Alcohol Abuse Advice

Liver care | Natural Remedies To Prevent And Treat Cirrhosis

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, cirrhosis and chronic liver disease is the 11th leading cause of death. As per their latest data published in 2006 – there were over 26,500 deaths in the US alone for 2004.

The liver is a vital organ that filters pollutants from the blood, maintains glucose levels, assists in blood clotting, stores vitamins, processes fats and produces urea among hundreds of other functions. Cirrhosis occurs when the liver’s tissues get scarred due to alcohol abuse, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, drugs and chemicals, blocked bile ducts, genetic disorders such as haemochromatosis, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Wilson disease, galactosemia, and glycogen storage diseases.

Steps to treat and prevent cirrhosis:

1. Abstain from alcohol: Alcohol abuse is the single most important reason for liver damage. Up to 100 percent of heavy drinkers show evidence of fatty liver, about 10 to 35 percent develop alcoholic hepatitis, and 10 to 20 percent develop cirrhosis. (Ref: Grant, B.F.; Dufour, M.C.; & Harford, T.C. Epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease. Seminars in Liver Disease 8(1):12-25, 1988.)

2. Change your diet: Reduce sodium in your diet drastically. Avoid canned and packaged foods. Use salt sparingly while cooking and seasoning. Eat several small meals a day. Take adequate protein. Reduce fat. Blood sugar levels may be too high or too low. Eating carbohydrates in moderation at every meal will help to control blood sugar levels. You must be well nourished as liver damage can cause you to inadequately process nutrients and lose weight.

3. Herbal Remedies: Milk Thistle is recommended as a herbal remedy for liver damage. In addition the ayurvedic formulation Liv 52 is also well known for detoxification and liver support in cirrhotic and pre-cirrhotic conditions. Its ingredients include Capers (Capparis spinosa), Wild chicory (Cichorium intybus) Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna), Negro coffee (Cassia occidentalis), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Tamarisk (Tamarix gallica)

Liv 52 – For Liver Support & Detoxification: Himalaya Herbals Liv-52® also known as LiverCare® has been validated by 276 clinical trials and research studies and is considered to be the world’s leading liver support formula.

Cirrhosis of the liver is a slow processing disease. The healthy liver tissue is taken over by scar tissue and then prevents the liver from functioning normally. The flow of blood is blocked when to much scar tissue is formed. Hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, and alcohol abuse are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis. Fatty liver disease is caused mostly by obesity and diabetes. A lot of people that are heavy drinkers do harm there livers in some way but not everyone will get cirrhosis. Women are at more risk than men. People who have hepatitis B or C are more likely to suffer from liver damage caused by alcohol..

If you only had one choice for picking a natural cure for liver disease it should be Milk Thistle Seed Extract (…fortunately you have more than one choice, so why not use all of them, it will only speed up your healing). There are a few reasons why Milk Thistle Seed Extract (also referred to as “Mte”) is beneficial to the liver and liver regeneration. Firstly, it protects the liver from toxins. Toxins, like Alcohol (the number one cause of Cirrhosis), compete against Mte for space on the cell membrane of the liver…except they always lose against the much stronger Mte. If your liver has Mte (milk thistle seed extract) all around itself, therefore preventing harmful toxins from destroying the liver, then the liver actually has time to regenerate. Also, Mte increase protein synthesis, which means that it speeds up the regeneration of destroyed liver tissue.