Lifestyle changes, nutrition, and supplements for hep b

General Discussion
49

Hi all,

I wanted to post this video and hopefully get some feedback from @HealthExperts and anyone for that matter. I know there are a LOT of products out there that make many claims that are false and some that can even be harmful. There are even a lot of products out there that are sold by ‘doctors’.

I did want to preface that I do know that Dr. Gundry is for real and his claims about his profession and expertise are true. 3 of my specialists are out of Loma Linda University Medical Center where Dr. Gundry was a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon.

After starting Vemlidy in 2017, I had numerous reactions and issues that I have mentioned before on this forum. One of those issues was major GI problems. I would have so many digestive and ‘bathroom’ related issues. I started taking one of Dr. Gundry’s products called, “Bio Complete 3” that was supposed to help the gut with probiotics, prebiotics AND postbiotics. I had taken many probiotic products prior that never helped or seemingly did anything. I started that product over 2 years ago and even though I still have major GI flareups, it’s not as often and the ‘bathroom’ issues mostly levelled out. When I say ‘bathroom’ issues, I am speaking of a back and forth battle of constipation and diarrhea without getting too TMI. This product has helped with regular BM’s and I personally know that it has had a positive effect.

All that being said, and knowing that Dr. Gundry is for real and his products are made out of high quality and quality control tested ingredients, I was wondering what our scientists and doctors have to say about this particular product and if the scientific claims made about the foods we eat and the medical claims about the efficacy of the ingredients put into this product are viable.

I have been hesitant to use too many supplements and even a multivitamin as I am worried that with cirrhosis, my liver can’t handle processing too much and I don’t know if a multivitamin would have certain minerals that my liver couldn’t handle or too much of any particular vitamin that could cause more damage. Is this possible with a multivitamin?

This particular product is not a multivitamin but something that is supposed to help us absorb and utilize what Dr. Gundry says is such a low amount of nutrients within our food, even ‘healthy’ foods.

Any feedback would be appreciated as I don’t want to waste money on something that won’t work but even worse, something that could be harmful for the liver.

Thanks,

Paul

https://www2.thesoiltruth.com/video210315a_ap/?business_unit=a00f400000dk8tnaab&uid=aa_plstart_210324&utm_campaign=gmd-email-activeadv-vslpush-ver2-211017&utm_campaign_id=7013w000002H1pQAAS&utm_source=email&sessionid=885968919542

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50

I just watched The video I’m interested . I hear a bunch of crazy herbal stuff too and it’s hard to believe hopefully this one seems to be legit. I wonder what the experts have to say about his products at the same time I really do want to just try to see what happens but only thing is I just don’t want the product to mess with my liver that’s what is concerning

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51

Hi Paul,

To be honest, this comes off like a bit of a scam. The simplification of the science of nutrition and metabolism is just too much and I am not sure that these claims are supported by the science or by reputable societies (e.g. American Heart Society, American Diabetes Association, etc.). I also don’t find much in terms of recent research articles from him, which throws up a lot of red flags.

I mean, I’m sure he is a decent cardiothoracic surgeon, but that’s not who I would go to for advice on stuff that concerns my metabolism or nutrition. It’s really a completely different system: I would definitely not be commenting on, say, IBS, even though it’s in the same realm of gastroenterology.

While I’m happy that you have had a reduction in your GI flare-ups, it looks like the major component of this stuff is fibre. It might be cheaper for you to increase the amount of fibre in your diet or fibre supplements.

Regarding vitamins, I’m actually finding it difficult to understand what specific vitamins are in there, which makes it hard to tell if they could be liver toxic or not. This is the problem with supplements like this: they are very poorly regulated, so anything could be in there.

Hope this helps,
Thomas

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52

Hi Thomas,

I appreciate your feedback and your candor. However, I don’t think I was clear on a couple of points.

  1. The product I have been taking for over 2 years that helped manage the bathroom issues was called Bio Complete 3 and it is a pre, pro, post-biotic. THIS product is called Active Advantage and is something completely different.

  2. This product is not a multivitamin. I was also asking generally about multivitamins; if they are safe when you have cirrhosis. I have read that certain things like iron is hard for the liver to process and can even cause harm if you have too much.

Here are a bunch of different articles about multivitamins and liver disease and some of them contradict each other. Some say that multivitamins are important because the liver can’t process nutrients as well and needs supplementation. Some say that certain vitamins can cause harm, especially if over a certain amount. I have read that people with liver disease, especially cirrhosis can often times be deficient in vitamin D; which I am and one of my doctors has me on a prescription D supplement.

My worry is that I am not getting enough nutrients absorbed into my system and need a multivitamin but on the flip side, I don’t want to take something that can be harmful. That’s why I was hoping that with this product, it would just help me absorb and utilize the nutrients I take in from food better. For some reason I have really bad reactions to most meds I am given and I was hoping that maybe I could help my body more naturally with supplements and reduce the amount of meds I have to deal with.

I did tell my GI and my hepatologist about the Bio Complete 3 back when I started taking it and they were fine with that product because it was just gut biotics. Based on your input, I will definitely hold off on this product since there is no positive feedback on the three major ingredients used in it. I wouldn’t mind if any of the medical community chimed in on this too.

