liver disease
3 interactions related to liver disease
alcohol + folate
Chronic alcohol use causes folate deficiency through multiple mechanisms: it inhibits the reduced folate carrier in the intestine (blocking absorption), reduces hepatic uptake and storage, and increases urinary folate excretion. Folate depletion accelerates alcohol-induced liver injury and disrupts one-carbon metabolism and DNA methylation.
alcohol + zinc
Chronic alcohol use causes zinc deficiency through reduced intake, impaired absorption, increased urinary excretion, and altered zinc transporters (especially ZIP14). Zinc deficiency in turn worsens alcoholic liver disease by disrupting intestinal barrier function, increasing endotoxin leak, and amplifying hepatic oxidative stress.
alcohol + vitamin a
Alcohol depletes hepatic vitamin A by inducing cytochrome P450 enzymes (especially CYP2E1, CYP26A1, CYP26B1) that catabolize retinol. Paradoxically, vitamin A supplementation in heavy drinkers is hepatotoxic — alcohol potentiates retinol's toxicity to liver cells, and high-dose beta-carotene combined with alcohol increases liver injury.