Posted on 08/07/2024 9:12:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
From turmeric to green tea, many botanicals we commonly use as herbal remedies pose a threat to our liver if we indulge too much.
A new survey from the University of Michigan estimates up to 18.6 million people in the US make use of at least one of these herbal remedies with liver-damaging potential.
When used in moderation, herbs like green tea and other plant-based supplements can provide us with benefits. In concentrated forms, such as capsules, it's easier to overdose on them. Hospitalizations due to herbally-induced liver problems are increasing globally.
"The safety and efficacy of herbal and dietary supplements are not well established due to the lack of regulatory requirements by the US Food and Drug Administration for human pharmacokinetic or prospective clinical trials prior to marketing," hepatologist Alisa Likhitsup and colleagues warn in their paper.
Using data on 9,685 people enrolled in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the researchers found the six most commonly consumed herbal products are typically used to treat conditions such as high cholesterol, depression, and pain, and are also often implicated in livery injury.
Rates of drug induced liver injury from these supplements nearly tripled around 20 years ago, from 7 percent in 2004 to 20 percent by 2014.
"The most commonly implicated botanical products … include turmeric, kratom, green tea extract, and Garcinia cambogia, with potentially severe and even fatal liver injury," Likhitsup and team explain.
Liver injury can be hard to diagnose until it becomes severe. Symptoms include feeling tired, having a low appetite and losing weight. Critical damage prevents the liver from processing red-orange bilirubin properly, leading to a buildup that is visible in the skin as a yellow hue.
Use of herbal supplements is more common in people with chronic medical conditions including arthritis and diabetes, the researchers found. These people also tend to be older and have higher levels of education and incomes than those who don't use these supplements.
"Turmeric-containing products were most commonly used for joint health or arthritis due to the widespread belief that turmeric may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties," Likhitsup and colleagues write. "However, multiple randomized clinical trials have failed to demonstrate any efficacy of turmeric-containing products in osteoarthritis."
It's the same for the other supplements. Despite a lot of media attention, clinical research has found the small South Asian fruit Garcinia cambogia has no significant impact on weight, nor does green tea extract.
What's more, spectroscopic analysis in a 2019 study revealed what is advertised on the label of these herbal supplements does not always match their actual contents.
In general it is safest to obtain suitable amounts of nutrients through a healthy diet, and only use supplements when recommended as treatment for a diagnosed deficiency.
However, if you do decide to try herbal supplements it is critical to keep your doctor informed, so that if anything does go wrong they know how to help.
This research has been published in JAMA Network Open.
So what? We got two livers for a reason, a main one and a backup.
https://zoonerdy.com/which-animal-possesses-two-livers/
The Myth of Two Livers
There is a common myth that some animals, particularly cows, possess two distinct livers. While this idea has been perpetuated in various cultures and folklore traditions, it is entirely untrue. In reality, cows, like all mammals, have a single liver that is divided into four lobes. This misconception likely arose due to the fact that the liver is the largest internal organ in many animals, and may appear to be multiple organs when viewed from certain angles.
The Truth: Animals with Two-Lobed Livers
While true examples of animals with two distinct livers are rare, there are some species that have a divided liver structure. One such example is the platypus, which has a two-lobed liver that is divided down the center. This structure is believed to aid in the digestion of the platypus’ unique diet of worms and other small aquatic creatures. Similarly, some species of marsupials, such as kangaroos and wallabies, have a liver that is divided into two distinct lobes.
Doctor prescribed drugs third leading cause of death in usa
What I noticed is there is no attempt to determine if the damage is DUE to taking supplements, or because people experiencing problems are more likely to TAKE supplements.
Seems that makes the entire article worthless.
It may be the equivalent of saying wet roads cause rain...
The article reads like a big-pharma hit piece on their competition. Herbals have been around for a long, long time. If the potential was as big as they say, we would have seen it by now.
You are correct. If dosed correctly it is a very safe drug. It is metabolized in the liver quite safely via combining with glucoronide and then excreted in the bile. However, in high doses all the glucoronide is used up and it then undergoes a different metabolic pathway which forms a free radical. The free radical is extremely reactive with the liver cells and kills them. Take a bunch of tylenol and it will kill you unless you get very prompt treatment, hours not days for the treatment.
The limit on the container is, I think, 2. If you take 3 Tylenol at once you are asking for trouble.
In fact, you should take every multiple medication with pauses between the pills. They do things in bunches that they wouldn’t do alone. My amateur but experienced advice, anyway.
In other words blah, blah, blah!.🙄
👍
My NAC contains quercetin for absorption. I also take a C/D/zinc combo.
That is fine... check my last post on quercetin. Fantastic product though use it correctly.
All my herb has been tested to insure quality via state regulations thank you
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