Tag: liver

A bit about Hemochromatosis

Todays post is about a condition called Hemochromatosis. A topic I was discussing recently with a colleague.

Interestingly, this condition is usually considered a blood disorder, however it seems a little more complicated than that.

So what is Hemochromatosis?

Also known as Inherited Iron Overload Disorder, is caused by gene mutations.
This means that usually hemochromatosis is hereditary. There are however, some cases where the condition can be a result of another illness.
Only a small number of people who have the gene mutation develop serious problems.

Our body has specific genes that regulate the absorption, transport and storage of iron. The mutated genes impair the intestines control of the absorption of iron from foods during digestion. They alter the distribution of the iron to other parts of the body. As a result, the amount of total body iron is increased.

Because the human body cannot increase the excretion of iron, the iron accumulates. Too much iron can be toxic and over time the buildup causes damage. The liver, heart, pancreas, endocrine glands, and joints are the organs most affected.

What are the symptoms?

Hereditary hemochromatosis is actually present at birth, however some people with the condition never have symptoms. Many early signs and symptoms often overlap with those of other common conditions.

Most people don’t experience signs and symptoms until later in life. Usually after the age of 40 in men and after age 60 in women. Women are more likely to develop symptoms after menopause. This is because they no longer lose iron with menstruation and pregnancy.

Early symptoms of the condition may include extreme tiredness and fatigue, joint pain, abdominal pain, weight loss, and loss of sex drive. As the condition worsens, affected individuals may develop arthritis, liver disease (cirrhosis) or liver cancer, diabetes, heart abnormalities, or skin discolouration.

Environmental and lifestyle factors such as the amount of iron in the diet, alcohol use, and other illnesses can affect the severity of the symptoms.

How is it treated?

Doctors diagnose hemochromatosis based on blood tests to check levels of iron and certain proteins in the blood. Followed by checks for gene mutations that commonly cause hemochromatosis. In some cases, doctors may also use a liver biopsy to confirm iron overload is present.

Treatment includes regularly removing blood from your body. Because much of the body’s iron is contained in the red blood cells, this treatment lowers iron levels.

The amount of blood removed and how often it’s removed depend on several factors. A persons age, overall health and the severity of iron overload all have an impact.

Dietary changes are also recommended to reduce iron intake. Within our diet we consume two types of iron: heme iron, which is contained in meat and non-heme iron, which is contained in plants and supplements. Heme iron is the most easily absorbed, whereas non-heme is absorbed less well.
Calcium is the only known substance that can impair the absorption of both heme and non-heme iron. Whereas eggs, fibre and the tannins found in coffee, tea and chocolate impair absorption of non-heme iron.

Recommended dietary changes can include:

  •  avoiding supplements that contain iron and vitamin C
  •  reducing iron-rich and iron-fortified foods
  •  reduce red meat intake
  •  alcohol intake,
  •  avoiding uncooked fish and shellfish

If you’re concerned about your iron levels, reach out to your doctor and start with a blood test.

I hope that you found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Sources – U.S. National Library of Medicine,
Mayo Clinic, Davidson’s Principles & Practice of Medicine,
Haemochromatosis AustraliaOu-

Alcohol and the body.

Todays post is about how our body, or more specifically the liver, deals with alcohol.

Many of us indulge in an alcoholic beverage on a regular basis. Some people indulge more regularly and in greater quantities than others. Most of us know the basics of what happens in our bodies when we drink alcohol.

Scott has recently covered this subject in his studies and I thought it was interesting. I decided to learn more details and share this information.

How the alcohol is initially absorbed.

Alcohol absorption begins in the stomach. However, it is absorbed much more rapidly in the small intestine due to the larger surface area. So, the longer the alcohol remains in the stomach, the slower the rise in the blood alcohol level. Fatty acids slow down the movement of food through the stomach. Therefore the consumption of foods higher in fats will slow the rise of blood alcohol. This will also give time for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) to start breaking down the alcohol.

Alcohol dehydrogenase is our primary defence against alcohol, a toxic molecule that compromises the function of our nervous system. The high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase in our liver and stomach detoxify about one drink (10grams of alcohol) each hour.

Once the alcohol enters the blood stream, it goes directly from the digestive tract to the liver.

The science

In the liver there is more alcohol dehydrogenase to break down ethanol in the blood. The alcohol dehydrogenase breaks alcohol down into another compound, acetaldehyde. Next, another enzyme, called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) breaks it down further into acetate, another metabolite.

This can then be converted to Acetyl coenzyme A, (acetyl-CoA), an important molecule used in metabolic processes. It is primarily used by the body for energy production and is an essential component in balancing carbohydrate and fat metabolism

 What does this mean?

On those occasions when we consume alcoholic beverages while eating pizza and deep fried foods, followed by cake and ice cream, the body deals with the alcohol first.

This is because the liver recognises the alcohol as the most toxic substance in the body at the time.

So while the liver is dealing with the alcohol, the fats and sugars are getting pushed into the blood stream to wait. This also means that the liver will first break down the alcoholic beverage into its main components and then dealing with the alcohol first.

