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	The Liver Cleansing Diet 1007	$20.00
	Can't Lose Weight? Unlock the Secrets that KEEP you FAT 1015	$10.00
	Raw Juices Can Save Your Life 1012	$15.00
	The Healthy Liver and Bowel Book 1001	$20.00
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Reduce or avoid the use of –

• Alcohol
• Sodas and diet pop
• White sugar

Some people will find that these substances upset their sense of wellbeing, whilst in others a small to moderate intake of alcohol produces no adverse effects. It really is a trial and error thing. Do not drink more than 2 alcoholic drinks daily and ideally, do not drink alcohol every day.

Heavy smoking of cigarettes will weaken your immune system compromising its ability to fight the virus.

Why do we need nutritional medicine to fight Hepatitis C ?

1. More than 50% of all patients infected with the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) do not get good long term results from standard treatment which consists of interferon with anti-viral drugs. Treatment with these drugs lasts only 48 weeks; so you must ask yourself, what are you going to do after this time?
2. The HCV can hide in various parts of the body, such as the liver, even when you cannot detect the virus in the blood stream; thus a blood test will show the viral load is zero, which may give you a sense of a false cure. If the HCV reappears in the blood stream after "anti-viral drug cure" then nutritional medicine is essential for a good outcome. According to two recent Spanish studies the HCV can remain in the liver even when a patient has an undetectable viral level in their blood stream. In one of these studies reported in The Journal of Infectious Diseases July 2006, liver biopsies and blood specimens were taken from 12 patients who had HCV antibodies but had been negative for the HCV RNA (viral load) for 12 months. Despite their negative blood tests the HCV was found to be present in the liver in 10 of these patients. The other study reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases in November 2006, looked at 20 patients who tested negative for the HCV in their blood after interferon/ribavirin treatment. In 19 of these 20 patients, the HCV was still present in the liver tissue, as determined from a liver biopsy in these 20 patients. Thus you can see that even in the vast majority of successfully drug treated patients the HCV survives and waits for another time to attack you, especially when you let your immune system become weak and run down.
3. The HCV can become resistant to the anti-viral drugs which then become useless.
4. Research into vaccines against the HCV (mainly synthetic prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines) is still in its early stages and more funding is needed. According to the experts an effective vaccine against the HCV is 10 years away.
5. Fatigue is a common symptom of infection with the HCV. The liver provides the body with energy and if it is damaged, the liver cannot store glucose or make proteins – thus the muscles become weak. Treatment with anti-viral drugs causes worsening of the fatigue, depression and insomnia. This is where nutritional medicine can really make a huge difference.
6. Thyroid problems often co-exist with HCV infection and nutritional medicine can support thyroid function.
7. HCV infection is a chronic disease that must be managed for life, otherwise it can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. There is a shortage of liver donors for liver transplants.
8. Excess weight often results in fatty liver which greatly reduces liver function and health. Fatty liver can co-exist with HCV infection and will worsen the liver damage caused by the HCV.

To overcome all of these problems, drugs can only play a limited role. To treat the underlying causes we need to turn to the power of nutritional medicine. Over the past two decades there have been enormous advances in information in the scientific and medical literature linking incorrect nutrition to disease states. Research gives great insight into the nutritional factors in illness. Dietary changes and the appropriate use of nutrients, juices and herbs will reduce the risk of  chronic liver disease.

In many cases it is impossible to eradicate the hepatitis C virus from the body and patients find it difficult to tolerate drug side effects. It is therefore not surprising that sufferers are turning towards nutritional and herbal therapies to fight the virus. Natural therapies will not usually be able to eradicate the virus from the body; however they will definitely help to prevent the virus from damaging the liver. This approach is very successful and can keep the virus in a dormant or harmless state so that it does not damage liver cells.

Although nutritional medicine cannot ‘cure' HCV infection, by using Dr Cabot's program for Hepatitis C, many people have experienced a great improvement in the function of their liver and have reduced the risk of associated conditions such as cancer, cirrhosis and liver failure. This program needs to be adhered to basically as a way of life.

While we cannot guarantee to completely eradicate the virus by nutritional medicine alone, the following approximate results have been seen in Dr Cabot's patients:

• 70% have improved liver function
• 25% have normalized function
• 40% have significantly reduced viral load

Weight Loss and Hepatitis C

Weight loss in overweight people with chronic HCV infection will improve liver function. This was found by researchers in Queensland Australia who followed a group of people with chronic Hepatitis C and fatty liver. These patients were put on a 3 month weight reduction program and it was found that the weight loss led to a reduction in fatty liver, improved liver enzymes and improvement in fibrosis despite persistence of the virus. Reference: GUT 2002; 51:89-94

In Summary

Excellent results have been achieved by using nutritional programs in many patients with chronic viral infections of the liver. This can also reduce damage caused by any long-term systemic viral infection, including the AIDS virus. The most important strategy is to begin such a program as early as possible and to stay on it long-term. It is possible to restore normal liver function in many chronic viral hepatitis sufferers provided they also stick to a drug free life-style.  Nutritional medicine can prevent the virus from damaging the liver severely and can induce repair and regeneration in the liver. The good news is that of all the organs in the body the liver is most able to repair and regenerate itself. At the very least a significant improvement in liver function and well being will always be achieved, provided you do not wait until end-stage liver disease has set in.

Do you need a test for Hepatitis C?

If you received a blood transfusion or blood products before routine screening of donor blood was introduced (before February 1990), or if you have ever shared equipment (needles, spoons, swabs, tourniquets, etc) for injecting any drugs, it is important that you ask your doctor for a blood test to check for hepatitis C. If you have been tattooed, had body piercing or needle-stick injuries, you should also consider being tested for hepatitis C.

Testing and diagnosis

1. Antibody detection

The initial screening test for Hepatitis C, tests for the antibodies to the virus, so it does not look directly for the virus itself. Sometimes the antibody test comes back indeterminate and then a repeat test is required. Antibodies are produced in the body after exposure to the virus. Therefore this test indicates if the body has been exposed to the virus and has produced antibodies to fight it. It does not determine whether or not someone still has the virus or how long he or she has been infected. It takes up to 6 months for antibodies to HCV to form in the blood (this is called sero-conversion) It is therefore important to get retested 6 months after initial antibody test.

The main tests used are:

• ELISA III (Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay)
• RIBA (Recombinent Immunoblot Assay) This test is more expensive than ELISA and is generally used as a confirmatory test.

2. Virus Detection and analysis

The PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a test that looks for the virus in the blood. The PCR test amplifies the virus genetic material to a level that can be detected so it is useful when the antibody tests are unclear.  The PCR test is the viral load. It is often required to have these tests done to confirm a diagnosis.

Recommended supplements

LivaTone^® Plus Capsules/Powder

Choose a specific and heavy duty liver tonic, one which contains the clinically proven dose of the herb Milk Thistle to provide 420mg of pure Silymarin per day. This heavy duty liver tonic should also contain the additional supporting nutrients- sulphur bearing amino acids, the antioxidant vitamins E and C, the minerals zinc and selenium and all the B group vitamins.

Image	Name	Price	Qty	Buy
	Livatone® Plus 120 Capsules 2013	$30.00
	Livatone® Plus 240 Capsules 2015	$50.00
	Livatone® Plus Powder 200g 2012	$40.00