Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (93 page)

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, at least 250 mg of vitamin C, and at least 15 mg of zinc.

Take an antioxidant supplement.
In addition to a good multivitamin with minerals, it would be wise to take additional antioxidants. These can be found in a combination supplement and may include mixed carotenoids, selenium, vitamin E, vitamin C, N-acetyl cysteine, lipoic acid, and more. Or you could use what are known as powdered greens or reds. These products typically contain dehydrated green vegetables and grasses or red and orange fruits and vegetables. It’s a quick way to get a ton of antioxidants and vegetables in one swoop.

Try lipoic acid.
Lipoic acid is a strong antioxidant and has been shown to be liver protective in mushroom and chemical poisoning. In studies with chemically induced hepatitis, lipoic acid has been shown to be effective in treatment. Take 200 to 300 mg twice daily.

Try S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe).
In one study, 220 patients with liver disease were given 1,600 mg of SAMe daily. Sixty-eight percent had cirrhosis, 6 percent had biliary cirrhosis, and 26 percent had hepatitis. A reduction of symptoms of itching and fatigue were noted along with an improved sense of well-being.

Try sho-saiko-to.
Sho-saiko-to, also called TJ-9, is a Chinese remedy that contains bupleurum and six other herbs. It is being extensively used in Japan for people with hepatitis and cirrhosis and to prevent the development of liver cancer. Take 2.5 grams three times daily.
It should not be used in combination with interferon therapy
.

Try milk thistle or Silybum marianum (silymarin).
Milk thistle has long been used for all liver disease. It appears to retard progression of cirrhosis primarily through its antioxidant effects. Animal research has been consistent in its results; human research has been less so. Still, there is little or no risk and the
possibility of great benefit. Take 420 mg daily. Look for a product that has been standardized for silymarin content. A company that has done that will clearly label it on the bottle.

Take zinc.
People with cirrhosis often have a zinc deficiency. Get your red blood cell zinc level checked. If it’s low, take 50 to 75 mg of zinc daily.

Drink Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis).
Rooibos tea is also called red tea and is a relatively new food product. It offers a delicious caffeine-free alternative for tea drinkers. Research was done in rats, but I was delighted to see that, at least in this initial report, it showed a regression of liver damage and cirrhosis and a lowering of liver enzymes (ALT and AST). The researchers consider it to be a useful plant for patients with liver disease. It contains small amounts of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, and potassium. Other studies show it to have antioxidant effects. For dosage, I recommend that you drink as much as you like.

Drink green tea.
There isn’t much research here, only one rat study. But at least in rats green tea extract protected against liver damage when they were exposed to carbon tetrachloride, a known liver toxin. Green tea catechins are known to be protective and provide antioxidants. Drink green tea or take green tea extract.

The pancreas has two main functions in the body. The first is digestive (exocrine function): to produce digestive enzymes to break down fat, carbohydrate, and protein; and bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid once the food moves from the stomach to the duodenum. The second function of the pancreas (endocrine function) is production of insulin and glucagon to regulate blood sugar levels. Insulin tells your body to store glucose as glycogen; glucagon tells your body to raise blood glucose levels, turning glycogen back into glucose.

The main health problems with the pancreas are insufficiency of enzymes, acute or chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is no longer able to produce insulin. Many people with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance, which can overwhelm the pancreas so that it stops producing enough insulin. Some of the medications used in type 2 diabetes can also affect the beta cells so that they stop producing insulin.

If you have pancreatitis, you will have elevated serum lipase and amylase levels. To assess pancreatic insufficiency, stool testing for pancreatic elastase or chymotrypsin is used. You will often see levels of pancreatic elastase that are less than 400 mcg/g, which indicates pancreatic insufficiency. If pancreatic elastase levels are less than 200, pancreatic insufficiency may be a lifelong issue. For chymotrypsin, the lowest normal value is 100 or 72 mcg, depending on the study. Low chymotrypsin levels were found in people with celiac disease, psoriasis, and gastric surgery. Pancreatic elastase is not affected when you take digestive enzymes; chymotrypsin is.

If your pancreas cannot secrete enough enzymes, you have pancreatic insufficiency. While in conventional medical terms pancreatic insufficiency is rare, for those of us working in integrative health we see it all the time. How would you know?