Alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase are endogenous (internal) enzymes used in medicine to diagnose liver and heart muscle pathologies. Increased enzyme levels indicate the presence of diseases. It is quite possible to reduce ALT and AST in the blood, as well as improve health. There are a lot of ways, but the greatest efficiency will be if you approach the solution of the problem comprehensively.
What is ALT and AST?
Any functional manifestations of the body - neuropsychic activity, respiration, muscle contraction are provided by the work of certain enzymes. The determination of the activity of most enzymes in biological fluid is used in medical practice as diagnostic tests. The most commonly used are ALT and AST.
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT or ALAT) is an enzyme that is present in all tissues and organs, but most of all in the liver. The main function of the enzyme is the conversion of food into energy. Muscles require amino acids for activity. ALT transports metabolic products from muscles to the liver, where they are used to produce glucose.
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST or AcAt) is an enzyme that is found in large quantities in the liver, heart muscle, skeletal muscle, brain, and kidneys. The enzyme accelerates the chemical reaction in cells necessary for metabolism. AST is a specific indicator of diseases of the heart, pancreas, and kidneys.
Abnormal performance of both enzymes indicates health problems. Patients with elevated rates are primarily interested in how to reduce ALT and AST in the blood. The level of enzymes is normalized automatically if the diseases indicated by their high content are cured.
Norms of indicators
Levels of ALT and AST are measured in units per liter of blood (U / L). In the analysis results, the upper boundary is the main reference point. The following indicators are considered normal:
- Men - ALT no more than 40 units / liter, AST no higher than 42 units / liter.
- Women - ALT and AST should not exceed 32 U / L.
The normal range for both enzymes is from 10 to 40 units. Such a big difference is due to several factors:
- The age of the patient. In old age, as a rule, the level of enzymes in the blood is slightly below the permissible upper limit. In adolescents, ALT and AST are also lower than in adults.
- Gender of the subject. In women, rates are lower than in men. Values considered normal for men will be too high for women.
- Genetics. People of different ethnic groups have differences in normal rates. Various mutations in the liver and kidney cells, even if they are rare, affect the performance.
- Method for determining the content of enzymes. The study can be performed colorimetric (Wrightman-Frenkel method) or spectrophotometric (kinetic) method.
- Taking medications. People with chronic diseases who are constantly forced to take medicines (diabetes mellitus, cardiomyopathy) should report their pathology and what medications they use before the study.
High results do not bode well. But, before you learn how to reduce ALT and AST, you should find out if any of the above factors could affect the result. It is also necessary to understand that the results signal the presence of diseases, but do not determine the type of damage. The final diagnosis is made after a comprehensive examination.
ALT and AST during pregnancy
Levels of ALT and AST usually do not change much during pregnancy. During the gestation period, the following indications are considered normal:
- ALT - 6-33 U / L.
- AST - 7-28 U / L.
If the indicators change, pregnancy complications are observed.
- Obesity. As you know, a woman in a position should eat for two, but some abuse food. Due to the constant hormonal changes, pregnant women who do not follow a diet quickly gain weight. The most dangerous is fat on the stomach, its excess provokes the development of liver diseases.
- Diabetes. Numerous studies have found that the risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy increases significantly. In diabetes, enzyme values exceed the norm.
But most often, a slight excess is due to hormonal changes and is adjusted by drugs. What pills to reduce ALT and AST, during pregnancy, the gynecologist decides. Self-administration of drugs is unacceptable, because it can harm an unborn baby.
What the increased indicators of ALT and AST indicate
High rates can be associated with various pathological conditions. Most of them relate to diseases of the liver or cardiovascular system.
- Viral and alcoholic hepatitis.
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The pathology is inflammatory and the second cause after hepatitis is an increase in the level of enzymes in the blood. Treatment of inflammatory processes of the liver is the most effective way to reduce the analysis of ALT and AST.
- Diabetes. The main danger is that high rates are often associated with complications of diabetes, mainly with liver diseases.
- Obesity. Overweight itself does not affect performance, the reason for the high level of enzyme complications that occur as a result of obesity.
- Cardiovascular diseases. With such pathologies, AST is usually increased.
- Muscle disease or injury. The severity of damage is determined using the ALT indicator.
- Urolithiasis disease. With kidney pathologies, the content of uric acid in the blood often increases, and it contributes to an increase in the level of transaminases.
- Pathologies of bile: gallstone disease, cholecystitis, pancreatitis.
- Viral infections. Usually the increase is small, but after treatment it is necessary to re-take the analysis.
- The presence of benign and malignant tumors.
- Depressive conditions.
What affects the analysis results
If AST and ALT are elevated, how to lower it and whether it should be done at all, the doctor explains. In some cases, the results may differ to a large extent for the following reasons:
- Violations of the rules of blood sampling.
- Drinking on the eve of heavy food or alcohol.
- The intake of food or drugs that dramatically increase the iron content in the blood.
- Taking medications containing paraaminosalicylic acid or erythromycin estromate.
- High pressure can affect the result. If a person suffers from hypertension before the test, it is necessary to fix the pressure indicators.
How to normalize performance with food
How to quickly reduce ALT and AST? The most effective, reliable, different duration and non-negative way to normalize enzymes is proper nutrition.
