WE ALL KNOW THE BASIC TENETS OF LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: EXERCISING, EATING HEALTHY AND FOR MANY, TAKING VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS.
BUT IT TURNS OUT, SOME SUPPLEMENTS BILLED TO HELP YOU LIVE COULD ACTUALLY BE PUTTING YOUR LIFE AT RISK.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO YOUR LIVER —- THE ORGAN RESPONSIBLE FOR FILTERING HARMFUL SUBSTANCES FROM THE BLOOD.
AND WHILE YOUR LIVER WORKS HARD TO DO THAT, IT CAN BE OVERWHELMED BY CERTAIN DRUGS OR SUPPLEMENTS, LEADING TO SOMETHING CALLED “DRUG-INDUCED LIVER INJURY,” ALSO KNOWN AS TOXIC HEPATITIS.
ACETAMINOPHIN, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN UNDER THE BRAND NAME TYLENOL, IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.
IT’S ONE OF THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF TOXIC HEPATITIS.
BUT AS MORE PEOPLE USE SUPPLEMENTS, MORE CASES ARE POPPING UP.
ACCORDING TO A 2024 SURVEY BY THE COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE NUTRITION, AS MANY AS THREE OUT OF FOUR – OR 75% OF U.S. ADULTS TAKE SOME FORM OF SUPPLEMENT, WHETHER IT BE HERBAL OR DIETARY.
NEARLY 4 IN 5 SAID THEY’D RATHER TAKE SUPPLEMENTS THAN PRESCRIPTION OR OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATIONS.
COMPARATIVELY, THE CDC’S MOST RECENT STUDY DONE ON THE SUBJECT SHOWS THAT BETWEEN 2017 AND 2018, JUST A LITTLE OVER HALF OF ADULTS 20 AND OLDER HAD USED A SUPPLEMENT IN THE LAST 30 DAYS.
A STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE MEDICAL JOURNAL “LIVER TRANSPLANTATION” IN 2022 FOUND THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS ADDED TO THE WAIT LIST FOR A TRANSPLANT **BECAUSE** OF SUPPLEMENT-RELATED LIVER FAILURE INCREASED EIGHTFOLD FROM 2.9% IN 1995 TO 24.1% IN 2020.
EXPERTS SAID IT’S HARD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE EXACT CULPRIT IS.
A 2017 STUDY BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LIVER DISEASES FOUND 20% OF LIVER TOXICITY CASES IN THE U.S. COULD BE LINKED TO DIETARY OR HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS.
SINCE THE SUPPLEMENTS CONTAIN MULTIPLE INGREDIENTS, THEY’RE NOT SURE WHICH ONE –- OR ONES –- ARE TO BLAME.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME YOU CAN MAKE SURE TO LOOK OUT FOR.
A STUDY PUBLISHED LAST YEAR OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN FOUND SIX COMMON INGREDIENTS **CAN** DEFINITIVELY BE TIED TO TOXIC HEPATITIS:
THESE ARE TURMERIC, GREEN TEA EXTRACT, ASHWAGANDHA, GARCINIA CAMBOGIA, RED YEAST RICE AND BLACK COHOSH.
THE STUDY’S AUTHORS SAID ABOUT 15 MILLION AMERICANS TAKE AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE SUPPLEMENTS.
AND SINCE SUPPLEMENTS ARE NOT REGULATED IN THE SAME WAY MEDICATIONS ARE, YOU CAN’T ALWAYS BE SURE WHAT YOU’RE GETTING OR IF THE DOSAGE IS CORRECT.
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