Vattenhallen Science Center

The liver is like a chemical factory within the body. Among other things, it produces yellow bile that breaks down the fat in the food that we eat. It also produces enzymes that form proteins from amino acids. Other enzymes produced in the liver can turn carbohydrates into fat and proteins into sugar. The liver also stores nutrients, such as energy in the form of glycogen. When the body indicates that it needs energy, these nutrients can be released into the body.

Another important function of the liver is to break down toxic substances. It may be toxins we have ingested with our food or from drugs. 

Among other things, bile contains substances that can, like a washing-up liquid, break down fat into smaller particles. This makes it easier for the enzymes from the pancreas to break down the fat into even smaller components, to be used as energy in the body. Bile contains other substances as well, including salts and certain waste products that are not able to remove themselves from the body through urine, but rather do so through bile. The bile is collected and concentrated in a small bladder on the bottom of the liver, and every time when we eat, its contents are emptied into the duodenum. The gallbladder can hold about half a decilitre of bile.

As you get older, small gallstones may form inside the gallbladder. These gallstones consist of substances from the bile that have become so concentrated that they are transformed into small, round and hard “stones”. If the gallstones are too large, they can remain inside the gallbladder and sometimes get stuck in a bile duct. If this becomes inflamed and painful, the gallbladder may have to be surgically removed. 

Far back in the abdomen, just in front of the spine, you find the pancreas. Here is where 1,5–2 litres of pancreatic juice are produced every day, which then flow out into the duodenum. Pancreatic juice contains substances that chemically “cut” the food, that is, break it down into smaller components. These substances are called enzymes. Pancreatic juice also contains other substances, such as bicarbonate, which makes the food a little less acidic after it has passed through the stomach.

The insulin hormone – which serves as a key that unlocks the body’s cells, allowing sugar to enter and be used as energy – is also released. Too much sugar in the blood can damage the cells and too little can make you dizzy and tired as the cells in the brain and muscles do not have enough energy. When the blood sugar level becomes too low, the hormone glucagon is released from the pancreas, to emit some of the sugar that has been stored in the liver.