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Post by sammyjo on Oct 22, 2012 13:09:27 GMT -5
Can anyone give me some answers to this (aside from diet advice):
Do you think that all these "liver detox" supplements and foods actually raise the liver enzymes in the process of "detoxifying" the liver? No one in the medical field would ever give me a straight answer on this.
For years I've tried milk thistle, teas with chicory/dandelion root etc. in them and other ods of supposedly lowering liver enzymes like eating alot of sulforane based vegetables (broccoli and such) and fiber, to no effect.
Will a longer than recommended fast also lower the ALT/AST readings? IF there is less food to digest - longer delay, wouldn't that naturally lower the enzyme levels? If I went say a full day without eating, would that naturally lower the levels?
My ALT is sometimes between 40-50 and cutoff for many of these clinics is 35. So its a crap shoot whether I get in or not, and very difficult to predict.
Any good advice on managing these numbers would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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Post by dude101 on Oct 22, 2012 19:23:57 GMT -5
It could be genetics your levels might be naturally high. But i'm sure mike thistle works, i take it. Try taking several capsules, i take about 6 a day (2 3x a day) which is about 900mg. Also if you eat alot of fatty foods and have high bmi that could affect you. google fatty liver. Heavy drinking also raises your levels so you might want to go easy on that.
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Post by carmel on Oct 23, 2012 16:37:16 GMT -5
For years I've tried milk thistle, teas with chicory/dandelion root etc. in them and other ods of supposedly lowering liver enzymes like eating alot of sulforane based vegetables (broccoli and such) and fiber, to no effect. sammy, it would be interesting to know what the rest of your diet looks like. Could you give us what you eat on a typical day? How often do you eat meat? What kind of fiber? It is mostly soluble or insoluble? If it is in your budget you could try eating broccoli sprouts instead. It has the same amount of sulforaphane in one ounce as a 1.5 pound bag of broccoli. These foods are suppose to lower your enzyme levels, not raise them. What they do raise is the activity level in your liver. Which is a good thing. It is able to detoxify more. Did your parents have high liver enzymes? Do you have copies of blood tests from when you were younger?
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Post by sammyjo on Oct 23, 2012 17:40:36 GMT -5
I eat a fairly typical diet, a wide variety of foods, most of it home cooked. Not high fat but not vegetarian either. I take milk thistle every day but have not tried six capsules or more a day, usually just take one or two.
I am slightly overweight but I used to do studies ten years ago when I was much much thinner, and still had the same problem with high liver enzymes.
I don't drink so I'm sure its not alcohol, and there's no muscle strain to raise them like from physical work or weight training.
It seems like the only thing that would change it all is if I became a vegetarian, which I don't want to do.
A typical diet for me in a day is 2,000 calories, a variety of fruits, vegetables, some pasta, and for meat usually fish or chicken, or soing lean like turkey. I do eat beef but its only once or twice a week max.
Before a screening or check in I will go three days just on vegetables, a lot of broccoli and related types of cabbage type foods, fiber, milk thistle, tea with all the added detoxifying compounds from dandelion root to licorice...
But it doesn't seem to work. Sometimes it seems that the more healthy I eat, the higher the enzyme levels are. Occasionally I've screened at a study where I had grilled chicken the night before or a steak a day before and had low enzyme levels.
so it all puzzles me and it makes it really hard for me to get in. my chances of getting into a study if I pass the screening are only 50/50 on the best of days...
thanks for all the advice guys
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Post by carmel on Oct 26, 2012 3:17:41 GMT -5
I eat a fairly typical diet, a wide variety of foods, most of it home cooked. Not high fat but not vegetarian either. I take milk thistle every day but have not tried six capsules or more a day, usually just take one or two. You're welcome, sammy. It looks like you got your bases covered pretty much. I just think you have an unfortunate predicament here. You're in the normal range health wise, but just not for studies. If I were you, I may actually find that a relief. It would force me to look at another way to make money. This isn't soing one should do for too long.
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Post by sammyjo on Oct 26, 2012 14:21:50 GMT -5
thanks carmel
I know what you're talking about. Its too frustrating to try to make a living doing it, at least for me...
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Post by vark on Oct 27, 2012 22:06:40 GMT -5
right. i had two bad years and was going to give it up this year. my labs are fine but my ekg is iffy. but this year went ok. your best bet might be to live in a town that has studies, so you can screen often, and do soing else that leaves you flexibility to do studies now and then.
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Post by carmel on Nov 17, 2012 0:02:18 GMT -5
thanks carmel I know what you're talking about. Its too frustrating to try to make a living doing it, at least for me... One thing that came to mind is the brand of supplements. One thing I never used to really look at is the ingredients in these supplements. You know, like, it'll say magnesium stearate, gelatin, cellulose, etc. I've been reading lately that you want to avoid these.. especially that first one I listed. They're trying to even ban that. You can get Milk Thistle without any of these ingredients (they're really called binders and fillers) from Genesis Today. All their supplements are filler/binder free. They do come at a price, though. It's the old adage here; you get what you pay for. And that is most likely true with supplements. Although I really don't think you need one of those expensive Multivitamins that you take 7 times a day. However, I think with Milk Thistle and some other stuff perhaps it is necessary. Might be worth checking into.
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