Blows to the liver: Dietary supplements and sports nutrition
Sports supplements are dangerous for the liver
ABC Magazine based on Medscape Materials: Hepatotoxicity From Bodybuilding Supplements RisingAccording to American researchers, every year there are more and more cases of hepatotoxicity associated with the intake of herbal preparations and dietary supplements.
The most common cause of liver damage are sports supplements. The results of the work were presented at the next congress of hepatologists The Liver Meeting 2013, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases).
The scientists analyzed data from the registers of the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, which includes cases of liver damage due to taking medications and dietary supplements. The study included patients whose signs of liver damage were detected within the last 6 months. They were examined at the beginning of the study and six months later, and with persistent liver dysfunction again after 12 and 24 months.
Of the 845 cases of liver damage, 16% were associated with taking one or more dietary supplements and 84% with the use of prescription drugs. At the same time, a third of the over-the-counter substances used were sold as sports nutrition.
In the clinical picture of hepatotoxic phenomena due to the use of sports nutrition, jaundice was observed in 100% of cases, and itching was observed in 84%, more often than in patients whose liver was damaged due to taking dietary supplements or prescription drugs. The level of bilirubin on average was also higher in the case of liver damage as a result of eating sports nutrition. At the same time, the concentration of alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase in the blood when using sports supplements was lower, which is associated with less cell damage.
Patients who used sports nutrition also had a slower decrease in bilirubin levels to normal values compared to patients who took other dietary supplements and prescription drugs (91 days, 44 days and 35 days, respectively). No similar pattern was found for alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase.
Researchers note a lower severity of damage caused by sports nutrition. None of this group required a liver transplant, whereas in the group of other dietary supplements, 13% were transplanted, and in the group of prescription drugs – 3% of patients. The frequency of hospitalizations and overall mortality in the groups did not differ.
According to the authors of the study, any dietary supplements should be considered harmful to the liver, since their safety is difficult to assess. He emphasizes that up to half of US residents take dietary supplements. At the same time, the frequency of hepatotoxicity due to sports nutrition increased from 2% in 2004 to 5% in 2013, and due to the use of other supplements – from 5% to 10%, respectively.
Quality control of sports supplements is usually lower than that of prescription drugs. Often the composition of such drugs differs from that indicated on the label, and therefore it is impossible to determine which component caused the liver malfunction. In this regard, researchers urge patients to abandon the uncontrolled use of dietary supplements, especially sports nutrition, and doctors to remember the role of these substances in liver damage in patients.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru20.11.2013