What Does Your Liver Have to Do With Your Immune Health?
For many years, I lived with chronic hepatitis B.
And when you live with a condition that affects your liver, you start thinking differently about things other people may not give much thought to.
I certainly did.
Before taking a medication or supplement, I wanted to know: What is this going to do to my liver?
If someone recommended something for my health, I wanted to know what was in it.
Even things that were described as “natural” didn't automatically mean safe to me.
I had spent too many years having my liver enzymes checked, watching my hepatitis B numbers, taking medications, seeing specialists, and participating in clinical trials not to think about these things.
But there was another part of the picture that I didn't fully appreciate for a long time:
My liver and my immune system weren't having two separate conversations.
They were connected.
Your Liver Does More Than Most of Us Realize
Most people know that the liver processes nutrients, medications and alcohol and helps the body handle and remove many substances.
But we don't talk nearly as much about the liver's relationship with our immune system.
The liver receives a tremendous amount of blood, including blood coming directly from the digestive tract. That means it's constantly encountering nutrients and other substances coming from the gut.
And here's what's fascinating: the liver contains its own community of immune cells.
One group is called Kupffer cells. They're immune cells that live in the liver and help recognize and clear microorganisms, cellular debris and other material from the blood. But the liver's immune role isn't simply about attacking everything it encounters. It also has to help the body know when to respond and when not to overreact.
Think about that for a moment.
Your liver is constantly exposed to substances coming from your food and your gut. If your immune system reacted aggressively to everything unfamiliar, we'd have a problem.
So the liver participates in a very careful balancing act between defense and tolerance.
That's one of the reasons I think we need to stop thinking about our organs as if each one works alone.
The body doesn't work that way.
Hepatitis B Made That Connection Very Personal for Me
Hepatitis B is a liver infection, but the immune system is deeply involved in what happens with the infection.
The relationship between the virus and the immune response helps determine whether the body controls the infection and also contributes to the inflammation and liver injury that can occur with chronic hepatitis B.
I didn't always understand all of that the way I do today.
But I knew enough to be careful.
I was very conscious of what I took.
Medications mattered. Supplements mattered.
What I ate and drank mattered to me.
And because I'm a pharmacist, I probably asked even more questions than the average patient.
Do I need this?
Could this interact with something I'm already taking?
What does my doctor need to know?
Could this affect my liver?
Those questions became part of how I learned to advocate for myself.
And I still believe they're good questions.
Because when we're trying to improve our health, more isn't automatically better.
Another supplement isn't always the answer.
Another product isn't always the answer.
And “natural” doesn't automatically mean harmless—especially when you're living with a liver condition or taking medications.
Sometimes the most important thing we can do is understand what we're putting into our bodies and why.
There Was Also a Time When I Almost Lost Hope
There were years during my hepatitis B journey when I did what I was supposed to do medically.
I took my medications. I kept my appointments. I had my blood work. I participated in clinical trials.
I stayed informed.
And still, there were times when I wondered whether anything was ever really going to change.
That's a difficult place to be.
When you've been living with something for years, you can reach a point where you think, Maybe this is simply how it's going to be.
But something changed in the way I approached my health.
I didn't abandon medical care. That's important for me to say.
Instead, I began paying attention to my health from more than one direction.
I became more interested in sleep and recovery. Hydration. Light. Movement. Nourishment. Stress. What I was putting into my body. How I was feeling—not only what a lab report said.
I also explored additional approaches alongside my medical care.
And over time, I noticed meaningful changes in how I felt and functioned.
I had more hope.
I became more connected to my body.
And I began to understand something that has stayed with me ever since:
Caring for one part of ourselves often means paying attention to the whole.
I can't tell someone else that what helped me will produce the same result for them. Our bodies, diagnoses, medications and circumstances are different.
But I can tell you what my experience taught me:
Don't stop asking questions.
Don't assume that because something is popular, you need it.
Don't assume “natural” means safe.
Don't abandon appropriate medical care because you've discovered another approach.
And don't underestimate the everyday things your body needs from you.
This Is Why I Talk About Restoration
When I use the word restoration, I'm not talking about replacing medicine.
I'm talking about asking a broader question:
What does my body need in order to function as well as it can?
Sometimes that means medication.
Sometimes it means talking with your doctor or pharmacist.
Sometimes it means getting your labs done.
And sometimes it means looking at sleep, hydration, nourishment, movement, light, stress and recovery.
These things aren't competing with one another.
They're pieces of a much bigger picture.
That's the lesson I wish I'd understood much earlier in my own journey.
Let's Continue This Conversation Saturday
This Saturday, September 19 at 11:00 AM ET, I'm getting together with my colleagues Rhetah Kwan, Wellness Educator & Coach, and Dr. Raichel Samuel, PharmD, Community Pharmacist, for our conversation on immune health.
And I think you'll appreciate the different perspectives we're bringing.
We'll talk about some of the everyday foundations that support our health, hydration and light, medications and supplements, and questions worth asking before adding something new to your routine.
This conversation is for everyone, not only people living with liver conditions.
But if you're living with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, or another chronic liver condition, I especially want you to join us.
Because I remember what it was like to wonder:
Does my liver condition change what I should take?
Are there supplements I need to be careful with?
What can I do in my everyday life to better care for myself?
What should I be asking my doctor or pharmacist?
Bring those questions.
Saturday, September 19, 2026
11:00 AM ET | Live on Zoom
https://transformationhealthjourney.com/immunehealth
This Week's Restoration Minute
Before you add something new to your health routine this week, ask yourself:
Why am I taking this?
Do I actually need it?
Could it affect a medication I'm already taking or a health condition I'm managing?
Have I asked the right person about it?
And then ask one more question:
What does my body already need from me that I haven't been giving it consistently?
Maybe it's sleep.
Maybe it's water.
Maybe it's movement.
Maybe it's a nourishing meal.
Maybe it's keeping that medical appointment you've been postponing.
Maybe it's simply taking a little time to recover.
You don't have to do everything.
Start with what you know needs your attention.
Because caring for our health isn't always about finding something else to add.
Sometimes it's about understanding the body we already have—and becoming a better partner with it.
Until next Tuesday, take good care of yourself — one small choice at a time.
— Bunmi
