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Liver test from 2/4/2021

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Hey kava lovers. I got needled in the name of science last Thursday and had my liver tested again.

Here are those results:

liver2021.jpg


My ALP was high (normal range 25-115), however ALP is tied to GGT which is always high for kava drinkers, so this isn't a problem. ALP is seen elevated in 23% of kava drinkers, where GGT is elevated in 65% of kava drinkers. My doctor said the ALP was elevated, but not enough to be of any concern. AST and ALT are within normal range, and are the enzymes indicated in liver issues.

Here's something we've been touching on for years, but not getting much information about. Cholesterol levels. Check these out.


liver2021_2.jpg


Nothing has changed about my dietary intake from the test last year, however I do eat 2 eggs every morning, which may be why this is so out of whack. I'd love for more kava drinkers to chime in to see if it's just me or could possibly be because I drink kava daily.

This may speak to my cholesterol test:

"Total- and LDL-cholesterol were elevated in kava users compared to both former users and never users. HDL-cholesterol was higher in current users vs never users. Across kava-using groups, triglycerides, homocysteine and diet-derived antioxidant vitamins α-tocopherol and retinol, did not vary."

Clough, A., Rowley, K. & O'Dea, K. Kava use, dyslipidaemia and biomarkers of dietary quality in Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1090–1093 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601921

Here's what the doctor said verbatim:

doc.jpg
 
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kavamehameha

Magnum's 'awa drinking bird
Very fascinating, thanks for sharing. How much kava do you drink (say, in tablespoons) on a daily basis?

The elevation of alkaline phosphatase and its connection to GGT is interesting...

ALP is seen elevated in 23% of kava drinkers, where GGT is elevated in 65% of kava drinkers.
Could you please refer to the scientific study on this?
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Very fascinating, thanks for sharing. How much kava do you drink (say, in tablespoons) on a daily basis?

The elevation of alkaline phosphatase and its connection to GGT is interesting...



Could you please refer to the scientific study on this?
Ah, sent you the wrong link.

Here's the one you're needing.

 

superspeedkit

Kava Curious
Hey Kap,
Those cholesterol levels are consonant with my experience as well. I’ve taken a few years off from kava because my cholesterol was near 300, which alarmed the wife.
I was doing 8 to 12 tablespoons 7 days/wk before and I am planning to stick to 4 tablespoons 5 days/wk taking breaks of a month or two.
That’s great that your doc said you are still only a 2% risk for heart disease. Sounds like you have a good doc.
I’ll be getting blood panels done in the next few weeks and will report back.
 

Go Krunk Yourself

Kava Enthusiast
I believe it does increase cholesterol but I have a inkling that what you eat in your daily diet can affect how much it shows. If I'm correct, My cholesterol will stay low despite more kava due to change in diet.
 

nashfire

Stay Rooted
Thanks for sharing that personal info Kap! I am always happy to see more great info supporting why I am so fortunate to have encountered this miracle plant!
Bula! ::happyshell:: ::kavaleaf::
 

Aloha Kava

Aloha Kava Guy
Kava Vendor
Hey kava lovers. I got needled in the name of science last Thursday and had my liver tested again.

Here are those results:

View attachment 11469

My ALP was high (normal range 25-115), however ALP is tied to GGT which is always high for kava drinkers, so this isn't a problem. ALP is seen elevated in 23% of kava drinkers, where GGT is elevated in 65% of kava drinkers. My doctor said the ALP was elevated, but not enough to be of any concern. AST and ALT are within normal range, and are the enzymes indicated in liver issues.

Here's something we've been touching on for years, but not getting much information about. Cholesterol levels. Check these out.


View attachment 11470

Nothing has changed about my dietary intake from the test last year, however I do eat 2 eggs every morning, which may be why this is so out of whack. I'd love for more kava drinkers to chime in to see if it's just me or could possibly be because I drink kava daily.

This may speak to my cholesterol test:

"Total- and LDL-cholesterol were elevated in kava users compared to both former users and never users. HDL-cholesterol was higher in current users vs never users. Across kava-using groups, triglycerides, homocysteine and diet-derived antioxidant vitamins α-tocopherol and retinol, did not vary."

Clough, A., Rowley, K. & O'Dea, K. Kava use, dyslipidaemia and biomarkers of dietary quality in Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1090–1093 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601921

Here's what the doctor said verbatim:

View attachment 11471
Do you know the breakdown of your LDL and triglycerides? I've been on keto/lchf for years, and that's a constant topic of discussion. Quite complicated, actually. You can check this Dr. Berg video out that gives a brief on LDL
And here's an older one that goes through cholesterol more generally; he thinks the ratio between triglycerides and HDL is more important. He notes that anything below 2 is good, and if you're above 6 that's bad. You'd be a 1.08, so according to this anyway, maybe there's no cause for concern.
 
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The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Do you know the breakdown of your LDL and triglycerides? I've been on keto/lchf for years, and that's a constant topic of discussion. Quite complicated, actually. You can check this Dr. Berg video out that gives a brief on LDL
And here's an older one that goes through cholesterol more generally; he thinks the ratio between triglycerides and HDL is more important. He notes that anything below 2 is good, and if you're above 6 that's bad. You'd be a 1.08, so according to this anyway, maybe there's no cause for concern.
Awesome. Thank you!