I hope I am not coming off as a little obsessive, it’s just that I am trying to take a proactive stance on my care since five years later, after starting treatment, I still have many of the issues that arose after treatment. I eat healthier than the average bear, I am active and constantly going when I am not stuck in bed due to flareups or meds, I take the slew of meds I am prescribed like a good boy regardless of all the side effects, I am very careful about putting toxins in my body and even very careful about bacteria, and particularly this past year I have been focusing on the mental side of things and am trying to stay as positive as possible by volunteering, keeping my mind active and doing therapy. So that’s why I am looking for other ways, methods and means of improving my quality of life. Maybe what the doctors seem to insinuate is true and I am just sort of stuck due to the state of my medical status. I had a previous hepatologist tell me every time I would tell him the issues I was dealing with, that it’s your liver, it’s your cirrhosis causing it. That is the same hepatologist that told me that food can’t hurt you, drugs (meds) can’t hurt you. We all know that’s not true.

As always, I appreciate your input and effort Thomas.

Thank You,

Paul

P.S. I know this is a lot of reading but there are a lot of questions on this forum about supplements and holistic remedies. Maybe this information will help someone… or maybe even cause more confusion like it did for me. That’s one of the reasons we have all you professionals, to give us some guidance when there is so much data out there; that at times can be conflicting data or hard to discern.

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Hi Paul,

I think you make great points, and glad that you got the OK from your hepatologist. I think it’s great that you’re taking a pro-active stance. I think the issue of having a lot of contradicting information is that there is no simple answer and nothing that fits everyone. If you are worried about your absorption, you’d probably need to visit a certified dietician (a board-certified food and nutrition expert) to get it assessed and get something that targets what you might be missing. It’s worth noting that a nutritionist is not subject to any regulations.

Cheers,
Thomas

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2 posts were merged into an existing topic: INTRODUCTION THREAD: People affected by Hep B

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I have benifited alot from the discussion on steatosis save to ask if by observing proper diet, steatosis grade S1 /mild can regress…

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56

Yes, when the disease is mild like this it can regress, but sometimes it can take years.

TT

57

With blood test it can go up and test. I gotten f1, f2 now back to f0 and s0.

Better to to fibroscan.

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Thanks alot for your precious time and informative response.
I am also happy that graduallyiam getting into our community.
The good thing about this group is it has experts and people who emphathise.

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59

I wrote you a long text on my laboratory, CT scan and US . Kindly find pleasure to give a gift of response.
I am aware you advised me to write in the community forum and am still trying.

I am sorry in advance if I appear imprudent.

With regards
Kinoti.

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Please I want to find out if this medication is safe to take with ENTECAVIR Sandoz.?
THANKS

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Hi @evans,

I’m actually not sure what these pills are and how they work. I would strongly recommend you talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking it to make sure that this to make sure that it does not interact with any current medications.

I have looked on pubmed and could not find and good (non-biased) evidence that this improves any liver health, so I personally would not take it given the potential risk to your health and little obvious benefit.

Thomas

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I think for avoidance of confusion similar to that of repeating the same questions, I will not be using heb b foundation Facebook account.
Kindly clarify to me if the Hep b foundation on Facebook is a member of Hep b community which you are associated with.

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Hi Kinoti, the Hepatitis B Foundation Facebook page is managed by the Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF), which is a partner NGO of this patient forum. Thomas Tu is one of the scientific advisors on the HBF. Hopefully you can benefit from reading both sources of information. This hepbcommunity.org forum, however, is very patient-focused and we are for the most part peers - in that most of us are living with hep b and try to share our expertise and knowledge with one another. Thanks for asking! Always, Joan

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64

Dear @Kinoti,

@Joan_Block is right, but I feel like some clarification is necessary.

The Facebook group for the Hepatitis B Foundation that Joan started more than 30 years ago is this one: https://www.facebook.com/hepbfoundation/. This group is linked in with medical professionals and also the scientific community at large.

The other one that has an almost identical name https://www.facebook.com/groups/hepatitisbfoundation/ (which I think you posted on) is NOT linked to the general medical or scientific societies.

Thomas

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65

Thanks Thomas and Joan. You are great people.

Regards
Kinoti

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Thanks Thomas, you’re really doing a great job.

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67

Hi Thomas,
I am a late entrant and sometime I might be commenting on issues discussed long time ago. To start,I might make mistakes but eventually I will mature and become like anyone of you.
No more said, I have seen your comment that, it is most unlikely for CHB patients to develop NAFLD (MAFLD) as you said(for reasons unknown).
Going through the document which you attached above by Wiley Online Library “Concurrent Fatty Liver increases risk of HCC among Patient with Chronic Hep b”,the author observes " patient with Chronic Hep b have reduced serum triglycerides and lower metabolic syndrome compared with the general population and hence they are relatively “protected” from fatty liver.
Hence, I think the reason (as per that finding) why CHB patient are unlikely to develop fatty liver is known ie having reduced triglycerides and lower metabolic syndrome compared to general population…

Regards
Kinoti

68

Hi colleagues

It has been said that a cup of coffee is good for our liver. How is it prepared, with some little or no sugar?
Who will advise me.

Kinoti.