Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (90 page)

Symptoms, when present, can include abdominal pain, fever, jaundice, and liver failure. It can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

The long-term outcome depends on whether the person stops drinking alcohol and whether the illness has progressed to cirrhosis. If you have this and keep drinking alcohol, you will develop cirrhosis. If you stop drinking, it gradually resolves
over a period of weeks to months. People may experience a worsening of liver function during the first weeks of abstinence. Because of alcohol excess, many people with alcoholic hepatitis are malnourished and deficient in antioxidant nutrients. They drink instead of eating. Use of Tylenol while drinking alcoholic beverages is well documented to accelerate liver disease. No one should drink booze and take Tylenol.

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), catechin (from green tea), and milk thistle (silymarin) have been shown to be helpful in recovery.

NASH is another noninfectious type of hepatitis. It also is called pseudoalcoholic hepatitis, diabetic hepatitis, fatty-liver hepatitis, and alcohol-like hepatitis. It causes few problems in most people who have it but can lead to cirrhosis. Children especially may experience vague discomfort located at the liver. It often goes unrecognized but is common in those with elevated liver enzymes who have no other diagnosis. In a recent study of children with NASH, nearly all were very obese.

NASH was first discovered in 1980. Until recently, it was believed to be primarily a disease that affected obese, diabetic women. However, recent studies have shown that healthy, lean men, women, and children can all be affected. Inflammation of the liver, mitochondrial damage, and free radical pathology are apparent in this disease. Liver enzymes are elevated, and there is an increased need for antioxidant nutrients. Iron, on the other hand, is a pro-oxidant. It has been shown that high iron levels accelerate progression of NASH.

Ultimately, NASH is diagnosed with a liver biopsy. It is believed that a rich diet and lack of exercise can cause this illness. It can also be caused by drugs such as amiodarone, perhexiline maleate, glucocorticoids, synthetic estrogens, and tamoxifen. Surgeries, such as jejunal bypass, gastroplasty (stomach stapling), biliopancreatic diversion, or extensive small bowel resectioning can also trigger NASH. I even had one client who developed NASH from aggressive herbal treatment prescribed by a doctor. This resolved with clean food and some simple recommendations.

If you are overweight and are trying to lose weight, be sure to do so gradually. Quick weight loss can aggravate the disease.

Many people with hepatitis have no obvious symptoms. But when they do, the most common ones are fatigue, mild fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. As the illness progresses, sufferers become jaundiced, which is evident by the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes.
They may experience stomach pain and have dark-colored urine with pale-colored bowel movements.

Diagnosis of hepatitis is done with a routine blood test for liver enzymes. Further testing needs to be done to determine which type of hepatitis is present. A liver biopsy may be performed.

It is well documented that people with hepatitis have an increased need for anti-oxidants. While much more research could be done in this area, taking antioxidants offers a simple and effective way to help protect liver function. It is advisable to take several antioxidant nutrients either in combination or separately. Antioxidants include vitamins C and E, selenium, N-acetyl cysteine, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), lipoic acid, and flavonoids; many herbs have antioxidant properties as well. In foods, they are found in fruits and vegetables, preferably fresh and organically grown.

Bert Berkson, M.D., is one of the leading experts on lipoic acid. He reports that a combination of lipoic acid, selenium, and milk thistle rapidly dropped viral levels and brought three of his patients with hepatitis C back to normal health. Dosages were 300 mg of lipoic acid twice daily, 300 mg of milk thistle three times daily, and 200 mcg of selenomethionine once daily. He is currently doing a larger study using these three antioxidants. In a German study from 1976, 42 patients with hepatitis were given intravenous lipoic acid. The treatment showed promise for many of the patients and, because of the low toxicity and lack of side effects, was recommended for long-term treatment.

Rest, sleep, and healthful eating help with an easy recovery. It’s also critically important not to drink any alcohol because alcohol is a direct liver toxin.

If you are planning on traveling outside of North America, check to see if you are going to a country with known hepatitis problems. You may want to get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B before you go.

There are a huge number of nutrients, antioxidants, herbs, flavonoids, and phytonutrients that may be beneficial in helping reduce symptoms and the long-term effects of hepatitis and cirrhosis. I found information on hepatitis and B-complex vitamins, phyllanthus, shiitake mushrooms, astragalus, fenugreek, schizandra, andrographis, phosphatidylcholine, thymus extract, chlorophyll, and many more natural compounds. If you don’t find something here that really helps, keep looking. I could have spent weeks researching this one topic.

Routine medical testing is adequate for diagnosis of hepatitis. People who are infected may also want additional information. Tests to consider include the following:

Vitamin and mineral status

Antioxidant status

Glutathione levels

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth testing

Hepatitis is a serious illness. For best results, these healing options are meant to be used in combination. You don’t need to use them all, but pick several at least.

Avoid alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol is damaging to the liver. Don’t drink if you have any type of hepatitis.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
They contain antioxidant nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that help support your immune system. Eat at least five servings daily, preferably a lot more. Fresh juicing of organic vegetables is a great way to quickly multiply your nutrients and antioxidants.

Take a multivitamin with minerals.
Cover your bases. A good multivitamin will have base amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Look for one with at least 400 IU of vitamin E, 200 mcg of selenium, and 250 mg or more of vitamin C.

Take vitamin C.
Studies have shown vitamin C levels to be very low in people with hepatitis. Vitamin C is well known for its antiviral and antioxidant effects. Much research was also done in the 1970s and early 1980s on vitamin C’s ability to naturally stimulate interferon production. Interferon is the drug treatment of choice for people with chronic hepatitis (hepatitis C). Interferon is isolated at great expense, it is only 30 percent effective, and the side effects make many people decide not to even try it. Linus Pauling theorized that vitamin C could be used to increase natural production of interferon. Other researchers also reported that this was so.