Liver Happy Habits

[Ed!]

I worry a bit about liver health having had my share of hard nights drinking as well as an apparently inability to drink to some red wines without getting an alcohol flush reaction. I know people here have gotten checked out and have had no issues, but I'm curious if any of you are actively doing anything to maintain a healthy liver.

 

[The Kap'n]

Well I'd say the biggest thing I do towards keeping a healthy liver is I completely abstain from any alcohol usage. Next to that I don't take acetaminophen, and I don't use anything other than kava. I've heard milk thistle is an extremely beneficial for the liver if you're worried yours may be in need of repair.

 

[kl.cuvtixo]

A couple of years ago, my doctor told me my blood tests showed high liver enzymes. I'm still not sure exactly what that means, but I was advised to cut back on acetaminophen and alcohol.  I was taking tylenol daily and drinking just about daily.  It was pretty easy to cut down significantly. A few months later, they risen back to normal, according to another blood test.
I was told a common source of unexpected liver damage is Tylenol PM, which people often get into a habit of taking nightly to sleep. Does the FDA do anything about this? No! Of course the difference is that it is a synthetic substance brought to market by a major pharmaceutical giant. (Wth)
At any rate, I'm soon going to my doctor again, and will get my blood tested. I will find out if kava has strained my liver at all. I suspect it will come back "normal."
Refraining from alcohol is not exactly an active way to maintain liver health, so I have to say I do nothing. The liver regenerates at an amazing rate, so as long as you take everything in moderation, you'll be fine.

 

[kl.Dubkava]

I take milk thistle and dandelion root almost daily. I'm planning on having some bloods done after the holidays to check how everything is. I have cut down on alcohol almost completely but I know over Christmas I will inevitably indulge in some beer and wine. I will abstain from kava on these days and probably some days post and prior.

 

[kl.Dubkava]

I tried nacetylcysteine once but the smelly flatulence the next day was just too much to handle for me and anyone in my vicinity .

 

[Ed!]

I take milk thistle and dandelion root almost daily. I'm planning on having some bloods done after the holidays to check how everything is. I have cut down on alcohol almost completely but I know over Christmas I will inevitably indulge in some beer and wine. I will abstain from kava on these days and probably some days post and prior.

I have both of those... haven't been drinking them, but I have them. I'll start drinking em.

 

[kl.pep4848]

yea i'm a bit worried too...now that the holiday season is upon us it's a bit more difficult to hide from the booze. This past weekend, i drank quite heavily and then came home and thought it would be an awesome idea to try some instant kava...well, i projectile vomited everywhere. But afterwords the buzz was extremely intense.

I'll try and follow the rule of no kava while drinking.

 

[Prince Philip]

When people break out the beer and whine, I pour myself a few shells from a thermos, or mix up some Fire Island. I really don't see the point in alcohol when kava is so vunderbar

 

[Steve]

I would tend to caution on the side of a "good balance".  Because all of our biology is different (and history as well), I think taking a break from everything once in a while is a good thing.  I tend to let my body cycle naturally and come back feeling good both physically and mentally.  Even if physically you are fine, mentally worrying if you are hurting your liver puts that added stress.  The break does not have to be long per se, but a length of time to see if you feel noticeably better or worse and can adjust.

 

[Prince Philip]

One thing to be careful of is what you use as a "chaser" for kava.  Do a youtube search for Robert Lustig.  I recommend "Sugar The Bitter Truth" and "The Trouble with Fructose, a Darwinian Perspective," although just about anything is good.

But, for those of us pressed with time, here's the four-minute version.

http://youtu.be/d8twsc-F3ms

Looks like Youtube's redesign no longer supports the HTML code that Yuku supports.  Must be because of all the embedding I do here.  Sorry.  Frum'll fix it Fifteenth February, as we say on Tanna.

 

[kl.pep4848]

ah shit, i've been using ginger ale, grape juice or orange juice to chase...i think these are full of sugars

 

[Vekta]

I don't know as much as I'd like to think I do about kava. But I was never once that worried about it damaging my liver. I felt that it was the best thing I ever started doing second only to my choice to stop drinking alcohol pretty much completely. I did have a blood test and the doctor was fully aware that I drink Kava. The test came back normal and the doctor was in no way concerned about my kava drinking habits. He was rather supportive of it in fact.

 

[kl.grudge]

But, for those of us pressed with time, here's the four-minute version.

None

PP, thanks for passing that along. Great video on the dangers of Fructose.

 

[kl.KiddBKK]

I don't drink Kava as much as some people on the forum, around 2 sessions a week at most but I get an annual physical and haven't had any problems. Kava is just like anything else you should monitor it to see if it causes you any problems. If not awesome but if so i'm sure you can find a way to still have kava in your life maybe just not as much of it.

 

[kl.NDG]

But, for those of us pressed with time, here's the four-minute version.

