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.
This just in: Tylenol aka acetaminophen has destroyed more livers than every other drug and natural supplement combined
Kidneys also.
A friend is an intensive care physician.
He says suicide by Tylenol overdose is one of the worst ways to go.
He also said being eaten by crocodiles would be quicker and less painful.
Now you not only gotta get into that pit first, you gotta get eaten first! When you land in front of your croc and he opens up his mouth, I wanna see you right in there! Rub your head up against his taste buds! And when those teeth bite into your flesh, use the purchase to thrust yourself down his throat!
Tylenol would never be approved today by the FDA.
But the FDA does not go back and remove products they approve but are found later to be harmful.....like opioids.
Have known for many decades that acetaminophen is hepatotoxic. Thus, have taken not more than 8 Tylenol pills or their equivalents in 40+ years. Unfortunately, most folks don't realize there is APAP in many over-the-counter (OTC) preparations. Read the labels.
1200-1500 mg. NAC daily. Is a natural liver defence. It is used intravenously in emergency rooms for Acetaminophen overdose. Great supplement for many reasons.
I was going to say the same thing! Tylenol is so toxic it is the number one choice for suicides who want the job done quickly.
Water will kill you if you drink too much.
What a joke article.
Neither would aspirin according to my pharmacist.
They use NAC in large doses, he did say that.
if we indulge too much.
That’s why I flush my liver with whiskey after taking these supplements.
You basically have to choose your poison.
So as not to build up tolerance to any particular medicinal, I alternate among bourbon, Irish whisky, and scotch.
I have been told that I have fatty liver....so doing low carb ,not drinking alcohol ex rarely and of course no tylenol...I try not to use too many ANTI INFLAMMATORIES..VERY HARD ON YOUR KIDNEYS.
or the other kind...
Brought to you by your friends at Pfizer.
I take NAC, Berberine, l-aginine, D (w/K2) and Centrum. 2 years without illness even being exposed to Covid. Bloodwork is stellar. Berberine brought down my cholesterol to normal.I eat moderately healthy. Free weights 3x a week. 68 years young.
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