Effective Supplement Which Help In Lowering Liver Enzymes

The liver is one of the most vital and important organs of the human body and other vertebrates. This vital organ helps in producing necessary enzymes (bile) and bio-chemicals which are necessary for promoting digestion. Apart from this, the liver also helps in synthesizing proteins (helpful in functions such as blood clotting) and detoxifying various metabolites. It is the liver which also helps in detoxifying chemicals and metabolizing various drugs within the human body.

Among all these necessary functions, the most important function of the liver is producing enzymes which are then used by the human body for various reasons. However, due to certain reasons, such enzyme secretion can increase tremendously which then start affecting the normal functioning of the body. Such increased levels of liver enzymes need to be controlled as soon as possible. One of the ways to lower liver enzymes is taking supplements.

What Is A Liver Enzyme?

The liver is an important organ of the digestive system of the human body. The liver secretes an enzyme known as Bile which helps in digestion. The enzyme called bile is a bitter, greenish-brown coloured, alkaline, fluid which helps in digestion. While this enzyme is secreted by the liver, it is stored in the gallbladder for future use.

This bile is a complex fluid which is composed of water, electrolyte, and a host of organic molecules such as cholesterol, phospholipids, bile acids and bilirubin. This bile fluid flows through the biliary tract into the small intestine.

The Two Most Important Functions of Bile

• Bile acids in the bile are critical for digestion and especially absorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins in the small intestine
• A lot of toxins including bilirubin are eliminated from the body by secretion into bile and finally eliminating the same through feces.

While this particular enzyme known as Bile is very important, excess of anything is bad. Similarly elevated levels of liver enzymes have their consequences. Some of the specific elevated liver enzymes which are commonly detected include

• Alanine Transaminase (ALT)
• Aspartate Transaminase (AST)
• Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)
• Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT)

Such elevated levels of liver enzymes indicate damage of inflammation in the liver cells. Such inflamed or injured liver cells thus leak more than the normal amount of chemicals including enzymes into the bloodstream which is then detected through blood tests.

Some of The Causes of Such Elevated Liver Enzymes

• Overconsumption of some over the counter medications especially containing acetaminophen
• Consumption of certain prescription medicines which include statin drugs which are used to control the levels of cholesterol in the body.
• Overconsumption of alcohol
• Obesity
• Hepatitis A, B, or C
• Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver
• Auto Immune Hepatitis
• Celiac Disease
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection
• Liver Cancer
• Hemochromatosis
• Epstein-Barr virus
• Polymyositis
• Thyroid Disorders
• Toxic Hepatitis
• Sepsis
• Wilson’s Disease

While the liver enzymes do not elevate overnight, in the same way, attempting to lower liver enzyme levels immediately before a liver function test is not possible. It is a process which requires time too.

Supplements To Lower Liver Enzymes

Though elevated levels of liver enzymes is normally a temporary issue, an extended period of such elevated levels can damage the health of the individual. The elevated liver enzymes need to be lowered as soon as possible. This can be done by taking supplements and by changing the dietary patterns of the individual suffering from such elevated liver enzymes levels. 

There are certain vitamins which are required and used during liver detoxification. The same vitamins can also treat elevated liver enzymes levels. Some of these vitamins include SAMe, Vitamin B-complex and Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. However, before taking any vitamin supplement, it is advisable to check with a doctor since an overdose of vitamins can also lead to adverse reactions in the body.

Apart from these, there are several combination formulas and antioxidant supplements available in the market which helps in lowering the liver enzyme levels. Some of these supplements include Alpha-Lipoic acid (ALA) and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and also natural supplements which help in lowering the liver enzymes include

Nigella Sativa - Nigella Sativa is a flowering plant which originates from southwestern Asia. The fruit of this plant is large which contains numerous seeds.

The seed is often used as a spice in cooking. Research suggests that the black seed oil is beneficial in preventing liver damage caused due to alcohol consumption or a side effect of medications.

Chlorella Vulgaris - This is a green unicellular alga which is spherical in shape and has a diameter that is between 100 and 1,000 times less than 1 mm. Use of these microalga helps in remarkable reduction of weight, liver enzymes, fasting blood sugar and lipid profile.

This microalga is thus considered to be an effective complementary treatment in NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease).

Grape Seed - Grape seeds are one of the residues from the process of wine production. However, this seed is found to have polyphenols, especially vitamins C and E, and Flavonoids.

These have the excellent antioxidant capacity and thus help in protecting tissues against oxidative stress, especially on liver tissues.

Some Diet for High Liver Enzymes Includes

• Drinking herbal teas including Green Tea. It improves the health of the liver
  
• Including milk thistle (around 160-480 mg daily) in the diet especially for those people suffering from alcohol-related liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatitis
  
• Including natural ingredients such as Astragalus (use around 20-500 mg of extract daily) and Dandelion or Taraxacum Root (2-4 cups of dandelion root tea or 2-4 gm of root daily)