Edit: Missed your question there. What you see at the top is all I was given in the report.
 
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Zaphod

Kava Lover
Do you know the breakdown of your LDL and triglycerides? I've been on keto/lchf for years, and that's a constant topic of discussion. Quite complicated, actually. You can check this Dr. Berg video out that gives a brief on LDL
And here's an older one that goes through cholesterol more generally; he thinks the ratio between triglycerides and HDL is more important. He notes that anything below 2 is good, and if you're above 6 that's bad. You'd be a 1.08, so according to this anyway, maybe there's no cause for concern.
<climb up on soapbox>
Just a caution that "Dr. Berg" is not a medical doctor but a chiropractor. His website prominently displays "Dr." and on numerous occasions, Dr. Berg used the designation "Dr." without clarifying that he is a doctor of chiropractic. He does put "DC" after his name, but I'm guessing most people still don't understand what that means and could associate it with a medical doctor of some sort. Personally I find most of chiropractic "medicine" to be quackery. In addition, In 2007 he was fined and reprimanded by the Virginia Board of Medicine for "...bogus muscle tests that supposedly are related to body organs." And "Berg had made many therapeutic claims that were not supportable by reasonable scientific or medical evidence."

I have no idea if his keto and diet claims are valid but I wouldn't trust him.
<Jump off soapbox>
 

Aloha Kava

Aloha Kava Guy
Kava Vendor
<climb up on soapbox>
Just a caution that "Dr. Berg" is not a medical doctor but a chiropractor. His website prominently displays "Dr." and on numerous occasions, Dr. Berg used the designation "Dr." without clarifying that he is a doctor of chiropractic. He does put "DC" after his name, but I'm guessing most people still don't understand what that means and could associate it with a medical doctor of some sort. Personally I find most of chiropractic "medicine" to be quackery. In addition, In 2007 he was fined and reprimanded by the Virginia Board of Medicine for "...bogus muscle tests that supposedly are related to body organs." And "Berg had made many therapeutic claims that were not supportable by reasonable scientific or medical evidence."

I have no idea if his keto and diet claims are valid but I wouldn't trust him.
<Jump off soapbox>
You know, I figured as much. It was 3am or so and I failed to dig into it. Thanks for clarifying!

Scanned through the web for some articles from more respected sources, links below. They seem to follow the same lines as the video more or less; some interesting sections:

.
"Steve Riechman, a researcher in the Department of Health and Kinesiology [at Texas A&M], says the study reveals that LDL is not the evil Darth Vader of health it has been made out to be in recent years and that new attitudes need to be adopted in regards to the substance... "Our tissues need cholesterol, and LDL delivers it," he notes. "HDL, the good cholesterol, cleans up after the repair is done. And the more LDL you have in your blood, the better you are able to build muscle during resistance training.""

"Researchers say almost 80 percent of the participants in the studies who had high LDL cholesterol did not die because of their cholesterol level. On the other hand, researchers discovered people with low levels of LDL cholesterol, or LDL-C, had the highest rates of death related to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. “These findings provide a paradoxical contradiction to the cholesterol hypothesis,” researchers wrote.

“The research that has targeted LDL is terribly flawed,” he goes on to explain. “Not only is there a lack of evidence of causal link between LDL and heart disease, the statistical approach statin advocates have used to demonstrate benefits has been deceptive.”


Then there are more traditional sources, which are more conservative in their approach.

It seems to me that the answer is "it's complicated," and that the research on cholesterol has been affected for decades with the same problems that gave us the original food pyramid.
 
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Zaphod

Kava Lover
You know, I figured as much. It was 3am or so and I failed to dig into it. Thanks for clarifying!

Scanned through the web for some articles from more respected sources, links below. They seem to follow the same lines as the video more or less; some interesting sections:

.
"Steve Riechman, a researcher in the Department of Health and Kinesiology [at Texas A&M], says the study reveals that LDL is not the evil Darth Vader of health it has been made out to be in recent years and that new attitudes need to be adopted in regards to the substance... "Our tissues need cholesterol, and LDL delivers it," he notes. "HDL, the good cholesterol, cleans up after the repair is done. And the more LDL you have in your blood, the better you are able to build muscle during resistance training.""

"Researchers say almost 80 percent of the participants in the studies who had high LDL cholesterol did not die because of their cholesterol level. On the other hand, researchers discovered people with low levels of LDL cholesterol, or LDL-C, had the highest rates of death related to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. “These findings provide a paradoxical contradiction to the cholesterol hypothesis,” researchers wrote.

“The research that has targeted LDL is terribly flawed,” he goes on to explain. “Not only is there a lack of evidence of causal link between LDL and heart disease, the statistical approach statin advocates have used to demonstrate benefits has been deceptive.”


Then there are more traditional sources, which are more conservative in their approach.

It seems to me that the answer is "it's complicated," and that the research on cholesterol has been affected for decades with the same problems that gave us the original food pyramid.
No problem....and I agree it is complicated. His information on this topic might very well be correct. There was a different topic about a year ago where someone pointed me at his stuff and after a bit of digging it was either out right wrong or very misinterpreted. It does seem a lot of folks have gotten benefit from his keto advice, but I think listening to a nutrition expert would be more advantageous.
 
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