Does Vitamin Supplements Make A Person Healthy Articles & Resources

You should eat organic foods "as much as possible," says Frank Lipman, ., founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City and author of Total Renewal. "That way, you avoid pesticides and herbicides on vegetables and fruit, along with the hormones, steroids, and antibiotics that come with various animal products." He also recommends water filtration.

Certain foods apparently contain nutrients that support liver detoxification properties. Lipman encourages adding blueberries, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, watercress, walnuts, and almonds to your diet, along with ginger, rosemary and garlic. Carolyn Dean, ., ., author of Natural Prescriptions for Common Ailments, says that the best foods for the liver tend to be bitter, such as dandelion greens, chard and spinach. She encourages patients to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains to get the proper vitamins and minerals, while reducing saturated fats and proteins from animal sources. Also, omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish, legumes and wheat germ, may help the liver process fats and reduce the production of triglycerides.

none for the road

Consuming alcohol only in moderation is useful to protect a healthy liver, but reducing intake to bare to a bare mimimum--or, preferably, eliminating it altogether--is vital when the liver has been damaged by disease or abuse. Most medications are metabolized or eliminated by the liver, and some of them may cause liver injury in susceptible individuals. Avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and especially acetaminophen (the common pain reliever in Tylenol and numerous cold remedies) with alcohol. Muscle relaxants, antidepressants, cholesterol drugs and oral antibiotics may lead to abnormal liver-function tests, as can the herbs chaparral, coltsfoot, comfrey and kava. Even vitamin A can stress your liver's capabilities if you dramatically exceed the recommended daily value.

An injured liver stops manufacturing important proteins, such as those that prevent excessive bleeding, and it no longer metabolizes bilirubin, which builds up and leads to jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes. With long-term damage, liver cells stop regenerating and are replaced by scarring and fat deposits. "That's cirrhosis," says Riely. "It's an end stage of liver disease, but it's not necessarily a death sentence." Yet as the condition worsens, the liver is deprived of blood, leading to liver failure and, potentially, liver cancer.

Alcoholism gets the most press as a cause of cirrhosis, but hepatitis B is the most common cause worldwide, with hepatitis C doing the most harm among Americans, says Seeff. Both these viral diseases can become chronic, quietly wearing down the liver for 20 or 30 years after they're contracted. "And the vast majority of people affected with hep B and particularly hep C have no symptoms at all," says Seeff. "So many of them don't know they have the disease."

There are less-common conditions as well, such as autoimmune hepatitis and inherited problems. "Women have a greater variety of liver diseases," notes Riely, "but men have more liver problems because a greater number of them have hepatitis or alcoholic liver disease."

The United States is also seeing an increase in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which is related to the rise in obesity. As fat builds up in the liver, it creates scar tissue and the cycle continues. "Liver disease, particularly the development of cirrhosis, is a dramatically increasing problem in markedly overweight persons," says Seeff.

An annual blood test may tell you if your liver is healthy. Elevated serum levels of the enzymes alanine and aspartate transaminase (ALT and AST) are an indication that something is wrong. Your doctor may then look for specific diseases; a panel of tests simultaneously screens for the hepatitis viruses.

Meanwhile, make sure your diet is as liver-supportive and chemical-free as possible, and avoid common transmission routes for hepatitis (see sidebars, pages 50 and 52). Saunas are useful for eliminating toxins, says Dean, as is milk thistle (see "the herbal approach to liver health").

Another natural option, she adds, is alpha-lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant that helps recycle vitamins C and E, supports liver function and protects the organ from drug toxicity.

Dean tells her patients to try two or three liver-friendly things each day rather than a dozen. "If you get obsessive, you'll just stop, and that defeats the purpose."

According to Dean, the body is constantly regenerating itself. "Every seven years or so you have a new body," she observes. "If you give it the right building blocks you can overcome incredible odds."

save your health:
know the ABCs of hepatitis

There are five types of hepatitis, designated A through E. Only A, B,
and C are serious health problems in the United States, says National
Institutes of Health spokesman Leonard Seeff, .

 Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C

cases About 100,000 About 80,000 About 40,000
 infections occur infections occur Americans are
 in the United annually in the infected each
 States each year; United States; year; the total
 approximately 31 total number of number of chronic
 percent of the chronic infections infections is
 population shows is estimated at estimated to be
 evidence of past million. million.
 infection.

transmission Through food or Exchange of body Direct contact
 water containing fluids or blood with contaminated
 contaminated fecal from an infected blood via shared
 material, or by person via syringes, needles
 contact with unprotected sex, or razors; by
 someone who is unsterilized transfusion before
 ill. needles, or from 1992; or from
 mother to infant. mother to infant;
 sexual
 transmission is
 unusual.

symptoms Fever, fatigue, Jaundice, fatigue, Similar to
 loss of appetite, abdominal pain, hepatitis A,
 nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, though 80 percent
 dark urine, nausea, joint of patients have
 jaundice. Or none pain, dark no outward
 at all--most urine--all symptoms.
 patients with appearing one to
 hepatitis or other six months after
 liver diseases infection. Thirty
 have no symptoms. percent of
 patients have no
 symptoms.

duration Recovery usually Acute symptoms About 80 percent
 occurs within subside in several of infections
 three months. weeks. Fewer than become chronic,
 About 15 percent 5 percent of cases which can lead to
 of those infected become chronic, cirrhosis and
 will have symptoms which can lead to sometimes to liver
 for up to nine cirrhosis and cancer.
 months. Hepatitis sometimes to
 A does not cause liver cancer.
 chronic hepatitis.

treatment Rest and fluids. Rest and fluids; Rest and fluids;
 Avoid fatty foods, nothing nothing
 alcohol and drugs. liver-toxic. Milk liver-toxic. Milk
 thistle may help. thistle may help.
 Liver function Pegylated
 should be interferon and
 monitored. ribavirin work in
 Pegylated about 50 percent
 interferon, of cases; the
 adefovir dipivoxil success rate is
 and lamivudine higher for certain
 work for about genetic variations
 40 percent of of the virus.
 chronic Those infected
 infections; with hepatitis C
 natural should be
 interferon, which vaccinated
 has fewer side against hepatitis
 effects, is A and hepatitis B.
 currently being
 tested.

prevention Avoid food and Hepatitis B There is no
 water that may be vaccine is no vaccine for
 unclean. Wash longer made from hepatitis C. Avoid
 hands thoroughly blood products; it exposure to
 and often. Immune provides the contaminated blood
 globulin is given broadest, safest products.
 to those in protection.
 contact with Infants, teens,
 patients; a health-care
 vaccine is workers and people
 recommended for who are sexually
 those at risk of active should
 exposure. be vaccinated.

what (not) to do for your liver

(1) About 50 percent of those who drink too much get cirrhosis. Carolyn Dean, ., ., advises a maximum of two alcoholic beverages per day for men, one for women. Even better: Stick to one or two drinks per week.

(2) Like alcohol, drugs must be metabolized by the liver. Don't exceed maximum daily dosages, and avoid taking unnecessary medication of any kind. Don't mix acetaminophen with alcohol.

(3) Hepatitis B and C can be acquired through unprotected sex, sharing needles or possibly snorting cocaine. Use condoms if you have multiple sex partners.

(4) A study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that men with tattoos had a ninefold greater risk of hepatitis C. Patronize regulated tattoo parlors, and insist that all needles be sterilized.

(5) Don't share toothbrushes or razors with others.

RELATED ARTICLE: The herbal approach to liver health.

milk thistle

The gold standard of liver-friendly herbs is milk thistle. German scientists were the first to isolate silymarin from the milk thistle fruit. Silymarin is a free-radical fighter that helps the liver counteract toxins and pollutants and stimulates regeneration of liver cells at up to four times the normal rate; it is now sold in Germany as a supportive treatment for chronic liver disease.

Carolyn Dean, ., ., advises patients to take 200 to 300 milligrams of milk thistle, two to three times a day. "It is very safe and very effective," she says. (Allergic reactions are rare, though it can interfere with certain HIV medications.)

Milk thistle won't prevent abuse-related liver damage. But once a patient stops drinking, it may help the organ recover more quickly. Milk thistle may also help reduce liver enzyme scores for hepatitis patients, lowering the risk of cirrhosis, says Leonard Seeff, .

licorice root

Glycyrrhizin, found in licorice root, is widely used for chronic liver problems in Japan. It appears to reduce levels of serum transaminase, enhance the production of antibodies, and lower the risk of post-transfusion hepatitis, according to clinical phytotherapist David Hoffman, author of Medical Herbalism. Other hepatic tonics include dandelion, fringetree, black root and balmony.

bitter herbs

Also recommended are the bitter herbs, such as artichokes, dandelion greens, chard, spinach and arugula, whose astringent quality keep bodily fluids moving through the liver. Green tea, ginger tea, chicory, warm lemonade and dandelion-root tea all have liver-supporting properties, too.

ayurveda

To treat liver disorders, ayurveda utilizes Phyllanthus niruri, also called stonebreaker or gale of the wind, which may block the enzyme that the hepatitis B virus needs to replicate; other herbs of choice include bhringraj, turmeric and licorice root, along with long pepper to enhance the immune system. A qualified practitioner will customize cleansing, purification and rejuvenation therapies; in general, a wholesome, non-spicy vegetarian diet is prescribed. Consult your physician before undertaking any treatment options.