaired liver cannot adequately conjugate and excrete estrogen, leading to estrogen dominance and all its downstream effects.

Peat recommended supporting liver function through adequate thyroid hormone (which the liver needs for its detoxification pathways), fructose (which supports liver glycogen), and avoiding liver toxins (alcohol, PUFAs, iron). He noted that fatty liver disease — increasingly common — is driven by PUFA consumption and fructose deficiency (paradoxically, since the liver needs fructose to maintain glycogen but is damaged by PUFAs often consumed alongside it).