Which Vitamins Can Result In Increased Liver Enzyme Levels?

The liver is the largest organ in the body and acts as a filtration system, filtering out drugs, alcohol, toxins, and chemicals from the blood. It then processes the waste for the body. Common causes of elevated liver enzymes include Fo-ti (Polygonum multiflorum, PMT), which ranks among the top five herbs. High doses of certain vitamins can put stress on the liver and even cause liver damage. Some vitamins, such as B-3, are especially hard on the liver, so your physician may recommend periodic liver checkups.

Viral hepatitis, such as hepatitis B, C, and D, and autoimmune disease caused by immune system malfunctions, such as autoimmune hepatitis, are also common causes of elevated liver enzymes. A recent paper from two U-M hepatologists highlights the liver dangers associated with consuming some herbal and dietary supplements designed to build muscle or lose weight. Some popular herbal supplements, including green tea and turmeric, linked to liver toxicity. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is a liver enzyme, and high levels can indicate liver damage. Dietary and lifestyle steps to lower ALT levels may help the liver recover.

Common causes of elevated transaminase levels include nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease. Uncommon causes include drug-induced liver injury, hepatitis B, alcohol use, certain medications, herbs, and vitamin supplements. Vitamin A and niacin can cause distinctive forms of liver injury when taken in high doses.

The FDA regulates levels of recommended daily intake of nutrients such as vitamin D, folic acid, and certain medications. High doses of vitamin A from supplements can cause liver damage, and long-term or high doses of niacin can lead to liver damage.

What is the best drink to flush your liver?

11 Drinks to Help Your Liver DetoxLemon Water. Ginger and Lemon Drink. Grapefruit Juice. Tumeric Tea. Green Tea. Chamomile Tea. Oat Tea. Jujube Fruit Juice.

More and more people have been consuming drinks for liver detox.

Your liver plays a very vital role in keeping you healthy and alive. It’s essentially responsible for cleaning and filtering your blood from the digestive tract before flowing to the rest of the body. It also metabolizes drugs and detoxifies chemicals. More than that, your lover secretes bile that helps digest fat and carry waste away.

Those are just some of its many functions. That’s why it’s crucial to keep it in tip-top shape. Cleansing and detoxifying can help protect it from disease and keep it healthy.

What supplements are hardest on the liver?

Herbal supplements. How could something natural be bad for your liver? In fact, some common herbs could cause toxic liver disease. Watch out for supplements that contain aloe vera, black cohosh, cascara, chaparral, comfrey, ephedra, or kava.

Chemicals and solvents. Some workplace chemicals can harm your liver. Some examples are vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastics; a dry cleaning solution called carbon tetrachloride; the weed killer paraquat; and polychlorinated biphenyls.

You may be more likely to get toxic liver disease if:

• You take OTC pain relievers more than the recommended dose, with chronic alcohol use.
• You already have another liver disease, like cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or hepatitis.
• You drink alcohol while you take certain medications or supplements.
• You work in a job that uses industrial chemicals that could be toxic.
• You’re older.
• You’re female.
• You have a gene mutation that affects how well your liver works.

What is an alarming liver enzyme?

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are two liver enzymes measured in a blood test to check the health of your liver. High AST and ALT levels are a general sign of a liver problem.

Based on which enzyme is elevated—or if both are elevated—healthcare providers can make an educated guess as to the underlying cause of the liver problem and order additional tests. This may help diagnose diseases ranging from hepatitis and cirrhosis to liver cancer and liver failure.

When ALT and AST Levels Are Tested. ALT and AST are part of a comprehensive panel of tests known as a liver function test (LFT). An LFT may be ordered:

• If you have symptoms of liver disease, including jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), dark urine, pale stools, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue
• To monitor the progression of a liver disease
• To determine when drug treatments should be started
• To check your response to treatment

What supplements are not good for the liver?

Herbal supplements. How could something natural be bad for your liver? In fact, some common herbs could cause toxic liver disease. Watch out for supplements that contain aloe vera, black cohosh, cascara, chaparral, comfrey, ephedra, or kava.

Chemicals and solvents. Some workplace chemicals can harm your liver. Some examples are vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastics; a dry cleaning solution called carbon tetrachloride; the weed killer paraquat; and polychlorinated biphenyls.

You may be more likely to get toxic liver disease if:

• You take OTC pain relievers more than the recommended dose, with chronic alcohol use.
• You already have another liver disease, like cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or hepatitis.
• You drink alcohol while you take certain medications or supplements.
• You work in a job that uses industrial chemicals that could be toxic.
• You’re older.
• You’re female.
• You have a gene mutation that affects how well your liver works.

What supplements should I avoid with high liver enzymes?

