Tasks for the metabolism
The liver is the central metabolic organ of the body. It regulates the metabolism of proteins, fats and sugars, but also minerals, vitamins and hormones. The nutrients are transported from the intestine to the liver via the portal vein and are absorbed there.
The liver can then divide up the various steps. In this way the substances can be converted into others or excreted. At the same time, the liver can also build up new substances that are important for the metabolism.
These include proteins, coagulation factors, sugar, fatty acids and, of course, cholesterol. All these substances are needed to transport other substances (proteins), to build up membranes (cholesterol), to synthesise hormones (cholesterol, proteins), to build up energy reserves (fatty acids, sugar) and to release energy (sugar, fatty acids, proteins). Most substances that enter the liver are passed on to the other organs according to their needs.
Only the excess substances are retained in the liver and stored there as a reserve to be released to the other organs as needed. In particular sugar (glycogen), fat-soluble vitamins and minerals (iron) are stored in the liver.
