You will need to supplement with a high potency multivitamin and minerals without iron. The fat-soluble vitamins are the most critical especially if cirrhosis is present (50% of patients have fat malabsorption). Multiple antioxidants are needed. Quercetin 500mg in a.m. and p.m. CoenzQ10 250-500mg in a.m. and p.m.
Green tea - couple cups per day. DHEA if levels are low in chronic hepatitis. Glycerrhiza - solid extract 1/2 teaspoon 2x per day. N-acetyl cysteine 500mg 2x per day. Tumaric or curcumin - have shown hepatoprotective effects against inflammatory conditions of the liver found in toxic exposure. It increases the flow and solubility of bile. For our immune system I recommend Flax seed oil with borage for the omega 3,6,9 free fatty acids 3 TBSP per day. You need to keep it refrigerated immediately after using to prevent it from going rancid. It is great for our mind, heart, gut, and immune system.
Selenium is a mineral tested specifically with hepatitis B in China. We have to be careful not to take too much but 200mg per day is fine. It is also good for congestive heart failure, dementia, and metabolic problems like diabetes.
Our gut needs care, too. This is where we absorb all our nutrients. Some of the other supplements mentioned above also work to benefit the gut though we need some kind of probiotics to support nice fluffy small intestinal villi. I like Primal Defense "HSO" - Beyond Probiotics. As it turns out our gut has a very important role that is indirectly and at times directly related to our immune system. In other words if our gut is not healthy are immune system is not healthy. There are other supplements to boost your immune system like ImmPower AHCC, MGN3, and various Maitake antiviral preparations.
This last supplementation is vital: It is an infusion of high doses of vitamin C, from 50 to 75 gm per infusion. What is an infusion? An infusion is made by taking a liter of salt solution that matches our body fluids acidity - such as 9% normal saline solution - then adding other compounds to it. Once we have our final solution made at a slow rate we drip it into the veins. Why do I like infusions?
With an infusion we can have an effect over the whole body very quickly. The infusion is circulated through our body with each beat of the heart!
Why is vitamin C used? Dr.Linus Pauling studied the compound ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, for much of his life. He found that vitamin C is an effective antiviral agent that is non-toxic to our bodies. This is an important concept. Those of you who have already been treated with Interferon understand that this treatment itself can make us very ill. With the vitamin C infusion there are minimal side effects.
The intravenous infusion should also have doses of calcium, magnesium, B complex. While this is infusing you should get an IM injection of methylcobalamine. The vitamin C in high doses kills the virus. It is best to keep the vitamin C level in the blood at a continuous level therefore we will have to receive an infusion up to two to three times per week at first and maybe for many months up to a year. Before you start with these high levels of vitamin C you must be tested for an enzyme in the red blood cells, G-6-PD. If your red blood cells do not have the normal level of G-6-PD you risk hemolysis of your red blood cells with high doses of vitamin C. If your level does come back at a lower than normal level you can still receive between 50-75gm of vitamin C with each IV - just not the higher doses.
To beat this thing it takes diligence, to say the least. We don't have to be perfect but we have to keep the therapy and management program in the "on" position for at least a year to beat it. Even when the liver tests are normal and the hepatitis C titers (viral load) are coming down we have to continue the program. I think the virus may hibernate in the little crevices in the body, only to leech out a little at a time. This is why it is important that we keep the therapy going over the course of a year.
As you can see, to beat hepatitis C one must look at the whole body - not just at the virus. This is why it is called holistic medicine. In holistic medicine it is the whole body that is brought back into a balance. When we are balanced we are whole and at our optimum state. We speak of the whole as being parts of the mind, body and spirit. So far, we have been working with the body. What about the mind and the spirit?
Well, in Chinese medicine the liver is part of a triad, the liver, the spleen and the lungs. These three things are connected; they communicate with one another or maybe they don't. If they do not communicate well we have dis-ease. When we are seeing this dysfunctional triad, I think of sadness. This means we must take a look at our lives to acknowledge a sadness that we have not addressed. We generally do not connect our emotions with our illnesses. We generally adapt unconsciously and fail to notice this relationship.
So, now is the time to take notice and do something about it! As our mind starts to acknowledge these things in our lives and starts to act on a different level our body and organs will begin to communicate as they are meant to. I call this kind of communication "being in the flow." If we tell our mind how we want to live our life then our body will follow the directives it is given. It is actually very simple so don't try to make it more complicated than it is. I know it is hard at first. All the experts in the world do not know how you feel. Do they? So why look up to them? Look at yourself and believe in yourself. Do not second-guess yourself! Start by knowing who you are!
A way I have found to reach this kind of understanding is through some old methods. All one has to do is do it! Tai Chi and Yoga to achieve knowledge and understanding. By using these movements we can get in touch with ourselves. So I definitely recommend starting either one of these disciplines.
This gives us a starting point for healing ourselves of hepatitis C. I hope that I have given some knowledge and information that will help you in your journey to wellness.
Dr. Robbi Borjeson, M.D.
Robbi Borjeson, M.D. practices Intensive Preventive Care. Her undergraduate degree, from Northwestern University, is in Medical Technology and Microbiology. She obtained her MD from Rush Medical College. She finished one year of General Surgery at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago before changing to Internal Medicine at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix. As a postgraduate she has worked extensively with nutrition and holistic forms of medicine.
Reprinted by permission from Jeff Rense. http://www.rense.com