Non-bodybuilding supplement hepatotoxicity. Some of the most frequently used non-bodybuilding supplements associated with hepatotoxicity include green tea extract and multi-ingredient nutritional supplements that contain both botanicals and other compounds. These products include familiar names like Hydroxycut, Oxy ELITE Pro and LipoKinetix.

Green tea extract, or GTE, is derived from unfermented leaves of the Chinese tea tree, Camellia sinensis. One of the active ingredients in GTE is epigallocatechin gallate, which is a catechin, or a compound that is abundant in teas, cocoa products and certain berries. It boasts purported weight-loss properties by stopping fat-causing lipogenic enzymes.

While the public tends to view HDS products as safer than most conventional medications because they are derived from plants and other “natural sources,” this is not always the case, Fontana says.

Can too much vitamin C cause elevated liver enzymes?

Mechanism of Injury. The serum ALT elevations that occur with extremely high doses of vitamin C are likely due to a direct but minimal toxic effect on the liver. The injury is, however, short lived and has not been linked to cases of acute or chronic hepatitis, acute liver failure or cirrhosis.

Other Drugs in the Class: Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Folate, Niacin.

Product labeling at DailyMed, National Library of Medicine, NIH.

Can too much zinc cause liver damage?

Zinc overdose can be associated with liver injury, jaundice and even hepatic failure, usually arising after several days and resembling injury from copper or iron overdose. The injury is clearly direct toxicity.

Likelihood score: E (unlikely cause of clinically apparent liver injury in normal therapeutic doses).

Drug Class: Trace Elements and Metals; Chelating Agents, Wilson Disease Agents.

Other Drugs in the Subclass, Wilson Disease: Dimercaprol, Penicillamine, Trientine.

Can too much vitamin D cause elevated liver enzymes?

Hepatotoxicity. Neither normal nor excessively high intakes of vitamin D are associated with liver injury or liver test abnormalities. Hypervitaminosis D and vitamin D intoxication generally arise with intakes above 50, 000 IU daily, but lower doses may induce toxicity in susceptible individuals such as patients with renal osteodystrophy (secondary hyperparathyroidism), and a safer upper limit of recommended intake is 10, 000 IU daily. Symptoms of vitamin D intoxication are caused by hypercalcemia and can include dehydration, thirst, polyuria, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, constipation, fatigue, bone pains and muscle cramps. Complications can include renal dysfunction, nephrocalcinosis, decreased consciousness and seizures. Symptoms arise a few weeks to several months after starting excess doses of vitamin D given orally or parenterally. A common cause of hypervitaminosis D is the mislabeling of an over-the-counter or locally prepared nutritional supplement, excessive fortification of milk or foods, and inadvertent prescription or dispensing errors. In clinical descriptions of vitamin D intoxication, typical laboratory findings are hypercalcemia, increase in serum creatinine, and high 25-OH vitamin D levels (usually above 200 ng/mL or 500 nmol/L). Serum aminotransferase and bilirubin levels are typically normal, while alkaline phosphatase levels may actually be lower than normal.

Likelihood score: E (unlikely cause of clinically apparent liver injury).

Mechanism of Injury. Vitamin D in high doses increases absorption of dietary calcium, but also mobilizes calcium from bone. The symptoms of vitamin D intoxication are largely those of hypercalcemia. While hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, stellate cells and resident immune cells in the liver have vitamin D receptors, there is no evidence that vitamin D causes injury to the liver.

Can too much vitamin B cause elevated liver enzymes?

Vitamin B is a group of water-soluble vitamins essential for normal growth and metabolism, but not synthesized in adequate amounts by humans. Common forms include thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and cyanocobalamin. Riboflavin, a water-soluble B vitamin found in milk, dairy products, whole grains, legumes, lean meat, and fish, is crucial for fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism and is a central component in flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), a component of many enzymes that require electron transfer. Deficiency in riboflavin is rare but can occur with severe malnutrition and chronic alcoholism. Riboflavin is fortified in foods like bread, cereals, and milk. The recommended dietary allowance is 1. 3 mg for adult men and 1. 1 mg for women, which is well within the amounts found in a typical American diet. Riboflavin is yellow in color, has natural fluorescence, and is inactivated by light. Oral forms of riboflavin have not been associated with adverse events, ALT elevations, or hepatotoxicity even when given in high doses. High doses of riboflavin are well tolerated because oral doses above 30 mg are not absorbed, and what is absorbed is rapidly excreted, and body stores are generally limited.

What vitamins should I avoid with a fatty liver?

Some studies have demonstrated that long-term niacin supplementation may lead to IR. As the pathogenesis of NAFLD involves IR and patients with NAFLD already have reduced insulin sensitivity, niacin may have some adverse side effects despite reducing the hepatic fat content.

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