Vitamins And Liver Disease and Hepatitis
Vitamins are organic substances that come from animals and plants. They are essential to human development, growth, and functioning. Vitamins are known as micronutrients because they are required by the body only in small amounts (compared with protein or water for example) to maintain health. Normally, the required amount is supplied by eating a well-rounded diet.
Just like foods and medications, vitamins must pass through the liver to be metabolized. If taken to excess, any vitamin has the potential to cause serious health problems. This is true even for people with normally functioning livers. However, for people with liver disease, the potential for damage is much greater. Depending upon the severity of liver damage, certain people may even need to eliminate from their diets foods that have been fortified with certain vitamins. These may include commonly consumed foods, such as some breakfast cereals.
On the other hand, some people with liver disease are prone to vitamin deficiencies and must take vitamin supplements. If your doctor has recommended a specific vitamin supplement, make sure that it is taken with meals in order to be absorbed into the body properly. Furthermore, vitamin supplements should be kept in a cool, dry place, as its potency may be diminished by sunlight and dampness.
Vitamins can be categorized based on their solubility characteristics—fat soluble and water soluble. This difference has important implications for people with liver disease, and will be covered in detail in my book.
All contents of this article are Copyright © Melissa Palmer, MD
Melissa Palmer, MD is the author of " Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide of Hepatitis and Liver Disease". (Published 2004. Penguin Putnam).
Dr. Palmer is an internationally renowned hepatologist who has been practicing medicine since 1985. Prior to 2012, she maintained perhaps the largest medical practice devoted to liver disease in the United States. Dr. Palmer is Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Palmer graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. and was trained in hepatology (as well as medical school) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Dr. Palmer is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and in Internal Medicine.
She has authored numerous scientific publications in the field of hepatology in such peer-reviewed journals as Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Seminars of Liver Disease, Transplantation and Archives of Internal Medicine.
She is frequently called upon by the media for her opinion on various topics related to liver disease. Dr. Palmer has appeared many times on television as a liver disease expert and has been quoted in such publications as TIME magazine, Cosmopolitan magazine, Prevention magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsday. She also has appeared in numerous videos and CD-Roms aimed at educating doctors and the public about hepatitis C and other liver diseases, such as primary biliary cirrhosis. Dr. Palmer lectures to the medical and general public on liver disease-related topics on a regular basis.
Dr. Palmer has performed numerous clinical trials on various experimental medications for the treatment of hepatitis.
Dr. Palmer is currently available for lecturing, investor and hedge-fund consultations, consultations to industry, and media interviews and appearances-- including television. For such matters, she can be contacted through hepatitismedia@gmail.com.
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