- Exception from the diet of fatty foods. Fatty foods put a heavy strain on the liver. If the body is constantly working in intensive mode, this leads to rapid wear. When eating fried pork, smoked ham, fatty cheese, the stomach does not cope with the processing of food. The assistants are the pancreas and liver. They produce additional acid, which in excess destroys cells. As a result, part of the intracellular enzyme alanine aminotransferase enters the bloodstream.
- The intake of vitamins. Another way to lower ALT and AST in the blood is to take certain vitamins. With a deficiency of thiamine (₁), hepatocyte deficiency may develop. Riboflamin (₂) increases the permeability of capillaries, cell membranes. Healthy cells synthesize transaminase enzymes in normal amounts. Niacin (₃) improves blood microcirculation, lowers cholesterol concentration, which has a beneficial effect on myocardium and hepatocytes.
- The consumption of plant foods. Vegetables, fruits and herbs contain many vitamins and minerals. Plant food is easily absorbed by the body, and when it is processed, the liver works sparingly. In addition, natural products have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects, stimulate cell regeneration, including parenchyma cells and cardiomyocytes.
Lifestyle change
In order to reduce ALT and AST in the blood, as well as improve health in general, it is necessary to get rid of bad habits. Even small amounts of alcohol cause serious liver damage. Frequent toxic effects destroy parenchyma cells, toxic hepatitis develops. As a result of cytolysis, transferases enter the bloodstream.
Smoking contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease. Nicotine is an alkaloid poison; it has a toxic effect on the liver. The substance spreads very quickly through the blood and is metabolized in the liver. Moreover, nicotine is not immediately completely eliminated from the body. The high content of poison has a toxic effect on the body as a whole. The substance destroys the elastic and muscle layer of the arteries. Even if the goal is not to reduce the level of ALT and AST, getting rid of addiction will only benefit.
Simple physical exercises, such as walking, morning exercises, jogging improve blood circulation. The body undergoes metabolic processes faster, the concentration of toxins decreases, blood pressure normalizes. Normal blood pressure improves heart function, and with low toxicity, the liver can spend more energy on restoring hepatocytes.
List of drugs that reduce ALT and AST in the blood
As a rule, a change in the number of enzymes is associated with the presence of pathologies. To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes additional specific tests and other examinations. Depending on the pathology, a treatment is prescribed, the basis of which is the use of drugs.
What drugs reduce ALT and AST cannot be answered unequivocally. They are selected individually, you can only highlight the most often prescribed by doctors.
- Hepatoprotectors - drugs that increase the resistance of the liver to various influences and damage. Medicines enhance the organ's performance and contribute to its recovery. Preparations can be of plant origin: Essentiale forte N, Hepabos, Karsil Oktolipen, Gepafor or synthetic Heptrazan, Glutargin, Betaina citrate, Moliksan.
- Enzymes and anti-enzymes - enzymes involved in the digestion of trypsin (protein), amylase (carbohydrate), lipase (fat): Panzinom Forte, Mezim, Festal, Creon, Equin.
- Cardiovascular preparations: “Digitoxin”, “Midodrin”, “Amlodipine”, “Quinidine”, “Carvedilol”, “Timolon”.
- Vitamins and mineral complexes. The most effective complexes will be those with a high content of tocopherol (E), ascorbic acid (C), choline, rutin (A), and resveratrol.
How to reduce ALT and AST folk remedies?
Alternative medicine can also help get rid of diseases in which transaminase levels increase. But in order for its use not to cause even more harm, it is necessary to coordinate the prescriptions with the treating doctor.
If you do not want to take drugs that reduce ALT and AST in the blood, you can try replacing them with herbs. Moreover, most drugs for liver pathologies are of plant origin.
- Milk thistle. The composition of the herb includes substances with hepatoprotective action. Milk thistle decoction helps strengthen hepatocyte membranes, the formation of new liver cells. To prepare the broth, take a teaspoon of plant seeds and pour boiling water (250 ml), insist 20 minutes. Strained infusion is drunk twice a day for half a glass before breakfast and dinner.
- Dandelion. The flower has a choleretic, hepatoprotective effect. Tincture of flowers is used to treat hepatitis, cholecystitis, pathologies of bile. To prepare tinctures in a half-liter jar, half of the dry flowers of the plant are poured and 150 g of vodka are poured, insisted for two days. Tincture is taken every day for 2 tbsp. tablespoons in the morning, at lunch and for dinner.
- Campion or Adonis spring. The plant includes glycosides of the heart group. Campion is used in medicine as a medicinal raw material for the treatment of cardiac pathologies. At home, you can cook an infusion. One teaspoon of a dry plant is poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted until it cools completely. Strained infusion is recommended to drink on an empty stomach and another 2-3 times during the day for 1 tbsp. spoon. The average duration of therapy is about 2 weeks.
Prevention
In order not to think about how to reduce elevated ALT, AST, you need to constantly take measures to improve health.
- Get rid of bad habits, especially alcohol.
- Consume more fresh vegetables, herbs.
- More frequent walks, better in a park or forest area.
- Avoid stress.
- Regularly undergo a routine examination by doctors.