Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Daily Detox- The Power to Cleanse your Cells Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Anyone who knows me can tell you how much I like Invite Health powders! In this blog I will be talking about one of my absolute favorites, Daily Detox powder! This powder is …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~SOCIAL LIFE By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT Many people don’t think of having a social life as being part of a healthy lifestyle. I didn’t either for a long time. However, like many of us, my mind was …
Deep Dive into Fatty Liver Disease: NAFLD and NASH
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
One of the most common concerns that people call about is fatty liver. Since NASH is a progression, or worsening of NAFLD I wanted to talk about them both in one blog. To start at the very beginning what even is NAFLD? Well it stands for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. As the name implies this is a type of liver disease that occurs in people who drink little to no alcohol. Basically what happens in this situation is that too much fat begins to build up in the liver. Over time as the fat begins to accumulate it cause’s the liver cells to swell and become damaged. As the disease progress’s it progress to NASH, this stands for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. So to sum things up for you NAFLD and NASH are both conditions where excess fat accumulates in the liver. NAFLD does not involve liver damage but can progress to NASH which does involve liver damage. (1) Please see the attached picture. (2)
How you are normally diagnosed with NAFLD? Well there are some blood tests that can rule out other diseases as well as determine if any liver damage is present. These tests can include a CBC (complete blood count), iron studies, liver enzyme and liver function tests. Other tests can include testing for hepatitis A, C and others. It is also important to test for celiac, fasting blood sugar (Including HA1C) and a lipid profile. In addition to blood work there are a number of imaging tests that can be done. These include abdominal ultrasound, MRI, CT scan, transient elastography and magnetic resonance elastography. Lastly depending on the results of other tests your doctor may recommend a liver biopsy. (3)
What are the symptoms of NAFLD and/or NASH? Well as the disease progress’s your symptoms will also become more severe. To start you may experience fatigue. You may just “not feel good” or have a feeling of malaise. Lastly there may be pain in the upper belly area. As the disease progresses to NASH and even eventually cirrhosis symptoms will also progress. You will start to notice itchy skin, red palms and even yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). You may notice abdominal swelling (ascites) and swelling in your legs. You may experience shortness of breath. Spider veins may also develop. There may be enlargement of the spleen. (1) In addition to these symptoms there maybe rapid weight loss. (4)
Now moving on what are the risk factors for fatty liver? While the exact reason that some people develop fatty liver is not well understand there are some known risk factors. For example both NAFLD and NASH are linked to genetics, and being overweight or obese. Having insulin resistance, diabetes and high cholesterol all increase your risk. Other risk factors include metabolic syndrome, PCOS, sleep apnea and either hypothyroidism and/or hypopituitarism. Growth hormone deficiency can also increase risk. Lastly being over 50 can increase risk of NASH. (1)
Fatty liver can have severe complications. Let’s start with some of the more serious complications of NASH. Approximately 1 in 5 people with NASH will develop cirrhosis. Additionally 1 in 8 with NASH and cirrhosis will develop liver cancer. NASH is also the leading cause of liver transplants in women and the 2nd leading cause in men. NAH may shorten life expectancy. (5) Other complications can include swollen veins in the esophagus, which can rupture and bleed. You may have hepatic encephalopathy which presents as confusion, sleepiness and slurred speech. Your spleen may become overactive which can lead to a reduction in platelets. Lastly as previously stated you may develop ascites. (1)
How to reduce fatty liver?
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Glutathione-The Antioxidant for Liver Health Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Glutathione drips or in other words IV glutathione is a well-known treatment in holistic medicine. However many people are afraid of needles. Invite Health’s Glutathione Lozenges are an easy to use form of glutathione. You may …
Liver Function Tests Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND The Liver Basics! As an Invite health nutritionist one of the most important parts of my job is to help people understand their blood work. In general I find that when it comes to blood work liver …
From a Naturopathic Point of View Part 4
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
The importance of western and holistic medicine working together!
One of the key pathways to helping people become healthy is learning how to balance both western and holistic medicine. These 2 ways of looking at health are not, nor should they ever be considered to be enemies. Sometimes they may look at situations differently but that doesn’t mean they can’t work together. As a naturopath I see the 2 working together like your left and right hand.
I wrote a blog in this series about why it is important to be in control of certain chronic diseases. In some situations this may mean that in addition to supplements medications may be required to help prevent dangerous complications. For example high blood pressure. Any reading over 180/120 requires immediate attention since it is considered to be a “hypertensive crisis”. One way this is managed is with blood pressure medications. (1) Now I know it can be intimidating to start a new medicine. However in some cases it may be important to prevent dangerous complications. Depending on the type of medications that are used certain supplements may be helpful. I’ll be reviewing a few supplements that are generally helpful for blood pressure at the end of this blog. However, it’s always helpful to speak to a nutritionist and make sure the supplements are the ones that would work best with any medications that you may be taking. Just like with blood pressure having abnormal cholesterol can also have complications. Just like with blood pressure sometimes medications can be needed to help bring levels down to safer levels. Remember you can always seek out a second opinion. (2) Just like with blood pressure I’ll be reviewing some supplements that can be helpful for cholesterol.
In addition to medications sometimes surgeries may be needed for best results. A prime example of this would be joint pain. While in my clinical experience joint pain can be greatly helped with supplements once the joint is “bone on bone” there is little that we do to help with supplements. At that point it can be critical to follow up with your doctor or even get a second opinion. (3) A personal experience with this is in regards to a customer who was in severe pain due to a joint that needed to be replaced. Her doctor indicated that if she didn’t replace the joint she would end up in a wheelchair. After talking with me about a post-surgical protocol she bravely underwent the procedure. Just 2 months after the procedure when she followed up with me it was to let me know that between the surgery and the supplements she felt better than she had felt in years. I was very happy for her.
I want to wrap this up by saying sometimes medications are important to save your life. Years ago I received a call from someone who was bitten by a dog. By their descriptions the bite sounded as though it was likely to be infected. I told them to go to the ER. Over a month later they called me back. They had a severe infection and according to their reports “almost died” and they needed strong antibiotics. In other case’s people will call with questions about situations such as a UTI. This is a great way to work with both holistic and western medicine. Treating a UTI with both western and holistic medicine can help reduce the risk of complications. (4)
Overall as a Naturopath I feel that both holistic and western medicine work best together.
High blood pressure:
Cholesterol helpers!
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