Q: Dear Dr. Mao,
What are some natural treatments for treating hepatitis?
A: In Europe, the herb milk thistle is commonly used along with other treatments for hepatitis.
The following natural treatments are widely recommended for hepatitis, but they have not been scientifically proven effective at this time:
In Japan, an injectable combination of licorice (the herb, not the candy) and certain amino acids is used for chronic hepatitis. However, it is not clear whether oral licorice is equally useful, and the high dosages used for treatment of chronic hepatitis may cause an elevation of blood pressure.
Some but not all observational studies suggest that green tea might help prevent various types of liver disease. Other common natural medicine recommendations for hepatitis include high doses of vitamin C; liver extracts; thymus extracts; taurine; lecithin; and the herbs astragalus, reishi, and Phyllanthus amarus. However, there is as yet no solid scientific evidence that these approaches really work.
This is a very serious disease. Medical supervision is essential.
