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Blueberry Leaves, Quercetin and Grapefruit Seed Extract all proven to help – any other suggestions?
Blueberry Leaves, Quercetin and Grapefruit Seed Extract – any other suggestions?
I am currently taking
Blueberry Leaves, Quercetin and Grapefruit Seed Extract
All have proven studies behind them that they decrease viral load (albeit in vitro).
A few articles
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090807120952.htm
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/01/05/natural.compound.blocks.hepatitis.c.infection
Sorry I dont have the one on the grapefruitseed extract because its one of the componds in it and I forgot which one it is at the moment.
Any other recommendations (with links to studies)
Please any input?
I am currently taking
Blueberry Leaves, Quercetin and Grapefruit Seed Extract
All have proven studies behind them that they decrease viral load (albeit in vitro).
A few articles
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090807120952.htm
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/01/05/natural.compound.blocks.hepatitis.c.infection
Sorry I dont have the one on the grapefruitseed extract because its one of the componds in it and I forgot which one it is at the moment.
Any other recommendations (with links to studies)
Please any input?
The Hep Researcher that comes here sometimes said not to mess with the grapefruit because it causes oxidation in the liver which is the last thing we need. It also has lots of seriously bad drug interactions which could hurt even a healthy liver.
I tried giving my husband some quercetin but it caused URQ pain so I quit right away.
I agree with coffee and the other antifibrotic supp. suggested by HR (Hepatitis Researcher)
There is the possibility of causing even more liver harm if you ramp up your immune system without actually killing the virus since it is in fact your immune response causing the fibrotic scar tissue and inflammation. HR says to concentrate on the anti inflammatory supplements and potentially antifibrotic supplements so that your body can stop doing the damage and maybe some people might even get some healing. HR's supplements have made all the difference for my husband. We used to buy all the individual components individually but now buy them from a company call Hepatitis Technologies and we are having good results. I wish we could have used them before Joe had cirrhosis but they seem to be keeping him off the transplant list. Joe was much worse off before HR's supplements and it has been several years that he has taken them.
HR is pretty much a hero to me. We were headed down a black hole before he turned a light on for us. It isn't as good as SVR but we tried that with all we had 3 times and Joe is non-responsive.
HR never discouraged anyone from trying to achieve SVR, he just gave us some maintenance ideas if SVR wasn't possible.
My best to you,
Ev
I tried giving my husband some quercetin but it caused URQ pain so I quit right away.
I agree with coffee and the other antifibrotic supp. suggested by HR (Hepatitis Researcher)
There is the possibility of causing even more liver harm if you ramp up your immune system without actually killing the virus since it is in fact your immune response causing the fibrotic scar tissue and inflammation. HR says to concentrate on the anti inflammatory supplements and potentially antifibrotic supplements so that your body can stop doing the damage and maybe some people might even get some healing. HR's supplements have made all the difference for my husband. We used to buy all the individual components individually but now buy them from a company call Hepatitis Technologies and we are having good results. I wish we could have used them before Joe had cirrhosis but they seem to be keeping him off the transplant list. Joe was much worse off before HR's supplements and it has been several years that he has taken them.
HR is pretty much a hero to me. We were headed down a black hole before he turned a light on for us. It isn't as good as SVR but we tried that with all we had 3 times and Joe is non-responsive.
HR never discouraged anyone from trying to achieve SVR, he just gave us some maintenance ideas if SVR wasn't possible.
My best to you,
Ev
I drink at least 3 cups of coffee daily, sometimes more and have done so all my life. My blood pressure is excellent. Recently, I had a nuclear stress test and echocardiogram, both normal. Some people drinks lots of tea or soft drinks which has caffeine. I don't see caffeine being a problem as long as you don't have any medical issues that contradict the problem or prescribed medications.
It's good to question that even if there are studies to prove these supplements decrease viral load, improve liver health, or slow down disease progression, in what way does this get you closer to achieving SVR or being cured?
Have you been taking these supplements and had your viral load tested? If so how much did it decrease your viral load or others for that matter?
Everyone's different and if you want to take supplements you should experiement with them to find out what works and what doesn't...It can be helpful to add supplements if you have a deficiency or if you're not absobing the required nutrition from your diet. I would be very cautious about taking supplements.
Everyone's different and should be getting the proper amount of essential vitamins and minerals. Supplements are okay for some people with hep c. Don't take higher than the recommeded dose if you choose to take supplements.
Have you been taking these supplements and had your viral load tested? If so how much did it decrease your viral load or others for that matter?
Everyone's different and if you want to take supplements you should experiement with them to find out what works and what doesn't...It can be helpful to add supplements if you have a deficiency or if you're not absobing the required nutrition from your diet. I would be very cautious about taking supplements.
