I have been diagnosed with hepatitis C and was wondering if I can benefit from medicinal herbs.

Hepatitis C is a chronic viral infection which affects millions of people around the globe. Once the virus is acquired, it usually lead to gradual problems with liver, liver failure and liver cancer. In the orient, a variety of medicinal herbs are used to treat this infection. Unfortunately, the few randomized studies indicate the majority of the herbs do not work for this infection. However, the only herbs that have been shown to have some benefit are Bing Gan Tang, Yi Zhu and Yi Er Gan Tang. But these herbs are associated with very unpleasant side effects. At the moment, if you live in North America, the treatment of hepatitis C with herbs- is not recommended. In the orient, where interferon is not readily available, herbs may be the only choice of treatment

I am a 26-year-old female and drink excess alcohol. What are the chances that this will affect my liver?

One of the most common causes of liver damage is alcohol. Even though millions of people consume alcohol on a regular basis, only a few heavy drinkers develop liver damage. The liver damage induced by alcohol is not sudden but occurs slowly over a period of 10-15 years. It is impossible to predict who will develop liver damage and who will not. It is known that alcohol generates toxic chemicals that can damage liver cells. However, why this happens in only a few individuals’ remains a mystery. In addition, when alcohol damage occurs, the liver function is not immediately compromised. The liver has a tremendous capacity to regenerate and even when 80% of the liver is damaged, it continues to function as normal. Thus, when you present with symptoms it usually means that your liver has suffered a lot of damage and most likely it irreversible. Liver scarring or end stage liver disease is also known as cirrhosis. The only way to avoid liver damage from alcohol is to stop drinking.

Can you tell me how best to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver?

Fatty liver is becoming increasingly recognized in the USA . The chief reasons for the development of this disorder include obesity, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. The disorder may initially have no symptoms but is associated with a major risk for heart attacks and strokes. Unlike many other liver disorders, fatty liver is reversible, unless of course permanent liver damage has already occurred.

Fatty liver can be treated by making changes in lifestyle.

To treat and prevent fatty liver you need to lose weight, change your diet and enter an exercise program. Once you start to lose weight, the fatty liver will gradually resolve. What should be understood is that weight gain should be avoided to prevent the disease from coming back.

Today there are a variety of complex carbohydrate diets being recommended. This just means that you should stop eating candies, chocolates and white flour products. Instead eat a lot of fiber, cereals, oats, vegetables- and do not pig out on food all the time.