(flash video)

PP, thanks for passing that along. Great video on the dangers of Fructose.

slightly misleading in the sense that fructose is the main sugar stored in the liver via the Glut 5 receptor. Muscle glycogen requires glucose so once liver glycogen is full extra fructose really has no where to go but fat and causing metabolic dysfunction. Fructose is totally healthy and recommeneded at normal dosages. In the morning for example when liver glycogen is depleted, fructose would be a wise choice.

 

[Piper Methysticum]

Studies show garlic is very good for liver health  http://www.livestrong.com/article/517935-garlic-liver-damage/ 

But too much can be bad http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16910057

It's my understanding that heating garlic destroys its effectiveness so I only add it to food after it's been cooked.

 

[Piper Methysticum]

Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences

Curative Effect of Garlic on Alcoholic Liver Diseased Patients

The antioxidant defense systems SOD, CAT and GPx activity is significantly decreased in alcoholic patients. This decrease could be due to a feedback inhibition or oxidative inactivation of enzyme protein because of excess ROS generation. The generation of α-hydroxyethyl radical may lead to inactivation of these enzymes (Pigeolot et al., 1990) and accumulation of highly reactive free radicals also lead to deleterious effects such as loss of cell membrane integrity & membrane function (Krishnakanth and Lokesh, 1993).
There was a significant increase in the activity of these enzymes after raw garlic administration. It is reported that garlic suppresses the formation of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide by increasing the activity of SOD, CAT and GPx (Borek 2001). Therefore, garlic increases antioxidant action by scavenging ROS, enhancing the cellular antioxidant enzymes and increasing glutathione in the cells. Moreover, it has also been reported that garlic modulates the levels of lipid peroxidation (Hussein et al., 2007). Although multiple actions may take place during hepatoprotective activity, modulation of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status may be one of the important mechanisms by which garlic exerts its toxic inhibitory effect.

---

Thus, our results suggest that, oral administration of raw garlic protects tissue damage by increasing the antioxidant status against oxidative stress. Hence, garlic plays a promising role in antioxidant and it can be considered as a potent drug for the treatment of alcoholic disorders. Further studies are needed to unravel the mechanism of action of garlic and its active components.

Complete article
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:RbayO_IjdFIJ:jjbs.hu.edu.jo/files/v3n4/%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25A8%25D8%25AD%25D8%25AB%2520%25D8%25B1%25D9%2582%25D9%2585%25203%2520%2520%2520modified.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShswf5oN63nsCmaldlbPZJD-Ev-ph-TUnovf-zVp8yhb8zghu14tfT40mfjtHTiBkuNh5Wz-i17l_gTjTvIb7vbkcQ9FVYRlU63jyNC-YhB2XfRjd1xquDMgWXzlVGad1pYM4TH&sig=AHIEtbQOgs28p8R9vXwF7uvs3tA-C9ZcHg

 

[Piper Methysticum]

Endotoxin- and D-galactosamine-induced liver injury improved by the administration of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and blueberry.Osman N, Adawi D, Ahrné S, Jeppsson B, Molin G.Source
Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.AbstractBACKGROUND: D-galactosamine
together with lipopolysaccharide can lead to a pronounced secretion by
Kupffer cells of pro-inflammatory mediators, which have been shown to be
early and important mediators of liver injury. Probiotics and dietary
supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts with high content of
antioxidants, such as blueberry, could be beneficial in protecting
against hepatotoxicity.AIMS: To investigate whether blueberry and probiotics could attenuate liver injury induced by D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide.SUBJECTS: Sprague-Dawley rats were used.METHODS: Six
experimental groups: acute liver injury control and five groups of
liver injury treated by blueberry alone or by each of the probiotics
strains (Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 15313 and Bifidobacterium infantis
DSM 15159) with and without blueberry. Samples were collected 24 h after
induction for bacterial test, liver function test, short chain fatty
acids, myeloperoxidase, cytokines, malondialdehyde and glutathione.RESULTS: Alanine
aminotransferase levels decreased significantly in all groups compared
to liver injury control and DSM 15313 groups. Bilirubin, liver
TNF-alpha, myeloperoxidase and acetic acid in cecum content decreased
significantly in all groups, while liver glutathione values increased
significantly in all groups compared to liver injury control. Liver
IL-1beta and bacterial translocation to the liver and mesenteric lymph
nodes decreased significantly in all groups except B. infantis DSM 15159
group compared to the liver injury control. Enterobacteriaceae count in
cecum decreased significantly in the groups with blueberry plus
probiotics compared to the other groups.CONCLUSION: Blueberry
and probiotics exert protective effects on acute liver injury. They
reduce the hepatocytes injury, the inflammation and the pro-inflammatory
cytokines, and improve the barrier functions and antioxidant activity.

 

[Piper Methysticum]

Makes sense the more I think about it, morning is the only time I crave something sugary.