Fatty liver disease is a chronic condition typically caused by lifestyle choices and high cholesterol. Certain herbs can help to support your liver's functioning, as well as treat the factors causing a fatty liver. Don't take any herbal remedy for fatty liver disease without first consulting your doctor to discuss potential health risks and drug interactions.
Description
Also sometimes called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or "NASH," fatty liver disease is a condition involving too much fat in the liver, explains the University of Michigan Health System. Alcoholism, obesity, high cholesterol levels and high triglycerides can cause fatty liver disease, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Having a fatty liver can reduce the organ's ability to function properly, particularly in protecting your body from toxins. When left untreated, fatty liver disease and other liver conditions can cause a need for a liver transplant. Many people can have a fatty liver for years without noticing any symptoms.
Herbal Remedies
Milk thistle is one of the most common herbs used to help treat fatty liver disease, the Mayo Clinic says. Other herbs that are sometimes recommended for treating liver disease include dandelion, artichoke leaf, licorice, noni, turmeric, thymus, sweet potato, beet leaf, schisandra, phyllanthus and picrorhiza, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Herbal remedies containing bupleurum or cordyceps might also treat liver problems. Herbs such as garlic, hawthorn, guggul, psyllium, red yeast rice and olive leaf extract may reduce your cholesterol levels, which could help treat or prevent fatty liver disease, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Unsafe Herbs
If you have fatty liver disease or other liver problems, you shouldn't take certain herbs because they can cause liver damage or otherwise worsen your condition. These harmful herbs include valerian, skullcap, kava kava, pennyroyal, ma-huang, mistletoe, chapparal, comfrey and black cohosh, the Mayo Clinic says. Germander, blue-green algae, coltsfoot, green tea, greater celandine, pokeroot, germanium and sassafras can also harm your liver, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Medical Research
A double-blind study of people with non-alcoholic or alcoholic liver cirrhosis found that taking milk thistle improved survival rates, according to a 1989 issue of the "Journal of Hepatology." Two other double-blind studies of cirrhosis patients conducted in Germany in 1977 and 1978 discovered that milk thistle improved liver function, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A 2006 study reported in "Phytotherapy Research" found that bupleurum had liver-protective and antioxidant effects, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. Another study discovered that cordyceps inhibited hepatic fibrosis, according to a 2003 issue of the "World Journal of Gastroenterology." Garlic displayed cholesterol-lowering actions in a 2001 study in the "Archives of Internal Medicine," as did psyllium in a 2000 study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Most other herbs that have some potential for treating fatty liver disease have been studied for this purpose only in test-tube trials.
Warnings
Most herbs can produce side effects and interact negatively with certain medications. For example, licorice root can increase your blood pressure and interfere with steroids, diuretics, blood-thinners and digoxin, warns the University of Maryland Medical Center. Psyllium can alter your blood-sugar levels, so you should take it only under the close supervision of a doctor if you have diabetes. Garlic can thin your blood and increase the effects of blood-thinners such as Coumadin, which puts you at risk for bleeding. Talk to your physician about these and other risks before you begin taking any herb or supplement to treat fatty liver disease.
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