Blood tests are essential monitoring tools in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that affect or are affected by the blood in your body. Patients suffering from diseases of the liver – also known as hepatic diseases – must monitor their blood on a regular basis at intervals determined by their health care provider, according to the type of disease, its severity and its progression.

At Alchemist Lab, we use blood tests as an important aspect of determining the best natural approach to treating each patient with Hepatitis or other infectious disease.

In this article, you’ll learn about the use of blood tests as an indicator of the stage of Liver Disease, as well as how to interpret the results (“numbers”) associated with several of the most common tests. In addition, we’ve provided a guide to some treatment protocols (natural supplements) that we prescribe for blood-related conditions.

Blood Tests as an Indicator of the Stage of Liver Disease

When a patient has blood tests to better understand their liver disease, quite often they – as well as their doctors – focus first on liver enzymes and viral load as a measurement of how the patient is doing. While the amount of enzymes reflects inflammation, this doesn’t answer the “big picture,” which is the stage of liver fibrosis.

This begs the question: What tests best impart clues as to the stage of liver disease?

At Alchemist Lab, we look at the following tests to get a sense of the progression of liver damage: platelets, albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, ammonia, prothrombin time and bilirubin are blood tests that reflect the stage of liver fibrosis. Of these, platelets, albumin, and bilirubin are routinely performed. Prothrombin is becoming increasingly more common in blood panels. Red and white blood cells also will often drop as liver gets fibrotic; however, many other conditions can influence red and white blood cell count, so they are not reliable markers of the stages of liver disease.

Using blood tests to ascertain the stage of disease is by no means definitive. New blood tests that will give better information are currently under development.

The first of these is called Fibrosure, which is highly inaccurate, and we at Alchemist Lab consider it worthless as a measure of liver disease stage. This test has a 29% rate of being off by at least two stages, often indicating that liver disease is worse than it actually is and frightening people, in our experience. The value of the Fibrosure test lies in it being a very good idea that will eventually be implemented effectively by tests to come.

A new version of this test called the Fibrospect is out, though we have not seen it used enough with our patients to know how accurate it is.

Combining the results of blood tests with a patient’s signs and symptoms can be very accurate in indicating the stage of liver disease. For example, if blood platelet count is below 70, albumin below 3.3, accompanied by swollen abdomen and legs (ascites), this clearly indicates that the patient has cirrhosis (stage 4).

Comprehending Blood Test Numbers

Another aspect of comprehending blood tests is knowing what the numbers mean – how low is low, how high is high. In our opinion, the best labs will alert the patient when a value on their test is truly critical.

Here are some indications of various blood tests and what the measurement ranges mean

Blood Platelets:

Every lab’s reference blood platelet range varies somewhat from other labs. The Alchemist Lab perspective on platelet count is as follows:

Normal: 140 to 400

Low: 100 to 140

Of-Concern Low: 70 to 100

Critically Low: Under 70

Danger Zone: Under 50

Alpha-fetoprotein (A-F):

Alpha-fetoprotein reference ranges can differ more dramatically between labs, ranging between 6.6 and 12 in what is considered high. What is more important is what is considered the danger zone for alpha-fetoprotein measurements.

Normal: Under 9

Elevated: 9 to 200

Beginning Stage of Danger Zone: 200 to 400

Danger Zone: Over 400

In all the years of practicing, we at Alchemist Lab have only seen one person who actually had liver cancer whose Alpha-fetoprotein value was under 200 (161). In the majority of cases of frank liver cancer we have seen, the A-F value was over 1000. Yet we routinely see patients who have been told that they are dying when their A-F levels are 25.

Albumin

Albumin, which is made in the liver, is the most abundant protein found in the blood. Albumin maintains osmotic pressure. When Albumin levels drop too low, fluid leaks out of blood vessels and causes ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen) and swelling of the legs.

Creating an accurate scale for albumin as an indicator of liver disease is more challenging, as we at Alchemist Lab have seen edema and ascites in patients with greater variation, including albumin levels well into the normal range.

In treating Hepatitis we at Alchemist Lab have never encountered excessive levels of albumin that can be problematic. In one scale, over 5.4 is high. We have also seen fluid accumulation cases in patients with low-normal albumin levels.

Here is a rough guide for how to use albumin levels as a measure of liver health.

Strong: 4.5 to 5.0

Good: 4.0 to 4.4

Low-Normal: 3.5 to 3.9

Low: 3.0 to 3.4

Critically Low: Under 3

Prothrombin Time (PT)

Prothrombin Time measures one of the pathways of blood coagulation – how long it takes for blod to clot. The liver synthesizes Factor VII, which is an integral part of this process. Factor VII is also Vitamin K dependent.

Tissue Factor (TF) is found outside of blood vessels. When bleeding happens, Factor VII binds with Tissue Factor, which initiates clotting.

Normally the liver has massive blood flow. As it gets damaged and fibrotic, blood does not move through the liver as easily. When this happens, the body compensates by creating additional distended blood vessels – called varices – to bring more blood to the liver.

Advanced liver disease can translate into high prothrombin, as Factor VII can be in short supply. This is critically important, as bleeding to death is a very real possibility, especially given that varices are more fragile than normal blood vessels.

For Prothrombin Time we simply call out-of-range-high an advanced warning sign of fibrotic damage.

Alchemist Lab Treatment Protocols for Blood-Related Conditions

Supplements to treat both low platelet levels and high prothrombin time levels are:

Super K (Vitamin K)

Red Root Herbal Combination

Tian Qi

Supplements to treat low albumin levels are:

Chlorella

Red Root Herbal Combination

Supplements to treat high alpha-protein levels are:

Coriolus

Red Clover Combination

Super Artemisinin

Tian Qi

Super K

At Alchemist Lab, we’re always looking for the best natural treatment protocols for hepatitis and other infectious diseases, and the conditions and symptoms that accompany those illnesses.

This article features some recent additions to our Apothecary – three antiviral supplements that we recommend and prescribe for treating hepatitis and other infectious diseases.

Naringenin

The first antiviral supplement is the bioflavinoid Naringenin, which is the bitter principle (constituent) of grapefruit.

The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) moves from cell to cell by latching onto very low density lipoprotein (vLDL, which is thought of as the “bad” cholesterol). Naringenin inhibits the cellular secretion of vLDL. So like statin drugs, Naringenin has the ability to lower HCV viral loads by interfering with the ability of the virus to move.

Quercetin (Optimized)

Quercetin is another bioflavinoid that is most well known for treating allergies.

HCV depends upon two different heat shock proteins (HSP #40 & 70) for viral replication. Quercetin inhibits the synthesis of these HSPs, thus lowering viral load.

The other important ramification of how Quercitin works in the body is that by affecting a cellular mechanism rather than the virus directly, viral resistance is not a factor.

Jungle Brew Herbal Combination

Our favorite recent addition to our antiviral supplements is our proprietary Dragon Heart Jungle Brew Herbal Combination (“Jungle Brew” for short).

Many of our best products at Alchemist Lab (such as Oxymatrine, and now Jungle Brew) were introduced to us when we followed up on reports by patients, who asked us to evaluate what they read on the Internet. We are both skeptical and open-minded in tracking down claims of herbal antiviral success.

Originally we at Alchemist Lab saw reports of high-dose Phyllanthus (Chanca Piedra) and Uncaria Tomentosa (Cat’s Claw) being used to knock out the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and our research indicated that these two natural herbs indeed offer an effective natural treatment.

Jungle Brew is a mixture of herbs from the rainforest of South America, including Uncaria Tomentosa and Phyllanathus Niruri.

Phyllanthus is broadly distributed around the world, including growing in India and Indonesia. We chose South America as a fresher, cleaner source of medicines, especially since we work with companies providing South American herbs that we trust more than their Asian counterparts. In developing the formula for Jungle Brew, we added in Jergon Sacha, Picao Preto, Sarasparilla, Honeysuckle Bud, and Patrinia Alba.

Jungle Brew has wide applicability in treating several infections, including Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C, Lyme Disease and fungal infections.

Patients we’ve prescribed Jungle Brew have reported extremely positive feedback. For example, one patient reported that his fungal nails started clearing up when he added this natural herbal mixture to his extensive treatment protocol. Hence we started using Jungle Brew as an antifungal, often adding in Pau D’arco as well for this purpose.

Although patients are reporting excellent results with Jungle Brew, we’re still fine-tuning this herbal formula. Mulungu and Amargo are two herbs that we’re testing and tasting for possible inclusion later. Tasting, because at Alchemist Lab we pride ourselves on creating herbal formulas that taste good (or are at least palatable) instead of the bitter taste that many people associate with herbal formulas.

Seeking Patient Feedback

At Alchemist Lab, we’re constantly seeking the very best natural treatments and constantly seeking to improve – especially when it comes to our own Dragon Heart proprietary herbal formulas.

We welcome your feedback about your experience with any of the products mentioned in this article. We’re especially interested in learning about any changes in viral loads as indicated by lab reports. Please visit the “Contact Alchemist Lab” page to find out out to contact us by phone, fax and via e-mail.

High-fructose corn syrup is as damaging to the liver as alcohol.

Although you might consider this a controversial statement, understanding it is actually quite simple:  Both corn syrup and alcohol are metabolized by similar pathways in the liver.

This article focuses on the results of the intake of high levels of corn syrup, which is highly concentrated fructose. Fruit also contains fructose, but fruit also contains fiber that slows the absorption of fructose. Flooding the body with fructose beyond its adaptive mechanisms is what causes problems; not eating fruit.

Fructose is metabolized by the liver and is stored as fat in amounts that common table sugar (glucose) is not. Glucose metabolism is bottlenecked by a regulatory enzyme that raises insulin, which elevates leptin levels, which in turn suppressive appetite. Both alcohol and high fructose lack the regulatory framework that governs glucose metabolism.

Recent animal studies have confirmed that high fructose consumption leads directly to fatty liver. Research in adult humans consuming fructose-sweetened beverages for just ten weeks found that they gained belly fat, raised triglycerides, and became more insulin resistant.

Excessive fructose increases uric acid, which in turn raises blood pressure.  Uric acid inhibits nitric oxide which is a prime mechanism for lowering blood pressure.

Fructose also increases inflammation in the liver by initiating an enzyme that is appropriately named “Junk 1.”

The Hepatitis C virus rides on a carrier of vLDL (very low density lipoproteins), which is how it moves from cell to cell.  At the very end of the fructose pathway is vLDL, where fructose produces high levels of bad cholesterols.

Therefore, at Alchemist Lab, we prescribe:

Lowering or fully eliminating products containing high-fructose corn syrup from your diet.

Eating more fruits and vegetables as a means of getting your natural source of both fructose and fiber.

Taking Naringenin (the substance that makes grapefruit taste bitter) to inhibit the formation of vLDL, which in turn reduces high levels of bad cholesterols and helps keep bad cholesterol levels lowered.

CLICK HERE to learn more about and purchase Naringenin.