Best Vitamins for Liver Repair

Liver disease from the over-consumption of alcohol remains a large problem in the UK and worldwide.

There are many ways to help your liver but which vitamins are best for liver repair? It depends on what stage and the damage done to your liver from alcohol.

There are four stages of alcoholic liver disease (ALD): steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and combined steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. All but the latter stages (End-stage Liver disease – ESLD) are reversible. 

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One of the most common symptoms of alcoholism is the build-up of fat cells in the liver. A fatty liver can cause all kinds of health complications. These include loss of appetite, yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice), swelling in the ankles and tummy, confusion, drowsiness or nausea. Any one of these can be debilitating for anyone. If you are consuming alcohol regularly and have one or more of the above symptoms, you may have a build-up of fatty cells in your liver. This is called steatosis.

Below is a summary of the foods and vitamins that can help your liver and how they can help you recover from drinking too much alcohol. 

Vitamins for Liver Detox

Drinking too much drains our bodies of vital resources and impacts our mental health. If you are looking for a more natural way to detox from alcohol, vitamins and supplements can help with many aspects including liver problems.

A great deal of liver damage is due to the cells and molecules. Free radicals are molecules missing an electron that take electrons from other cells in body parts like the liver. Drinking alcohol even at medium levels can cause a rise in free radicals in the body. This is one of the main causes of liver damage outside of the toxins themselves. There are many vitamins and supplements we can take in addition to a healthy diet that will help with this issue.

While supplements for liver repair are great support, the most important thing is to cut down or stop drinking.

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MCT oil

Steatosis is treatable, and one of the natural treatments to break down the fat cells in the Liver is MCT oil (medium-chain triglyceride). There are many benefits to the body in processing MCT, the most relevant being the breakdown of fatty cells within the liver.

MCT oil is most commonly found in coconut oil, cow, goat and sheep milk. If you don’t like the MCT foods listed above, thankfully, you do not have to rely on foods with medium-chain triglycerides to include them. You can still get them in your diet by using medium-chain triglycerides supplements. 

One of those supplements that you can get is Desistal. Desistal has 250mg of MCT oil powder in each capsule. 

Now, how does MCT go about breaking down your fatty cells in the liver? Well, your body absorbs MCTs more rapidly than long-chain triglycerides (LCTs), which contain more carbons in their fatty acid chains. Due to their shorter chain length, MCTs travel more quickly from the gut to your liver and do not require bile to break down as longer-chain fats do.

This means that instead of fatty cells building up in your liver, the fats are broken down to be either used as fuel or stored as body fat. Since MCTs easily enter your cells without breaking down, they can be used as an immediate energy source. 

So there you are. MCT will break down any stored fat cells and transform them into energy that you can use. This process can be the beginning of the end of steatosis. 

Milk Thistle

Studies show that some of the components of milk thistle can help with repairing your liver. A substance called silymarin helps protect your liver from liver-damaging toxins. It also reduces inflammation and helps the liver to regrow in parts after being damaged.

It repairs liver damage to the cells from both alcohol and disease. It helps in liver function as well as repair and protection. Silymarin protects the liver from toxins and other free radical elements by stopping them from getting onto the cell to do damage.

Bacopa monnieri

Bacopa monnieri, also known as the ‘herb of grace’, is a plant used for medicinal purposes for centuries. 

Research shows that it may boost brain function and alleviate anxiety and stress (a class of powerful compounds called bacosides in Bacopa monnieri is believed to be responsible for these benefits). A boost in brain function and less anxiety and stress could be just what you need when recovering from high alcohol consumption.

Here are some of the benefits linked with Bacopa Monnieri –

1. Contains powerful antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that can help protect against cell damage caused by potentially harmful molecules called free radicals. Research suggests that damage is from by free radicals, which cause many chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. And so, by consuming Bacopa monnieri regularly through the Desistal supplement, you could encourage extensive molecular repair in conjunction with your alcohol recovery. 

2. May reduce inflammation

Inflammation is a response from your body that helps fight and heal the effects of liver disease.

There are signs that Bacopa monnieri could reduce oxidative stress, which is a contributing factor in developing liver disease.

In test-tube studies, Bacopa monnieri appears to suppress the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are small proteins crucial in controlling the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells. 

In other words, Bacopa may stop an inflammatory response before it starts. 

3. May help lower blood pressure

High blood pressure is a serious health concern, as it strains your heart and blood vessels. This can encourage the heart to grow weak, eventually causing heart disease. 

A study revealed that Bacopa monnieri significantly lowered blood pressure levels in rats that had elevated levels, but it had no effect in rats that had normal blood pressure levels. 

It is clear that bacopa is showing signs of having an effect in lowering high blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure is a process that requires perseverance, and this is critical in your recovery from high alcohol consumption.

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Acetate in Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a staple in many a household. This may be down to the taste, or it could be the endless health benefits of this eye-watering fluid. But one aspect of apple cider vinegar is more relevant to the recovery of alcoholism than any other. 

That is Acetate. Acetate is the main ingredient found in ACV, and it can help with wound healing and inflammation, which helps support a liver damaged by alcohol. 

It is important to know that when treating steatosis, it can be detrimental to your liver’s recovery if your body is deficient in vitamin E. Fortunately, Vitamin E can be found in apple cider vinegar. 

Beetroot Juice B6 Vitamin

It may not sound appetising to most, but beetroot juice is one of the best ways to consume enough beetroot to help your liver. With antioxidants, it can reduce oxidative stress, a cause of inflammation in the liver from drinking too much.

Beets also contain B6 vitamins, which reduce hepatic fat accumulation in the liver. B3 is not easy to produce when the liver is strained by alcohol consumption. Replacing it through vitamins or high-strength foods like beetroot juice. can restore this important nutrient to your body. Studies show this liver-caused deficiency can contribute to depression, anaemia and fatigue.

Liver Repair Vitamin Sources

Liver health is one of the main reasons many people want to cut down on drinking. A healthy diet and plenty of water are essential. Exercise helps too by improving fatty liver disease. More help is available in the form of vitamins to repair your liver and support general liver health. Desistal supplements contain three of the main ingredients for liver support Bacopa Monnieri, Apple Cider Vinegar and MCT Oil. This is a supplement specifically developed for those detoxing from alcohol, both those cutting down and stopping completely.

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6668865/ Alcohol, Oxidative Stress, and Free Radical Damage

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21466434/ Silymarin in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases and primary liver cancer