Hi,I am 41 yrs old and for the first time ever I have raised ALT levels. Nornal range 5 to 55 u/l. Mine was 88. Is this classed as high or moderate or mild? The only thing I have changed in the last 9 months, last test was then and was fine, I put myself on a high protein, low calorie diet, so I was most likely not maintaining a well balanced diet and since chanhing it to add more food groups I do have more energy so I dont think just fruits and protein was right for me for so long, I raised my steps 2 weeks prior to the test from 12000 a day to 24000 a day, so a massive leap, also started taking tumeric and ginger health shot. Do you think all these things could have elevated my ALT level? Like I say nothing else changed in last 9 months i also lowered calories a fair bit and lost some weight fairly quickly, would that also contribute?
Worried I have a rapidly spreading cancer.
Thanks xx
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ali1983
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ALT alone being slightly raised is not indicative of cancer. The moderators will probably edit your post as we are none of us doctors here and posting test results and asking for advice is not permitted.
There are any number of reasons one marker could be elevated - maybe you had an extra glass of wine or had the tests done after cocktails the night before. Maybe your BMI is higher than it should be. Maybe you were fighting an infection of some kind or were on some medication that changes your liver enzymes.
If your GP was worried they would run the tests again. Until then continue to do what you are doing - improve diet, exercise, live well, stay away from Dr Google. If you are genuinely worried about your liver, avoid all alcohol, but until an actual medical professional tells you there is cause for concern try to stop worrying.
I personally would not be all that concerned about one liver marker being raised on one occasion (unless the doctor said I should be concerned). Liver markers can also go way, way off scale and although being out of range is something to notice and monitor, I personally would not be hugely worried about the levels you currently have. A drastic increase in exercise can cause a temporary spike in liver enzymes. AST would typically increase along with ALT so if your AST has also increased (even if it remains in range) then it is certainly possible exercise could be contributing. But this is just how I personally would view it and if you are worried you should speak with your doctor.
Thank you so much for reading my concerns and your take on them, I really appreciate ir. I didnt have my AST checked, looks like it was just ALT and tbe Biribulum (not sure thats the spelling). The B one was fine.
Thank you for your time. I have an appt later today, unfortunately health anxiety has taken over.
I would stop the tumeric supplement because this can mess about with your LFT's. An ALT of 88 is only a moderate elevation but could be down to the tumeric.
Tumeric in food is ok but as a supplement it can be harsh.
Thank you very much. I didnt realise it could raise these levels, have you had experience of it doing so? I started taking a health shot every day, have for about 5 months now, I dod stop this last Tuesday when I got my results so hopefully it will flush out soon maybe? Xx
No personal experience I just know of it cropping up as a possible trigger in auto immune liver disease.
Liver disease: There is some concern that turmeric can damage the liver, especially in people who have swelling (inflammation) of the liver (hepatitis) or reduced or blocked flow of bile from the liver (cholestasis). Don't use turmeric if you have these liver problems.
It can be a 'trigger' for drug induced liver injury even in folks with no liver history. With that mild/moderate elevation of ALT you don't have a liver injury but stopping the supplement might be wise to see if it is impacting on your liver numbers when bloods get repeated.
Hi, thank you. I have to repeat bloods in 3 months, so I will maintain a well balanced diet, lower my exercise back to normal levels and stop the protein and tumeric to see if it all helps. I guess too much of a good thing can become a bad thing x
The problem with doing everything at once is that you then don't know what worked if the levels go back to normal. Of course they might go back to normal anyway, whether or not you make changes. Having a well balanced diet is always important. In your position I would stop any dietary supplements since they are the most likely to be affecting the liver. If you wish to maintain a high level of exercise then you will need to fuel that with the foods you eat, obviously, but a well balanced diet with enough sources of protein should cater for this. And I think that exercise induced changes to the liver readings tend to be in response to an acute change and then balance out if you continue and get used to a new regime. I could be wrong, and you might not want to carry on with so much exercise anyway. I don't know your reasons for making such a sudden increase. I guess this post is a long way of saying that in your position I would make exercise the last thing on my list to reduce. But I'm a gym rat, so...
I had ALT 85 a month ago and back to normal range this month. I drank less and ate better. If all other numbers are ok don’t worry. Alt can elevate for all sorts of reasons.
Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it. Was yours diet and exercise related then? I dont drink that much or that often but I did double my protein, ignoring other food groups and exercised to excess. My good cholesterol was slightly low but they also put that down to diet possibly
Protein powder is actually bad for the liver, it is highly processed whey which is converted to sugar. higher sugar and processed foods in diet can result in fatty liver. better getting your protein from natural sources.
I never actually used the powder, i ate alot of protein foods and snacks, i did however have some reqdy made protein shakes some of the time, would they be classed the same as the powder?
Albeit your Alt is out of range I wouldn’t consider it high as mine have been at 1500 before 😊 not advisable I can assure you. However I’m no professional and 88 may still be a worry I g factor for a health care professional however I am savvy to the fact that herbal remedies and supplements can have negative effects on the liver so possible avoid thirst in future.
great that your keeping active but maybe try to pace yourself from such drastic jumps and changes in your routine, give your body chance to catch up with itself.
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