The LIV System
The LIV System
A liver-centered framework for understanding lipid metabolism
LIV was built from a simple question: why do lipid-focused approaches work in some individuals, but not others?
This page outlines the system behind that question, and how supporting liver function changes how we think about lipid metabolism, energy, and metabolic balance.
It Started With a Question
It begins a thousand feet below the North Atlantic Ocean, aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Daniel Boone.
I was a young sailor, being given instructions by Master Chief Terry Singer. The kind you follow without hesitation. But this time, something didn’t make sense.
So I asked him why.
He looked me in the eye and said,
“Petty Officer Yates, you can’t ask me why.”
And that was the end of the conversation.
But it stayed with me.
Because if you can’t ask why, you can’t understand the system.
And if you don’t understand the system, you can’t improve it.
The Problem We Couldn’t Explain
Years later, in pharmacy school, I found myself asking the same question again.
This time, it was about triglycerides.
I was fascinated by them. Not just the number, but what they represented, a signal of how the liver handles energy and lipids in real time.
We had tools. Fish oil. Fibrates. Prescription EPA.
And yet, the results were inconsistent.
Sometimes triglycerides fell. Sometimes they didn’t.
So I asked the question.
Why?
Why do these approaches work in some people, but not others?
The answer was simple.
We don’t know.
That wasn’t satisfying.
Because if something works sometimes and not others, there’s a reason.
The system isn’t random.
It’s just not fully understood.
A New Way to Look at the Problem
In the mid-2010s, that question took a different turn.
A colleague sent me an article about a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Dr. Rangan Sukumar, who was using advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence to solve complex medical problems.
I read it.
Then I got in my car and drove to Oak Ridge.
I introduced myself and said,
“I want to use your system to study diabetes.”
Because by then, something had become clear.
Triglycerides weren’t just a number.
They were a signal of how the liver manages lipid flow.
What We Found
The first time we ran the system, it pointed to something specific.
A rate-limiting step in omega-3 metabolism.
And alongside it, a natural compound, sesamin, as a modulator of that pathway.
That was the first connection.
But it wasn’t the last.
The Missing Link
As we followed the pathway further, a deeper insight emerged.
Omega-3s are not active on their own.
They must be processed by the liver.
That processing leads to phosphatidylcholine.
These molecules are not incidental. They are structural.
They are required for the formation and stability of VLDL particles, the particles the liver uses to export triglycerides.
The LIV System: how the liver processes lipids
Which reframes the entire question.
It’s not just whether omega-3s are present.
It’s whether the liver can process and use them.
Supporting the System
And that process depends on more than one input.
It depends on substrate.
It depends on methylation.
It depends on choline availability.
Nutrients like vitamin B12 support methylation pathways that help maintain this environment.
Additional compounds, including methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), have been studied for their role in supporting related metabolic processes and, in combination with sesame-derived compounds, may contribute to how these pathways function.
At the same time, the system depends on an adequate pool of choline.
Choline donors, such as citicoline, help supply what is needed to build phosphatidylcholine.
Together, these elements support how the liver assembles and manages lipid transport.
From Insight to Design
Seen this way, the variability begins to make sense.
It’s not just about taking omega-3s.
It’s about whether the system that processes them is supported.
That realization became the foundation for LIV.
Not as a single ingredient.
But as a designed combination, built around how the liver actually handles lipid metabolism.
We brought these components together and tested them in humans.
Not to chase a single number.
But to better understand how supporting this system influences real-world biology.
Why It Matters
LIV is the result of that work.
A liver-first approach to supporting how the body processes and manages lipids.
Because when you step back and look at the system clearly, the question changes.
It’s not just what’s in the bloodstream.
It’s how the liver is managing the flow.
LIV is not about replacing what already works.
It is about going upstream.
Supporting the liver as the central regulator of lipid metabolism, and providing the inputs that help that system function as intended.
Because when the system is supported, the downstream signals begin to make more sense.
And for the first time, the question isn’t just what to measure or what to lower.
It’s how to support the system that controls it in the first place.
Clinical Evidence Snapshot
LIV has been evaluated in human studies examining its impact on lipid metabolism and related metabolic markers.
- Supports healthy triglyceride levels
- Demonstrates measurable effects on lipid-related biomarkers
- Well tolerated, with no significant safety concerns observed
- Preliminary findings suggest potential effects on cognitive-related measures, consistent with the role of lipid metabolism in brain function
These results align with the underlying biology of the system LIV was designed to support.
Support the System Behind Lipid Metabolism
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