liver damage Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Menopause Drug Receives FDA Black Box Warning for Risk of Severe Liver Injury

The AHA! Team — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 05:04:56 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – Once again, Big Pharma is chasing the almighty dollar, treating the natural process of aging as a disease, and exposing women to serious injury while doing it. A “black box warning,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) most serious warning, has been placed on Veozah (fezolinetant), a drug marketed to menopausal women seeking relief from hot flashes. The drug became suspected of causing severe liver problems when a case was entered into the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) Database. Big Pharma’s latest menopause drug comes with a severe liver injury warning The details of the case entered into the FAERS database described a reaction to the drug that was characterized by symptoms that included nausea, yellow skin and eyes, fatigue, dark urine, itching, and light-colored stools. All of these point to serious liver injury. Within 40 days of the patient starting Veozah, the symptoms were very prominent. She experienced elevated liver blood test values and abnormal bilirubin and liver enzyme levels. Once she stopped taking the drug, her symptoms gradually decreased and eventually went away completely. Over time, her blood test values returned to normal as well. FDA downplays liver injury risks of Veozah while Big Pharma profits from side effects The FDA offered its standard response: “All medicines have side effects, even when used correctly as prescribed.” However, the agency failed to address the significant revenue generated from the serious side effects that benefit pharmaceutical companies. The liver injury in question was severe, requiring additional treatment with more medications to counteract the damage caused by the first drug. In Big Pharma’s world, even when they lose, they still win. FDA downplayed risks The FDA downplayed the risks by using carefully crafted language, emphasizing that liver injury is rare and individual medication responses vary. This made it impossible to predict whether others might suffer the same adverse effects. The agency issued new guidelines for healthcare professionals and patients, recommending more frequent liver blood tests while on Veozah. Patients should undergo testing once a month for the first two months and then at three, six, and nine months. If any signs of liver injury appear, patients are instructed to contact their healthcare provider immediately. Aging is not a curse Aging is a natural process, with the human body undergoing various changes as it adapts to shifting hormone levels and other factors. However, for Big Pharma, it’s an opportunity to profit. According to Medicare’s National Health Expenditure report, adults 65 and older spend more than five times the average on personal health care, reaching $22,356 in 2020. There is an overwhelming societal push to stay unnaturally young. The media constantly feeds us messages suggesting we’re never quite good enough and that as we age, we become irrelevant. Staying young has become synonymous with staying relevant. Sadly, many doctors buy into this narrative, promoting age-defying “remedies” that fuel the industry’s agenda. But aging is not a disease. Cut your risks of pharmaceutical injury with natural solutions There are several natural ways to reduce hot flashes without the harmful side effects that often come with pharmaceutical treatments. One study found that a plant-based, vegan diet rich in soy helped women reduce their hot flashes by 88%. This simple dietary change not only alleviates hot flashes but also eliminates the risk of harmful side effects associated with drugs. Other natural remedies, such as Dong Quai, black cohosh, and red clover, have also been shown to offer relief. Consult with your holistic healthcare provider about incorporating these natural menopause remedies into your routine instead of turning to drugs that can harm your body. The human body is an incredible machine that thrives when given the proper support. Nurture it with natural solutions, and it will serve you well. Editor’s note: Discover natural ways to detoxify the liver and avoid unwanted disease symptoms, own the Fatty Liver Docu-Class created by NaturalHealth365 Programs. Sources for this article include: FDA.gov CMS.gov FDA.gov To read the original article click here.

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Research Shows: Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water Damages Liver & Kidney Function