Everyone's different and should be getting the proper amount of essential vitamins and minerals. Supplements are okay for some people with hep c. Don't take higher than the recommeded dose if you choose to take supplements.
i used to be but i have cut right back, i could nt go without any at all though,some is fine , moderation is key with most things i guess
xx
xx
oh lord do not take my caffeine away I'd never ever make it to work again - or at least I'd have to take a nap as soon as I got here.....I'm a bad caffeine addict!
i am not disputing the coffee studies , just the caffiene issue, before anyone starts !
yes i know , but cafiene is noit good in quantity, there are studies that show wine is good too because it contain poylphenals but you would nt advise it, does anoy me people saying drink coffee!
Coffee intake is associated with lower rates of liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C.
Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. ***@****
Comment in:
* Hepatology. 2009 Nov;50(5):1673; author reply 1673.
Abstract
Higher coffee consumption has been associated inversely with the incidence of chronic liver disease in population studies. We examined the relationship of coffee consumption with liver disease progression in individuals with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease. Baseline coffee and tea intake were assessed in 766 participants of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial who had hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis on liver biopsy and failed to achieve a sustained virological response to peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment. Participants were followed for 3.8 years for clinical outcomes and, for those without cirrhosis, a 2-point increase in Ishak fibrosis score on protocol biopsies. At baseline, higher coffee consumption was associated with less severe steatosis on biopsy, lower serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, alpha-fetoprotein, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) score, and higher albumin (P < 0.05 for all). Two hundred thirty patients had outcomes. Outcome rates declined with increasing coffee intake: 11.1/100 person-years for none, 12.1 for less than 1 cup/day, 8.2 for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day, and 6.3 for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0011). Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) were 1.11 (0.76-1.61) for less than 1 cup/day; 0.70 (0.48-1.02) for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day; and 0.47 (0.27-0.85) for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0003) versus not drinking. Risk estimates did not vary by treatment assignment or cirrhosis status at baseline. Tea intake was not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSION: In a large prospective study of participants with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease, regular coffee consumption was associated with lower rates of disease progression.
http://tinyurl.com/28m97bp
Coffee Appears to Lessen Liver Cancer Risk
August 14, 2007 — A new meta-analysis suggests that drinking coffee may reduce the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). But the authors are quick to point out they have not identified a cause-and-effect relationship. "The interpretation of this association remains unclear, and the consequent inference of causality and worldwide public health implications remains open to discussion," they report in the August issue of Hepatology.
Led by Francesca Bravi, ScD, from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan, Italy, the investigators evaluated published studies on HCC that included quantitative information on coffee consumption. They identified 10 studies of 2260 patients with liver cancer.
Included in the meta-analysis were 6 case-control studies from southern Europe and Japan and 4 cohort studies, also from Japan. "We observed a 41% reduction in the risk of HCC among coffee drinkers compared with never drinkers, with similar results from case-control and prospective studies," the researchers report. "Moreover, the apparent favorable effect of coffee drinking was found both in studies from southern Europe, where coffee is widely consumed, and from Japan, where coffee consumption is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver disease."
The overall relative risk for coffee drinkers vs nondrinkers was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.49 - 0.72) with significant heterogeneity between studies. The overall relative risk for an increase in 1 cup of coffee per day was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.72 - 0.82).
"Observational studies included in this meta-analysis are prone to various other sources of bias and confounding," the authors caution. "Allowance for confounding factors varied among the studies considered in this meta-analysis. However, the fact that the inverse relation persisted after allowance for major risk factors for HCC including history or serological evidence of hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis and other liver diseases, social class indicators, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking, reassures against major role of confounding or modifying effect."
The investigators point to another important problem of the studies — their reliance on patient self-reports to assess coffee intake. But, they note, recall of coffee drinking has been studied and has been shown to be reproducible and valid.
Dr. Bravi and colleagues conclude that the consistency of an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and the risk for liver cancer across study design and geographic areas weighs against a major role of bias or confounding.
But the investigators emphasize the difficulty in determining causality on the basis of these observational studies alone. "The inverse relation observed may in fact be spurious and due to the fact that subjects with a broad spectrum of digestive tract diseases, liver disorders, and cirrhosis may reduce their coffee consumption."
They explain in their article that coffee has also been related to a reduced risk for liver disease and cirrhosis, a major risk factor or pathogenic step in the process of liver carcinogenesis. "The beneficial effect of coffee consumption on HCC may be due to its inverse relation with cirrhosis, although allowance for clinical history of cirrhosis did not totally account for the inverse association," they note. "Thus, there seems to be a continuum of the favorable effect of coffee on liver enzymes, cirrhosis, and HCC."
The researchers have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
http://tinyurl.com/2542p3p
Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. ***@****
Comment in:
* Hepatology. 2009 Nov;50(5):1673; author reply 1673.
