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Vitamins:
The liver plays a role in several steps of vitamin metabolism...
Vitamins are either fat-soluble (Vitamins A, D, E, and K) or
water-soluble (Vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins).
Patients
with advanced liver disease may become deficient in water-soluble
vitamins, but this is usually due to inadequate nutrition and poor food
intake. Vitamin B12 storage usually far exceeds the body's requirements;
deficiencies rarely occur due to liver disease or liver failure. When
dietary intake drops, however, thiamine and folate commonly become
deficient. Oral supplementation is usually all that you need to restore
thiamine and folate stores to the normal range.
Fat-soluble
vitamins require not only adequate dietary intake but also good
digestion and absorption by the body. That's why normal production of
bile is essential. Bile in the gut is required for the absorption of
fat-soluble vitamins into the body because these vitamins are relatively
insoluble in water. Bile acts as a detergent, breaking down and
dissolving these vitamins so they may be properly absorbed.
If
bile production is poor, oral supplementation of vitamins A, D, E, and K
may not be sufficient to restore vitamin levels to normal. The use of a
detergent-like solution of liquid vitamin E (TPGS) improves the
absorption of vitamin E in patients with advanced liver disease. The
same solution may also improve the absorption of vitamins A, D, and K if
the latter are taken simultaneously with the liquid vitamin E.
Source:
"Living with Hepatitis C: A Survivor's Guide" by Gregory T.
Everson, M.D., and Hedy Weinberg. 1997, Hatherleigh Press. |
