liver disease
3 interactions related to liver disease
alcohol + folate
Chronic alcohol use causes folate deficiency through several mechanisms: it inhibits the reduced folate carrier in the intestine (blocking absorption), reduces the liver's uptake and storage of folate, and increases urinary folate loss. Folate depletion in turn accelerates alcohol-induced liver injury and disrupts one-carbon metabolism and DNA methylation.
alcohol + zinc
Chronic alcohol use lowers the body's zinc through reduced intake, impaired intestinal absorption, increased urinary loss, and altered zinc transporters (notably ZIP14). The relationship is bidirectional: zinc deficiency in turn worsens alcohol-related liver injury by weakening the intestinal barrier, allowing more bacterial endotoxin to leak into the portal blood, and reducing the liver's antioxidant defenses.
alcohol + vitamin a
Alcohol depletes the liver's vitamin A by inducing cytochrome P450 enzymes (notably CYP2E1) that break retinol down into toxic byproducts. Adding high-dose vitamin A or beta-carotene supplements on top of regular drinking can worsen liver injury rather than correct the deficiency, so repletion in drinkers is not as simple as taking a pill.