Treating Hepatitis Naturally – (and other liver damage)

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver – usually caused by a viral infection. Symptoms include – lethargy and fatigue, abdominal pain and/or tenderness, abdominal swelling, jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and elevated liver enzymes.

Common types are Hepatitis A – an acute condition – which is spread through contamination of the food supply such as raw oysters or contact with an infected patient. Hepatitis B – an acute or chronic condition – spread through IV or sexual contact. Some people infected with “Hep B” may never know they have been infected but become carriers. Hepatitis C is a generally a chronic viral infection of the liver though there may be a mild acute illness which generally passes unnoticed. People with “Hep C” may not notice that they are infected for months or even years after the initial infection meanwhile liver damage has continued to progress. There are other types of Hepatitis (D, E, and Non A-Non B) which are not common in North America but are generally similar to A, B, or C.

Medical Treatment of Hepatitis A is generally not necessary. The patient will be very ill for several weeks and may require the same type of care that a person with the flu would require but this will usually be accomplished by bed rest at home. If a person has been exposed to Hepatitis A, an intramuscular injection of Gamma Globulin may be given to help prevent infection.
Traditional medical treatment of acute Hepatitis B generally will be the same as Hepatitis A. Chronic infection of Hepatitis B may develop and will be treated similarly to Hepatitis C listed below though the antiviral portion may be different. An exposure to Hepatitis B may be treated with Hepatitis B Immune Globulin, but must be given within 24 hours of exposure. A vaccine against Hepatitis B is widely available and required for children in most areas.

Traditional medical treatment of Hepatitis C will generally take months or years and includes a strong antiviral medications such as Ribavirin along with an immune activator such as injections of Alpha Interferon (Intron-A or Pegintron) administered 3 times weekly. Interferon treatment is particularly unpleasant as it induces a flu-like state for 24 to 36 hours after the injection meaning that the patient will feel like they have a severe case of the flu for at least 3 days each week. It also may cause hair loss, chronic fatigue, insomnia, headache, joint and muscle aches, depression and extreme loss of appetite leading to significant weight loss. Most interferon users will have to supplement their diet with Ensure or other nutritional beverages because they cannot force themselves to eat and lose weight and muscle mass. In short, traditional treatment is extremely unpleasant and not entirely effective. Traditional treatment is very expensive and many insurance policies will not cover or only provide partial coverage leaving the patient unable to pay the balance. Other patients simply cannot tolerate the side effects and will choose to go untreated. Untreated Hepatitis C can progress to cirrhosis, fatty liver, liver failure and death. Untreated Hepatitis C patients also have a much higher incidence of development of Liver Cancer which is quite often fatal.

There is an alternative to traditional treatment which works very well for Acute and Chronic Hepatitis including “Hep C” and chronic liver damage caused by other conditions such as excessive alcohol consumption or liver damage caused by drugs of various types and other previous liver infections such as acute hepatitis (Hep A or Hep B).

THERE IS ANOTHER WAY
The alternative treatment involves a daily dose of natural supplements including herbs and amino acids which are protective and healing to the liver and dietary restrictions some of which may be temporary. Many patients find that the natural treatment will return their liver enzymes to normal or near normal levels even without traditional medical treatment. In essence – they will be cured, where traditional treatment failed. There are few, if any side effects to these therapies. One thing is certain however, a traditional physician – an MD treating liver conditions will most likely NOT sanction this therapy and the patient is on his own for research and treatment. In addition, insurance will NOT cover the supplements but the results are worth the money – both in savings over traditional medical costs and increased quality and length of life allowing the patient to return to normal activities – including work.

I am an advocate of this method simply because I have seen it work. I have seen it work when interferon was too painful, when interferon was too expensive and when interferon did not work.

The supplements absolutely necessary are:

• Milk Thistle Extract (Silymarin) – 200-400mg three times daily aids in healing and rebuilding the liver – has been shown to cure liver cancer in rats
• Glutathione 500mg twice daily – liver protectant to avoid additional damage while repair is conducted
• N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) – precursor to glutathione – immune enhancer – eliminates free radicals, helps the body neutralize and eliminate heavy metals and other toxins by chelation – should be taken with Vitamin C
• Vitamin C – eliminates free radicals, aids in removal of chelated metals and toxins shown above
• L-Methionine 500mg twice daily – detoxifies liver – prevents breakdown of glutathione
• L-Cysteine 500mg twice daily – detoxifies liver – prevents breakdown of glutathione
• Coenzyme Q – 60mg daily – eliminates free radicals, enhances immune function and tissue oxygenation

Also helpful particularly in first weeks of treatment –

• Free Form Amino Acid Complex – supplies necessary protein in immediately usable components to take strain off the liver while repair is conducted
• Raw Liver Extract or Dessicated Liver – promotes liver function by providing liver tissue constituents through diet to help rebuild liver
• Essential Fatty Acids from sources such as Fish, Omega 3 type supplements, primrose oil, shark liver oil – combats inflammation of the liver and lowers serum cholesterol which can be damaging to liver
• Lecithin – protects liver and mobilizes fat – aiding in preventing fatty liver
• Multivitamin complex
• B Complex (do not take more than 100mg niacin – B3 daily) – essential for liver functioning
• Calcium and Magnesium – essential for blood clotting factors which may be depleted in liver disease
• Maitake, shiitake, reishi mushrooms – antiviral effect
• Green and Black teas may decrease bilirubin levels – lowering jaundice effect

other recommendations for initial treatment – particularly in first weeks of treatment

• Eat raw vegetable and fruit diet when possible
• Consume no alcohol, acetominophen or other medications/drugs that affect the liver 
• Avoid fats, sugar, highly processed foods, raw fish, raw shell fish, animal protein (especially red meats)
• Drink plenty of water
• Spend some time in the sun (helps eliminate yellow skin which is caused by excess bilirubin, a by product of the liver)

After the first weeks of treatment – the patient will likely feel significantly better and modifications can be made such as decreasing supplements to once daily and slowly adding other foods into diet.

There are no guarantees that this will work and the patient will likely have to be on some supplementation forever but I personally have seen this essentially cure patients who were severely debilitated by either the disease or the treatment or both. Several patients were given terminal prognoses and have basically cured themselves….