Fatty Liver and Dementia

Introduction

Fatty Liver can be caused by alcohol use, but it can also happen in people who don’t drink or use very little alcohol.

Called “NAFLD” (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”), it affects 25 to 30 percent of people in the US and Europe.

Recent studies link NAFLD with cognitive impairment and dementia. This can occur even with no other symptoms.

You may or may not develop symptoms from NAFLD. The most common symptoms are feeling tired or discomfort or pain in the upper right side of your abdomen.

However, your only symptom may be a loss of short-term memory and slowed-down thinking. Studies are showing that NAFLD may also cause Alzheimer’s Disease.

If you’re wondering what has happened to your previously sharp mind, this is a possible answer.

NAFLD should not be ignored in any case, as it can lead to cirrhosis, a severe and potentially fatal disease.

What Causes Fatty Liver?

Eating sugar, refined carbs (bread, cakes, rice, pasta, potatoes), and bad fats (fried foods, chips) creates a risk for Fatty Liver.

• The same process that causes Type II diabetes also can cause Fatty Liver Disease. If you’re “Pre-diabetes” or a diabetic, you’re at risk.
• High levels of fat (especially triglycerides) in your blood.
• Overweight

What to do about Fatty Liver Disease

As with most chronic illnesses, NAFLD has different causes in each person. If you want to get the problem handled, you’ll need to be tested to determine the exact problem causing your body stress and preventing it from healing. Go HERE to get started on this process.

DIY NAFLD Improvement:

(See article below for more information):

1: Lose excess weight–losing between 7 and 10 percent of body weight can improve other symptoms of NAFLD, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and scarring

2: Research from 2017 suggests that the Mediterranean diet may help to reduce liver fat, even without weight loss.

3: Exercise: It’s important to stay active when you have NAFLD. A good goal to shoot for is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.

4: Avoid foods with added sugars-Dietary sugars such as fructose and sucrose have been linked to NAFLD development.

5: Take an omega-3 supplement–A peer review study suggests that taking an omega-3 supplement may reduce liver fat.

6: Avoid known liver irritants–Certain substances can put excess stress on your liver. They include alcohol and certain over-the-counter medications.

7: Consider taking vitamin E--Vitamin E is one antioxidant that may reduce inflammation caused by NAFLD. Must take all components of vitamin E. This would include Mixed Tocopherols and Tocotrienols

8: Consider Herbs--A 2018 paper identified certain herbs, supplements, and spices that have been used as alternative treatments for NAFLD. Compounds that have positive effects on liver health include turmeric, milk thistle, resveratrol, and green tea.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Melodie Billiot

NAFLD and Dementia

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

A study from the journal Neurology revealed that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is independently associated with cognitive impairment.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an umbrella term for various liver conditions affecting people who drink little to no alcohol. As the name implies, the main characteristic of NAFLD is too much fat stored in liver cells.

Dementia and NAFLD are two frequent conditions that share underlying risk factors mainly in the realm of metabolic disease.

The study from the journal, Neurology included 4,472 adults aged 20–59 years.

The participants underwent assessment of liver enzyme activity and hepatic steatosis by ultrasound. They underwent cognitive evaluation using the following computer-administered tests: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SRTT), the Symbol-Digit Substitution Test (SDST), and the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT).

Increased activity of the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) correlated with lower performance on the SDLT, while increased alanine aminotransferase was also correlated with lower performance in the SDST.

The current studies suggest that NAFLD patients incur cognitive dysfunction.

Although if left untreated, NAFLD can lead to much more serious conditions, including cirrhosis and liver failure. The good news is that fatty liver disease can be reversed—and even cured.

8 Steps to Effectively Treat Fatty Liver Disease

1: Lose excess weight–losing between 7 and 10 percent of body weight can improve other symptoms of NAFLD, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and scarring

2: Research from 2017 suggests that the Mediterranean diet may help to reduce liver fat, even without weight loss.

3: Exercise: It’s important to stay active when you have NAFLD. A good goal to shoot for is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.

4: Avoid foods with added sugars-Dietary sugars such as fructose and sucrose have been linked to NAFLD development.

5: Take an omega-3 supplement–A peer review study suggests that taking an omega-3 supplement may reduce liver fat.