The AHA! Team — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 05:28:25 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – We know there’s fluoride in most brands of toothpaste and mouthwash. But, most disturbingly, conventional dentistry is proud to support these products – even though the dangers of fluoride exposure have been well-documented throughout the independent scientific literature. To make matters worse, way too many people are still drinking tap water contaminated with fluoride. We’ve got to tell people how dangerous this is to human health. For example, research in the mid-1970s by the late Dr. Dean Burk, head of the cytochemistry division of the National Cancer Institute, indicated that 10,000 or more fluoridation-linked cancer deaths occur yearly in the United States. Now, a recent study published in Environmental International points to how damaging fluoride exposure can be to adolescents, too. A one, two punch if you will – since many of these children were already affected by fluoride in the womb – and now their continued exposure is leading to organ damage. Fluoride represents a clear and present danger to children Ashley Malin, PhD, lead author of the study, which comes out of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, expresses serious concern about the compound’s widespread addition to the public drinking water supply (a move many call mass medication). In a press release, Malin states: “This study’s findings suggest that there may be potential kidney and liver health concerns to consider when evaluating fluoride use and appropriate levels in public health interventions. Prospective studies are needed to examine the impact of chronic low-level fluoride exposure on kidney and liver function in the U.S. population.” Malin and her colleagues assessed blood samples of nearly 1,983 adolescents. They also assessed tap water samples and their fluoride content in the homes of 1,742 adolescents. Based on their analyses and consistent with prior research about childhood fluoride exposure, the authors determined a dose-dependent relationship between fluoride exposure and kidney and liver function. In other words, the more fluoride children are exposed to, the more damage their organs will endure. Importantly, the authors substantiated that even low levels of fluoride exposure can contribute to liver and kidney damage. They also point out that children with poor kidney and liver function may absorb even more of the fluoride – which sounds like the start of a vicious cycle to us. Tap water can be very dangerous to your family’s health About three-quarters of all U.S. public drinking water has been laced with fluoride – reportedly as a way to protect our nation’s dental health, even though more than a quarter of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 lose all their teeth anyway. But did you know bottled water also contains naturally occurring fluoride? The point is that most bottled water brands are bad for you, but tap water isn’t necessarily much better – at least until it’s purified. So, an effective way to protect your family from contaminants and pollutants in available water sources is to use a high-quality water purification system. Ideally, look for a system that filters out fluoride, too. And know this: Children and adolescents can only excrete about 45 percent of fluoride via their kidneys – the very organs that are damaged by the compound they must try to get rid of. As an adult, you can clear fluoride at 60 percent. So, as important as it is for you to protect yourself against fluoride dangers, it’s the more critical for you to protect your younger children. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov BostonMagazine.com FluorideAlert.org NaturalHealth365.com Oralanswers.com MountSinai.org To read the original article click here.

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Eating Citrus Fruits Can Help Prevent Obesity-Related Diseases

The AHA! Team — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 08:49:15 +0000

Dena Schmidt via NaturalHealth365 – While it’s been known that citrus fruit is an important part of a healthy diet, researchers now believe they may be key in preventing weight-related health problems. A new study has shown that citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes contain an antioxidant that counteracts some of the serious health risks of obesity. Adding more citrus fruits to your diet may help reduce the risk of heart disease, liver disease, and diabetes. These fruits also provide essential vitamins and minerals that support overall well-being and boost the immune system. Why citrus fruits are a smart choice for the immune system When a person consumes a high-fat diet, the body stores the fat it can’t immediately use in cells throughout the body. These fat cells produce a substance that damages other healthy cells. This is called oxidative stress, and the immune system normally deals with it with its own antioxidants. However, overweight people who continue to eat high-fat foods can overwhelm the immune system’s ability to respond and prevent disease. This is where foods that contain high levels of antioxidants can help. Citrus fruit contains a special form of antioxidant called flavanones. These substances appear to reduce the risk of oxidative stress and damage to healthy cells. This also takes the pressure off the overworked immune system. Flavanones in citrus fruits reduce a variety of health risks The study published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN highlights the broad health benefits of citrus, revealing their potential in managing cardiovascular risk factors, neurological disorders, and other health conditions through their rich chemical composition and therapeutic properties. The researchers reviewed meta-analyses, clinical trials, and the chemical compounds present in various citrus species. They utilized information from databases like Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, examining keywords related to citrus and its health benefits. They found that citrus plants have beneficial effects on various conditions, including cancer risks, cardiovascular risk factors, neurological disorders, urinary tract conditions, and gastrointestinal tract conditions. The study also noted the antimicrobial, and pain-alleviating effects of citrus and its potential in managing obesity risk factors. Another study investigated the impact of citrus flavanones on different dietary groups, including those on a high-fat diet. It found that flavanone consumption led to a significant reduction in indicators of cell damage in both blood and liver, surpassing a 50% reduction in some cases. Furthermore, flavanone-treated subjects showed less liver damage and fat accumulation. Start adding organic citrus fruit to the diet to prevent disease Adding flavanones to the diet promotes health by counteracting the effects of fat cells on the body. Eating citrus fruits helps reduce liver damage, lower the amount of fat in the blood, and reduce glucose levels. Besides the benefits of antioxidants to the health of overweight people, a diet that includes citrus fruit can benefit people of any weight, reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. We, at NaturalHealth365, would suggest you only eat organic fruits to avoid unwanted chemicals in your diet. The next step involves exploring optimal ways to incorporate concentrated flavanones into daily diets. Flavanones found abundantly in organic citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes, offer a promising natural strategy to combat heart and liver diseases. To maximize their benefits, consider consuming various citrus fruits and vegetables daily. Incorporating colorful salads, citrus-infused water, or enjoying citrus fruits as snacks can enhance your intake of these beneficial compounds. Additionally, pairing citrus fruits with leafy greens can further boost their nutritional impact. Bottom line: making citrus fruits a regular part of your diet can support overall health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov ACS.org Sciencedaily.com To read the original article click here.

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Study Shows How Liver Damage from Stress & Aging Might Be Reversible

The AHA! Team — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 08:48:45 +0000

Duke Health – DURHAM, N.C. – While the liver is one of the body’s most resilient organs, it is still vulnerable to the ravages of stress and aging, leading to disease, severe scarring and failure. A Duke Health research team now might have found a way to turn back time and restore the liver. In experiments using mice and liver tissue from humans, the researchers identified how the aging process prompts certain liver cells to die off. They were then able to reverse the process in the animals with an investigational drug. The finding, which appears in the journal Nature Aging, holds high promise for the millions of people who have some degree of liver damage – livers that are essentially old due to the metabolic stresses of high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes or other factors. “Our study demonstrates that aging is at least partially reversible,” said senior author Anna Mae Diehl, M.D., the Florence McAlister Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. “You are never too old to get better.” Diehl and colleagues set out to understand how non-alcoholic liver disease develops into a severe condition called cirrhosis, in which scarring can lead to organ failure. Aging is a key risk factor for cirrhosis among those who have been diagnosed with non-alcoholic liver disease, known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. One in three adults worldwide have the disease. Studying the livers of mice, the researchers identified a genetic signature distinct to old livers. Compared to young livers, the old organs had an abundance of genes that were activated to cause degeneration of hepatocytes, the main functioning cells of the liver. “We found that aging promotes a type of programmed cell death in hepatocytes called ferroptosis, which is dependent on iron,” Diehl said. “Metabolic stressors amplify this death program, increasing liver damage.” Armed with their genetic signature of old livers, the researchers analyzed human liver tissue and found that the livers of people diagnosed with obesity and MASLD carried the signature, and the worse their disease, the stronger the signal. Importantly, key genes in the livers of people with MASLD were highly activated to promote cell death through ferroptosis. This gave the researchers a definitive target. “There are things we can use to block that,” Diehl said. Again turning to mice, the researchers fed young and old mice diets that caused them to develop MASLD. They then gave half the animals a placebo drug and the other half a drug called Ferrostatin-1, which inhibits the cell death pathway. Upon analysis after treatment, the livers of the animals given Ferrostatin-1 looked biologically like young, healthy livers — even in the old animals that were kept on the disease-inducing diet. “This is hopeful for all of us,” Diehl said. “It’s like we had old mice eating hamburgers and fries, and we made their livers like those of young teenagers eating hamburgers and fries.” Diehl said the team also looked at how the ferroptosis process in the liver impacts the function of other organs, which are often damaged as MASLD progresses. The genetic signature was able to differentiate between diseased and healthy hearts, kidneys and pancreases, indicating that damaged livers amplify ferroptotic stress in other tissues. “Together, we’ve shown that aging exacerbates non-alcoholic liver disease by creating ferroptic stress, and by reducing this impact, we can reverse the damage,” Diehl said. In addition to Diehl, study authors include Kuo Du, Liuyang Wang, Ji Hye Jun, Rajesh K. Dutta, Raquel Maeso-Díaz, Seh Hoon Oh and Dennis C. Ko. The study received funding support from the 021 AASLD Pinnacle Award, the National Institutes of Health (R01 AA010154, R01 DK077794, R56 DK134334); and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. To read the original article click here.

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Can ‘Forever Chemicals’ Be Destroyed? Promising Research Says Perhaps!

AHA Publisher — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 07:00:15 +0000

Leah Zerbe, MS, NASM-CPT, NASM-CES via Dr. Axe – A new analysis by Consumer Reports found that toxic “forever chemicals” still lurk in supermarket and fast food containers, despite mounting public health outcries to remove it. Used for its grease-proof properties, food packaging like paper wrappings and cardboard boxes are often coated with the nonstick chemical to keep it from seeping through and getting on your hands and clothing. That may sound like a good thing at first glance, but it readily migrates into food, and there’s now plenty of evidence linking this chemical class to a host of health woes. The Consumer Reports update is the latest evidence showing that this “unbreakable” chemical is ubiquitous — it’s even found in burger wrappers and salad bowls! Other recent reports show that “forever chemicals” linked to immune system damage, cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility and thyroid disruption are routinely detected in everyday products like yoga pants, bedding, tablecloths and more, too. The worst part of all of this is that this chemical application really isn’t necessary in the first place. And it’s so widespread that, today, PFAS contamination is found inside most of us, too. However, there is some good news. Researchers have found that a common ingredient in soap may help destroy these dangerous “forever chemicals.” According to Science: Researchers led by William Dichtel and Brittany Trang, chemists at Northwestern University, studied numerous recipes involving DMSO. One combined a little bit of the solvent with sodium hydroxide, a common component of soap, in water. When the team heated the mix to boiling temperature, it readily degraded one of the largest subsets of PFAS compounds. The researchers noted it does not work for all PFAS but does for some. What Are Forever Chemicals? Types of forever chemicals are known as PFAS. They are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with the following properties: water-resistance heat-resistance oil-resistance Even the American Chemistry Society admits: “The chemistry that makes them so useful also makes them stick around in the environment and in us — and that could be a bad thing.” PFAS are used commonly in: fire-fighting foams rain coats shoes and boots nonstick cookware stain-proof carpeting and clothing fast-food packaging (which means there are forever chemicals in food) Due to their persistence and widespread use, forever chemicals are now also a tap water toxicity problem. Just like phthalates, another widespread chemical group, it seems PFAS started off as a good thing, but without proper testing for long-term impacts on human and environmental health, we unleashed a monster. Test Findings Consumer Reports tested more than 100 food packaging products from restaurant and grocery chains. PFAS contamination was detected in at least some packaging from every single chain tested. The dangerous grease-proof chemical turned up in things like: French fry cartons and bags Molded fiber salad bowls Sandwich wrappers Paper bags for chips Single-use paper plates And more Even companies that have vowed to eliminate PFAS wrappers tested positive at low levels, likely because the “forever chemical” is widespread in the environment now and contamination is inevitable. PFAS contamination is in the air, water, soil (and inside of us!) due to sending it to landfills, incinerating it (often in Black and Brown neighborhoods, which is an environmental justice issue), and runoff pollution that winds up in crops. Working within the U.S.’s weak chemical regulation system also means that industry is always several steps ahead of public policy. “Trying to ban individual PFAS is an impossible game of whack-a-mole. As soon as one is addressed, industry comes up with another.” Brian Ronholm, Consumer Reports Separate testing by Toxic-Free Future also delivered some key findings recently, including: Out of the “stain-” or “water-resistant” products tested, 72% tested positive for PFAS. These included hiking pants, mattress pads, comforters, rain jackets, tablecloths and napkins. At least one product from each of the 10 retailers tested contained PFAS. Manufacturers are using a mixture of PFAS that includes compounds banned in other countries. Alternatives to PFAS for stain and water resistance are in use. Toxic-Free Future items marketed as stain- and/or water-resistant were free of PFAS. A separate PFAS investigation from Environmental Health News and Mamavation found: Evidence of PFAS in women’s sportswear like yoga pants from popular brands, including Old Navy and Lululemon. 25 percent of the activewear tested positive in an EPA-certified lab for indications of PFAS. Workout leggings and yoga pants tested positive, including brands from Old Navy and Lululemon. Why Are They Dangerous? PFAS chemicals are linked to: Harm to the immune system Reduced vaccine efficacy Reproductive system damage Reduced fertility Lower birth weight Increased risk of certain cancers Metabolism problems Weight gain Impaired healthy cholesterol levels How to Avoid Them If you’re wondering how to avoid forever chemicals, the answer is it’s virtually impossible at this time. Today, PFAS chemicals are even detected in groundwater, tap water, rain water and even the air. They’ve traveled around the atmosphere and rained down on even our most primitive locations all over the planet. It’s no wonder they’re inside of most of us, too. “These toxic chemicals are so ubiquitous that it’s now literally raining PFAS,” said Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group’s senior vice president for government affairs. “While we’re heartened that the Biden administration and the EPA continue to make PFAS a priority, to truly tackle this national PFAS pollution crisis, we need a whole-of-government approach that includes the Department of Defense, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration.” Sign here to tell Congress to stop the PFAS contamination crisis. Limit meals of takeout food. If you do get takeout, transfer it out of the packaging as soon as possible. Tell companies like REI to ban the use of PFAS. Avoid nonstick cookware. Opt for PFAS-free outerwear from companies like Patagonia. Check your municipal water tests for PFAS contamination, and form a community group to pressure decision-makers to clean up the problem. Avoid anything labeled as “stain-proof” or “water-proof” unless you can verify the manufacturer used a safer, PFAS-free alternative. Conclusion There are more than 9,000 forever chemicals out there. They are so widespread that 99% of Americans contain PFAS inside of their bodies. Studies show PFAS exposure may cause thyroid issues, weight gain and certain cancers, and high cholesterol is linked to PFAS exposure as well. Watch out for “stain-proof” and “waterproof” claims. Some yoga pants, mattress pads and comforters tested positive. You can do your best to avoid PFAS chemicals, but public health experts say we need stronger laws and a nationwide plan to deal with PFAS pollution. Use this guide for more information on how to protect yourself from this widespread pollution. To read the original article click here.

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