Abstract
Higher coffee consumption has been associated inversely with the incidence of chronic liver disease in population studies. We examined the relationship of coffee consumption with liver disease progression in individuals with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease. Baseline coffee and tea intake were assessed in 766 participants of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial who had hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis on liver biopsy and failed to achieve a sustained virological response to peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment. Participants were followed for 3.8 years for clinical outcomes and, for those without cirrhosis, a 2-point increase in Ishak fibrosis score on protocol biopsies. At baseline, higher coffee consumption was associated with less severe steatosis on biopsy, lower serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, alpha-fetoprotein, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) score, and higher albumin (P < 0.05 for all). Two hundred thirty patients had outcomes. Outcome rates declined with increasing coffee intake: 11.1/100 person-years for none, 12.1 for less than 1 cup/day, 8.2 for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day, and 6.3 for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0011). Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) were 1.11 (0.76-1.61) for less than 1 cup/day; 0.70 (0.48-1.02) for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day; and 0.47 (0.27-0.85) for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0003) versus not drinking. Risk estimates did not vary by treatment assignment or cirrhosis status at baseline. Tea intake was not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSION: In a large prospective study of participants with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease, regular coffee consumption was associated with lower rates of disease progression.
http://tinyurl.com/28m97bp
Coffee Appears to Lessen Liver Cancer Risk
August 14, 2007 — A new meta-analysis suggests that drinking coffee may reduce the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). But the authors are quick to point out they have not identified a cause-and-effect relationship. "The interpretation of this association remains unclear, and the consequent inference of causality and worldwide public health implications remains open to discussion," they report in the August issue of Hepatology.
Led by Francesca Bravi, ScD, from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan, Italy, the investigators evaluated published studies on HCC that included quantitative information on coffee consumption. They identified 10 studies of 2260 patients with liver cancer.
Included in the meta-analysis were 6 case-control studies from southern Europe and Japan and 4 cohort studies, also from Japan. "We observed a 41% reduction in the risk of HCC among coffee drinkers compared with never drinkers, with similar results from case-control and prospective studies," the researchers report. "Moreover, the apparent favorable effect of coffee drinking was found both in studies from southern Europe, where coffee is widely consumed, and from Japan, where coffee consumption is less frequent, and in subjects with chronic liver disease."
The overall relative risk for coffee drinkers vs nondrinkers was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.49 - 0.72) with significant heterogeneity between studies. The overall relative risk for an increase in 1 cup of coffee per day was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.72 - 0.82).
"Observational studies included in this meta-analysis are prone to various other sources of bias and confounding," the authors caution. "Allowance for confounding factors varied among the studies considered in this meta-analysis. However, the fact that the inverse relation persisted after allowance for major risk factors for HCC including history or serological evidence of hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis and other liver diseases, social class indicators, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking, reassures against major role of confounding or modifying effect."
The investigators point to another important problem of the studies — their reliance on patient self-reports to assess coffee intake. But, they note, recall of coffee drinking has been studied and has been shown to be reproducible and valid.
Dr. Bravi and colleagues conclude that the consistency of an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and the risk for liver cancer across study design and geographic areas weighs against a major role of bias or confounding.
But the investigators emphasize the difficulty in determining causality on the basis of these observational studies alone. "The inverse relation observed may in fact be spurious and due to the fact that subjects with a broad spectrum of digestive tract diseases, liver disorders, and cirrhosis may reduce their coffee consumption."
They explain in their article that coffee has also been related to a reduced risk for liver disease and cirrhosis, a major risk factor or pathogenic step in the process of liver carcinogenesis. "The beneficial effect of coffee consumption on HCC may be due to its inverse relation with cirrhosis, although allowance for clinical history of cirrhosis did not totally account for the inverse association," they note. "Thus, there seems to be a continuum of the favorable effect of coffee on liver enzymes, cirrhosis, and HCC."
The researchers have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
http://tinyurl.com/2542p3p
Actually James there are studies that support the fact that coffee is good for fibrosis I think is the reason. Which is a good thing since some of us were dying over the thought of having to give up our morning cup of joe.......and it gave us a good reason to keep on having it :)
not coffee , unless decaf,
try willow bark aphid, so called because it is only found on the willow tree
try willow bark aphid, so called because it is only found on the willow tree
My advice - stop taking these. I did take them right before tx, and my viral load not only decreased but went up. Before taking these supplements, my viral load was at its highest at 375,000, at its lowest at 175,000 (not a big difference). I was tested every three month for 2 years. After taking these supplements my load went up to 1,060,000. I can't say for sure that the climb was due to the supplements, but I can tell you for sure that they don't help at all. :)
Yes it would be nice if it would 'help' but the question is what would lowerinig your viral load do except perhaps give the false indication that you were being cured?
Seeing as VL has no bearing on what liver damage is being done it seems an awful waste of money to me.
Seeing as VL has no bearing on what liver damage is being done it seems an awful waste of money to me.
Even if the studies you presented are trustworthy, I’m not sure there’s any advantage to lowering viral load without eliminating it. Seeing as how you’re asking for suggestions, interferon and ribavirin are both clinically proven as effective measures for combating HCV; and so far, the only accepted ones.
Did you manage to determine if you are chronically infected yet?
Bill
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