Liver
Care
Liver, heal thyself!
How complementary
therapies can help liver disease
By Shawn Messonnier
DVM
It’s
the largest organ in the body and one
of its hardest-working. The liver metabolizes
food and helps in thelimination process,
makes bile so we can process dietary fats,
plays a key role in our overall immune
system, helps detoxify the body, and makes
the factors required for blood clotting.
So when we hear a diagnosis of liver disease,
it’s a serious matter. Fortunately,
this amazing organ is also capable of
completely recuperating.
Liver disease is the catch-all term applied
to any medical disorder affecting the
liver and usually causing elevated blood
levels of liver enzymes. It can be divided
into both acute (more common) and chronic
liver disease (see sidebar). Clinical
signs include lack of appetite, vomiting,
diarrhea, increased thirst, increased
urination, lethargy, jaundice, and in
severe cases, seizures. Usually, veterinarians
will diagnose liver disease based on blood
and urine tests, abdominal radiographs
(X-rays,) and abdominal ultrasound. However,
a liver biopsy is needed to determine
the cause of liver disease.
The limitations
of conventional therapy
Unfortunately, no treatment currently
exists for liver disease in dogs and cats,
unless a specific toxin is identified.
Supportive care includes intravenous fluids
and force feeding (force feeding is the
treatment of choice for cats with hepatic
lipidosis), generally through a gastrotomy
(stomach) tube for 2-3 months. You veterinarian
may suggest antibiotics and/or corticosteroids
for infectious conditions such as feline
cholangiohepatitis, but conventional medicine
is limited for liver disease. As a result,
turning to complementary therapy is the
only good way to help animals with liver
disease heal.
Dietary therapy
is the foundation to healing
As is true with many medical disorders,
diet plays an important role in the treatment
of an animal with liver disease. High
quality and highly digestible carbohydrates
will help supply energy while inferior
types of carbohydrates that are undigested
may, through the fermentation process
and production of extra ammonia, contribute
to liver toxicity in animals. Frequent
feedings of high quality, simple carbohydrates
such as white rice and potatoes are recommended.
Dietary therapy should include vegetables,
too, which act as a source of complex
carbohydrates and provide fiber. Fiber
helps bind intestinal toxins and promotes
bowel movements to remove these toxins
(by-products of protein digestion and
bacterial fermentation of undigested foods)
from the body.
Proteins provided by the diet must be
of high biological value to reduce the
production of ammonia, a by-product of
protein digestion. Most commercial foods
contain proteins that are not of high
biological value. (Many commercial foods
may also contain excess vitamin A, copper,
and bacterial endotoxins, all of which
contribute to the clinical signs in pets
with liver disease.) Unless your doctor
recommends protein restriction (usually
only needed by pets with encephalopathy,
a condition producing neurological signs
in pets with severe liver disease,) you
should feed normal amounts of protein,
since the liver requires protein to repair
itself.
Studies show that dogs with liver disease
fed diets containing meat-based proteins
have shorter survival times and more severe
clinical signs than dogs with liver disease
fed milk-based or soy-based protein diets.
Cats require higher protein diets than
dogs. While it may be more beneficial
to cats to also feed them diets based
on milk-based or soy-based proteins, most
cats prefer meat-based diets. Cats fed
milk-based or soy-based proteins must
have supplemental taurine (100-200 mg/day),
since milk has minimal taurine and soy
tofu has no taurine.
Often, force feeding of pets with liver
disease is needed, as many pets develop
anorexia (refusal to eat.) For example,
cats with hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver
disease) often refuse to eat. Force feeding
these cats is essential to help heal the
liver and correct the underlying problem.
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