Liver Function and Detoxification

Urinary Bile Acid Sulfates (UBAS)

What are Urinary Bile Sulfates? (UBAS) is a direct measurement of liver functional efficiency. In simplistic terms, one primary function of the liver is to act as a filter of toxins and other metabolically undesirable compounds. Whereas typical blood tests for the liver measure liver enzymes and are more indicative of actual disease or pathology, UBAS is essentially an indicator of the efficiency of the liver in its role as a filter. When the "filter" gets "clogged," UBAS will begin to show in the urine.

Bile acids are a normal component of blood and are usually cleared from the blood through the liver. The enterohepatic circulation regulates bile acid levels and under normal circumstances, given a healthy liver, a little leaks into the bloodstream and is converted to sulfate and excreted in the urine. But, in individuals with suppressed or diminished blood flow through the liver, bile acids build up in the blood and are then cleared through the kidney, thereby becoming present at higher levels in the urine. As such, high levels of urinary bile acid sulfates are an indication of liver impairment, hepatocellular damage, and a high specificity toward hepatobiliary diseases.

Since all chemicals including prescription drugs are detoxified in the liver, the UBAS can also be used to monitor the effects of drug therapies on the liver and identify those who might experience problems taking prescription drugs.

Compromised liver function leads to a build up of toxic substances that can damage liver cells and lead to increased risk for cancer and a variety of other degenerative diseases. An elevated UBAS may be taken as an indicator of the need for therapy to normalize the filtering capacity of the liver as well as a means to monitor the effectiveness of such a therapy. 

Common complaints related to improper digestion and detoxification include:

Test Kit #101 - Metabolic Assessment Profile

Test Results Include: