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Heavy Metals – Mercury and Lead Damage Liver: The Rising Prevalence of Fatty Liver Disease Is Partly Due To Heavy Metal Exposure.

19 Oct 2011 04:00:22 AM

New Research On Correlation of Heavy Metals and Liver Disease
Recent research showed that unexplained high levels of liver enzymes (ALT) associated with Fatty Liver Disease are associated with heavy metals—mercury, lead in the blood stream.

Action: heavy metal screening is advised.

What Is Fatty Liver Disease?
The prevalence of Fatty Liver Disease (FLD) has been on the rise, now affecting approximately 25% of adults. Around half the fatty liver cases are associated with obesity/diabetes or alcohol consumption. However, there are many unexplained cases called Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). It is usually diagnosed by an ultrasound. NAFLD has few or no symptoms at first, but it can progress on to fibrosis of the liver, which is more serious liver damage.

A recent study shed light on the reasons why people suffer from NAFLD. The study brought to light evidence that lead and mercury and a pollutant called PCB’s can cause the illness.

“Fatty Liver” does not literally mean an overfed liver from a high-fat diet, although those with obesity and metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes) are more prone to it. Fatty Liver describes a long-term inflammatory response causing fat deposition in the liver due to dysfunction and damage to liver cells. Chemicals, especially heavy metals, can cause this harm to our liver.

There has long been evidence that mercury and lead as well as PCB’s can cause liver damage, but previously no study proving the association with the all too common Fatty Liver Disease in humans.

How Our Liver Works
Imagine our body as an aquarium. The liver is the filter in the tank. What happens if the filter is never cleaned out?

The liver cleanses our blood as well as eliminating unwanted substance like chemical toxins or debris from our blood stream. When we overload ourselves with toxins such as alcohol or are exposed to increased levels of heavy metals, at a certain point the protective detoxifying capacity of the liver runs out. When healthy liver cells dysfunction or die, fat cells deposit and replace them. A “fatty” liver is the result.

How To Know Our Liver Is Ill…
When the liver is injured or sick, it secrets an enzyme called Alanine Transaminase (ALT) into the blood stream. A blood test for ALT level is used in clinical medicine, where the ALT level reflects the degree of injury the liver sustained.

Patients with liver disease (e.g. viral hepatitis), alcohol abuse, or metabolic disorder (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, obesity or hemochromatosis—a genetic disease with iron overload by metabolic disorder) are generally associated with high levels of ALT. The overall elevated ALT prevalence corresponds to approximately 10% of the US adult population, reflecting less than half those with Fatty Liver Disease, which affects 30% of US population, and approximately 20% of the adult Hong Kong population.

New Research On Correlation of Heavy Metals, PCBs and NAFLD
Recent research showed that unexplained high levels of ALT have also been recorded in people without the aforementioned conditions. Further blood tests revealed that the high ALT levels in those with Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease are associated with heavy metals—mercury, lead, as well as a pollutant PCB in the blood stream. (Reference)

Sources And Harmful Effects Of PCB And Heavy Metals:
PCBs:
Although PCBs were banned in the 1970s, all of the study subjects had detectable PCB levels, especially in the older subjects. PCBs exist in chlorinated materials, and most of the industrials applications involve chlorination. The liver is the final organ destination for the compounds and they cause liver cells lesions, which results in inflammation and increased oxidative stress. High levels were associated with a 7 times increase in liver damage (high ALT).

Mercury:
Mercury exposure mainly comes from contaminated seafood as mercury enters the aquatic chain through the release of water-form mercury from drains of coal-burning factories. The fumes from coal-fired stations also release mercury pollution into the air. It has well-characterized toxic effects on the human nervous system, developing fetus and the kidneys. It also causes depletion of glutathione (an antioxidant), increased LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), narrowing of liver blood vessels and causing chronic fatigue. High levels are associated with a 3 times increase in liver damage (high ALT).

Lead:
Lead exposure usually comes from respiratory or digestive system, originating from lead-paint dust, or air pollution, and food chain contamination. Regardless of the route of exposure, it is bio-accumulated and is most concentrated in the liver. Present generation has some 20 times the levels stored in body tissues than their grandparents’ generation. Lead overload causes liver cells to become enlarged into hyperplasia (initiating the formation of tumors in the liver), and similar to mercury, causes inflammation, oxidation and increased blood LDL cholesterol. Liver cells die more rapidly and are replaced by fatty deposits. High levels are associated with a 3 times increase in liver damage (high ALT).

The above factors help to explain why fatty liver is diagnosed in people who are not overweight, alcoholic or do not have chronic liver diseases. In the test subjects around 95% of people had mercury and lead exposure, it being such a common pollutant. At IMI we commonly find mercury is four times the safety limits recommended by the World Health Organization.

How To Safeguard Your Liver Health
Since NAFLD is unnoticeable until it develops into a severe, irreversible stage, we need to pay attention to heavy metal exposures in our daily lives. It is so easy to forget about the insidious nature of toxic pollutants. They affect us in more ways than we know.

IMI recommends health conscious people to do an assessment for blood lead, and mercury, or a hair test for all heavy metals. We can do a “challenge test” under a practitioners’ supervision for the most accurate assessments. All these assessments are available in IMI.

Make positive changes for your health and wellness, one at a time. Put heavy metal testing onto your list of check ups.

We at IMI can help you protect your health and achieve long-term goals of total wellness. For more information on assessments, detoxification and chelation therapy, visit www.imi.com.hk or call 2523 7121, or make an appointment with our doctor.

IMI also runs a professional detoxification program designed to facilitate the elimination of heavy metal toxicity, email health@imi.com.hk for more information on group and individual programs.

 

Reference:
Matt Cave, Savitri Appana, Mihir Patel, Keith Cameron Falkner, Craig J. McClain, Guy Brock. 2010. Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Lead, and Mercury Are Associated with Liver Disease in American Adults: NHANES 2003–2004. Environmental Health Perspectives 118(12):1735 – 1742.