6: Avoid known liver irritants–Certain substances can put excess stress on your liver. They include alcohol and certain over-the-counter medications.

7: Consider taking vitamin E--Vitamin E is one antioxidant that may reduce inflammation caused by NAFLD. Must take all components of vitamin E. This would include Mixed Tocopherols and Tocotrienols

8: Consider Herbs--A 2018 paper identified certain herbs, supplements, and spices that have been used as alternative treatments for NAFLD. Compounds shown to have positive effects on liver health include turmeric, milk thistle, resveratrol, and green tea.

Did You Unknowingly Consent to Damaged Health?

Do you recall the first time your doctor told you that you needed to take long-term prescription drugs (for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, depression, etc.)?

Your doctor/nurse practitioner was probably reassuring: “I’m writing you a prescription to keep your blood pressure (cholesterol/blood sugar/thyroid/depression/sleep/etc.) under control.”

Did you accept this, or did you have doubts?

Did you feel that long-term drugs were inevitable, or were you upset that your health had fallen to this? Did you wish for some other solution than drugs but have no idea what to do?

Your Prescription May Be Inadequate

Most people taking medication for long-term health problems experience symptoms that are not improved by these drugs. Many of these drugs also have side effects that can add to these symptoms.

These symptoms (fatigue, anxiety, digestive, hormonal, pain, etc.) may negatively affect your life. You might worry that your health will get worse or that you’ll have a health catastrophe in the future. You may be aware that your productivity and happiness are taking a hit from your symptoms and health problems.

Your prescriptions may be protecting you from some serious consequences of your condition but may not be effective with the concerns and symptoms that affect your day-to-day life.

Your Prescription May Be Causing New Health Problems

Many medications affect your nutrition:

• The medication can attach itself to a nutrient and pass it out of the body
• The medication can alter the pH in the gut so that the nutrient can’t be adequately absorbed
• Some medications need specific nutrients for them to be able to work and may cause deficiencies.

See below for more information: “Blood Pressure Medications and Nutrient Deficiencies.”

The Failure of Conventional Medicine

The philosophy of using pharmaceuticals for any and every health problem has resulted in a society where 60% of all adults have unresolved, long-term health conditions (per the CDC).

What I’m complaining about here is simple: This philosophy and the practice of a drug for every ill doesn’t work.

You CAN Be Happy and Healthy

What’s needed is a different approach to health care that addresses improving health instead of suppressing symptoms.

It was my own frightening health experience that inspired my clinic. I understand, personally, how it feels to have a health problem with no solution.

For 28 years and 10,000 patients, I have pioneered an approach to health care that has successfully changed the lives of myself and my patients.

Here’s a short video explaining how this works:

Blood Pressure Medications and Nutrient Deficiencies

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

I first want to give you a brief overview on how medications impact important nutrients.

HOW MEDICATIONS AFFECT NUTRIENTS
The following are a few ways that blood pressure medications can affect how our bodies absorb essential nutrients.

• The medication can attach itself to a nutrient and pass it out of the body
• The medication can alter the pH in the gut so that the nutrient can’t be properly absorbed
• Some medications need specific nutrients in order for them to be able to work.

The Following are Blood Pressure Medications, Nutrients Commonly Depleted and the Negative Impact of the Deficient Nutrients

ACE INHIBITORS
Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE Inhibitors) are one of the most commonly used families of blood pressure medicines. Examples include; ramipril, enalapril, lisinopril, quinapril, fosinopril, trandolapril and captopril.

Nutrients that can be depleted by these medicines are zinc, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Deficiencies in these nutrients can cause hair loss, slow healing of wounds, loss of taste or smell, prostate problems, loss of sex drive, frequent infections, leg cramps, weight gain, bone loss, high blood pressure, higher risk of cancer

CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS
Another commonly used family of blood pressure medicines. Examples include; amlodipine, nifedipine, felodipine, diltiazem and verapamil.

Nutrients that can be depleted by these medicines are potassium, calcium, vitamin D and possibly Co-Enzyme Q10.

Symptoms that can occur due to deficiencies in these nutrients are fatigue, leg cramps, frequent infections, thirst, muscle weakness, bone loss, confusion, high blood pressure, confusion, heart disease and rapid or irregular heartbeat.

BETA BLOCKERS
Examples of beta blockers include; atenolol, metoprolol, sotalol and bisoprolol.

Beta blockers can deplete the body of Co-Enzyme Q10 and melatonin.

Symptoms that can occur due to deficiencies in these nutrients are insomnia, disrupted sleep, increased risk of cancer, autoimmune disorders, muscle cramps, memory loss.

CENTRALLY ACTING BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATIONS
Clonidine and methyldopa are examples of this.

These blood pressure medications can deplete Co-Enzyme Q10.

Depletion of Co-Enzyme Q10 can result in fatigue, weakness, muscle and leg cramps, memory loss, frequent infection, liver damage, higher risk of heart attack, higher risk of cancer.

Conclusion

The above blood pressure medications may in fact cause nutrient deficiencies making it more important to consider supplementing with these nutrients to decrease the negative symptom consequences

IMPORTANT

Always discuss this important information on blood pressure nutrient deficiencies with your healthcare provider.

Compliments from Functional Medicine University

References:

Pharmavite. Common drug classes, drug-nutrient depletions, & drug-nutrient interactions. www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/about_us/sponsored_resources/Nature%20Made%20Handout.pdf. Accessed September 20, 2019.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5874849/
https://nutritionreview.org/2016/12/practical-guide-avoiding-drug-induced-nutrient-depletion/

Recovering from Anxiety & Depression Without Drugs

Anxiety and depression can mess up your life.

Mental health problems are not understood at all. Research hasn’t gotten to first base on any of them. Treatment is limited to controlling symptoms, and often the treatment is worse than the disease.

Origins of Anxiety & Depression

Over the past 27 years, I’ve had upwards of 6,000 patients suffering from anxiety and depression along with their other symptoms. At some point in their treatment with us, almost all of them have either improved dramatically or expressed that they no longer had the problem.

This sounds very promising (and it is), however I’ve never directly treated a patient for anxiety or depression.

I have become convinced that many mental disorders could be a result of physical health conditions. When the patient recovers physically, they also improve their mental problems.

There is a lot of science behind this. It’s well known that hormone and blood sugar problems can cause even severe forms of anxiety and depression. Specifically, thyroid problems often cause anxiety, mental lethargy and physical fatigue. Sex hormone problems can cause depression and bi-polar symptoms. Blood sugar problems can cause extreme irritability, anxiety and irrational behavior.

Despite the research evidence, medical treatment for mental conditions is always for the specific symptom, not for the underlying cause. A case in point is the DSM, the manual listing all accepted mental diseases and used to diagnose mental illness. The “diseases” in the DSM are all statements of symptoms, not possible causes.

When Depression Is Normal

Many patients have told me that they believed their depression was caused by a chemical imbalance in their brain.

However, no research has yet linked mental illness to brain chemistry (look it up… “belief” “suggest” “may result” “tend to” “strongly linked” but no actual science).

Depressed patients commonly have chronic illness, are often in constant pain, have no energy, can’t sleep, and have been told by multiple doctors that they should “learn to live with” their physical condition because there is no treatment for it.

So, I have asked the person, “Do you feel that you have much hope of achieving any of your goals in life, given your physical health problems?”

The patient thinks, and tells me that no, they’ve given up. I then have asked, “What emotional condition do you think would be normal for a person in your situation?” The patient will often start to laugh, and tell me, “Depression would be completely normal, I think!” They no longer worry about the chemical brain imbalances after this, either.

I agree, because I’ve observed that once a person recovers their physical health—they have energy, don’t hurt, sleep well, digest well—that they aren’t depressed anymore!

Mental Illness Medical Non-Solutions

In my experience (which is considerable), mental illness is often linked to or caused by physical health conditions. These health conditions are always chronic, and typically have no medical treatment.

Medicine treats symptoms, and chronic illness can only be addressed by helping the body regain its ability to heal itself. This is something that conventional medicine is not equipped to do.

So rather than find and improve the cause of mental illness and give the patient back their lives, medicine treats it as a symptom, the same as they do any other heath problem.

The result? Over 100 million cases of mental illness, many of which could be resolved completely, but instead will be drugged into some level of stupor for years, until their bodies become unresponsive to the drugs used.

It’s ugly.

I’m just so happy to be able to show the way out to so many of my patients who work hard to help their own bodies heal, both physically and mentally.