The liver requires certain essential nutrients from the body to do its job. It also works through the toxins in 2 phases. If there are not enough nutrients available for the liver to do its job, this causes the by-products to hang around for a lot longer in between the phases. This can then cause other issues.

 Supporting the liver

It is possible to provide support to the liver so that it can metabolise alcohol more effectively, therefore reducing long-term damage.

The 2 phases of detoxification require different nutrients.

Phase 1 requires B group vitamins, Folic acid, Glutathione, Antioxidants, Carotenoids, vitamins E and vitamin C.

Phase 2 requires Amino Acids (Glutamine, Glycine, Taurine & Cystine) and sulphurated phytochemicals found in garlic and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage & Brussels sprouts)

There are also certain compounds available that may be helpful.

  • Grape seed extract is a well-known antioxidant that assists liver function.
  • Grapefruit seed extract increases gastric protection
  • Vitamin C
  • Zinc
  • Curcumin (found in Turmeric)

Current Australian health guidelines state “For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.” (NHMRC 2009) Sources – Principles of Anatomy & Physiology by Gerard J Totora/Bryan Derrickson, https://en.wikipedia.org, https://pdb101.rcsb.org

With this in mind, a good diet consisting of whole, unprocessed foods goes a long way in supporting the liver. Many of the nutrients essential for optimal liver function are found in fresh fruit and vegetables.

I hope you found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

Some information about Pain

Today I’m writing about ‘pain’.

We all deal with some type of pain in our daily lives. Some of us have more to deal with than others. I have had conversations with several people about pain and pain management over the past week, which got me thinking about it.

Pain is complicated for lots of reasons. For one thing, there are many different types — a muscle ache is very different from a pinch or a burn. Plus, some people are more sensitive to pain than others.

 Pain is a survival mechanism that protects us.

When you touch a hot stove, you recoil in pain. That sensation helps you avoid getting a burn that could be dangerous. The throbbing of a broken foot tells you to stay off it until it heals, so you don’t do more damage. Without those signals, we’d all be in trouble.

Some pain is straightforward. When you burn your skin, pull a muscle or break a bone, you feel immediate discomfort. This short-term effect is called acute pain. Other pain can last months or years and is called chronic pain.

 How does our body deal with pain?

Pain is a kind of perception, similar to smelling, tasting and hearing. In simple terms when you suffer an injury, your nervous system is in charge of delivering the news. If you twist your ankle, nerve cells in your ankle pick up the signal that something’s wrong. A network of nerve cells relays this message to the spinal cord. From there, it shoots up to the brain. The brain then translates the message and registers the feeling.

At the place where pain starts, the body creates and releases several chemicals. These chemicals tell the body to send more blood flowing to the painful area. The extra blood flowing to the area includes white blood cells. These white blood cells bring prostaglandin, which creates inflammation and increases the painful feeling.

Inflammation is one way that the body responds to cellular injury. Beyond pain, it often triggers swelling, redness and heat. The nerves themselves represent a second source of pain.

 Treatment

Unfortunately, treatment is complex and uniquely personal. Diagnosis, biology and personal history all play a role, and finding pain therapies that bring adequate relief can be an effort.

Obviously the best way to treat pain is to eliminate the cause and this is not always possible. Many people have to rely on medications to help them manage their pain.

Different types of medication work in different ways. However, in short, pain medicine is used to block the processes that cause the feeling of pain. They don’t fix the problem; they just short-circuit the communication to the brain.

The most commonly prescribed medications for pain management include two categories of drugs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen and opioids, such as codeine or morphine.

*NSAIDs stop your body from making prostaglandins and inhibit certain enzymes in your body that are released during tissue damage. This reduces the inflammation as well as the communication to the brain.

*Opioid medications, just like real opium, mimic the natural pain-relieving chemicals — endorphins — produced by your brain. These drugs “turn down the volume” on the pain signals your nervous system sends through your body. They also muffle other nerve cell functions, such as your breathing, heart rate and level of alertness.

 The other side of treatment

After a medicine has been distributed throughout the body and has done its job, the drug is then metabolised.

Many types of medication can cause serious side effects. Opioids can cause addiction, especially if used over a longer period of time. NSAIDs can lead to stomach ulcers and damage to the kidneys.

Everything that enters the bloodstream — whether swallowed, injected, inhaled or absorbed through the skin — is carried to the body’s chemical processing plant, the liver.

The liver’s job is to then detoxify these medications and remove the byproducts resulting from the process of metabolism. In many cases, the liver is able to metabolise these (and other toxins) without significant damage to the organ itself.

However, when medications are taken in excess, the frequency of use is hourly or daily, or when multiple substances (including alcohol) are consumed simultaneously – there can be significant, cumulative damage to the liver.

For these reasons, people often turn to complementary or alternative medicine to ease their pain.

This is of course a whole other article, maybe the next post.

Till then,

 Live clean n Prosper.

(Sources – www.medicalnewstoday.com, www.livescience.com, www.mayoclinic.org, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org )