Using Tesamorelin and Glutathione to Treat Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, healthcare bloggers will no doubt be focusing their content on heart health. I have no objection to that. The heart is certainly a vital organ worthy of admiration.

However, the liver is often overlooked and equally deserving of love. After all, it’s a veritable workhorse in terms of all the vital services it provides. This dark reddish-brown, wedge-shaped organ serves the body with everything from digestion to detoxification. It produces bile to help digest fats and absorb fat-soluble vitamins. It helps regulate metabolism. It manufactures essential proteins. It regulates cholesterol levels by producing, converting, and breaking them down. And it’s a crucial component of the body’s detox mechanisms.

This Valentine’s Day, start showing your liver a little love. In this post, I introduce you to two natural therapies that promote liver health and provide valuable support for combatting a common liver condition — nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

What Is Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health issue, affecting nearly a 32 percent of adults — 40 percent of men and 26 percent of women, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, NAFLD can progress to more severe conditions, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer.

NAFLD happens when too much fat builds up in the liver, even without heavy alcohol use. It is closely connected to health problems like obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol. Too much fat in the liver can cause stress and swelling, which can damage liver cells and make the condition worse. Right now, there are no FDA-approved medicines to treat NAFLD, so making healthy lifestyle changes and using natural treatments is very important.

While healthy diet and lifestyle, along with exercise, remain the cornerstone of maintaining liver health and managing NAFLD, emerging research highlights the potential benefits of Tesamorelin and glutathione in mitigating liver damage and improving overall liver function.

Targeting the Excess Fat with Tesamorelin

Here at PROVOKE Health, we provide peptide therapies that include Tesamorelin, which human studies have shown to significantly reduce NAFLD in 35 percent of study participants compared to only 4 percent of the placebo group. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tesamorelin for patients who have HIV. For HIV patients — in part due to the cocktail of medications they’re often prescribed — have increased deposits of visceral fat. These are fats that accumulates in and around organs, including the liver.

However, visceral fat isn’t a problem for those with HIV. Many people who are overweight, insulin resistant, diabetic, or have a condition that stems from chronic inflammation, also accumulate fatty deposits in and around the liver, which is why NAFLD has skyrocketed in recent decades. Tesamorelin can benefit people who are looking for a solution to NAFLD.

NAFLD impairs a person’s ability to build muscle, and muscle development is tied directly to liver health. Tesamorelin stimulates your body to produce more growth hormones, which, in turn, increases muscle mass and reduces visceral fat. Under the guidance of your medical provider, it can be used safely to combat obesity, loss of muscle with age, and fatty liver. The therapy also improves overall wellness.

Boosting Liver Health with Glutathione: The Antioxidant Powerhouse

Glutathione, often called the “master antioxidant,” is a tripeptide composed of glutamine, cysteine, and glycine. It plays a crucial role in detoxification, neutralizing free radicals, and supporting immune function.

The liver is the primary site of glutathione production. Unfortunately, its levels are often depleted in individuals with NAFLD due to increased oxidative stress.

How Glutathione Benefits NAFLD Patients

Research suggests that glutathione supplements may help manage NAFLD. One clinical study in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Gastroenterology found that taking glutathione by mouth improved liver function and reduced fat buildup in the liver. Another study showed that glutathione therapy helped the body use insulin better and lowered signs of oxidative stress, which is linked to metabolic syndrome — a major cause of NAFLD

Specifically, glutathione benefits NAFLD patients in the following ways:

• Reduces oxidative stress. NAFLD is driven by an imbalance between oxidative damage and antioxidant defenses. Glutathione helps combat oxidative stress, preventing liver cell damage.
• Supports detoxification. The liver relies on glutathione for detoxifying harmful substances, including environmental toxins, heavy metals, and alcohol byproducts.
• Enhances insulin sensitivity. Research suggests that glutathione can help with insulin resistance, a key factor in NAFLD development.
• Reduces inflammation. By modulating inflammatory pathways, glutathione helps alleviate liver inflammation, reducing the risk of disease progression.
• Prevents fibrosis. Glutathione plays a role in preventing liver scarring (fibrosis), a significant concern for those with advanced NAFLD.

Boosting Your Glutathione Levels

Although you can find plenty of glutathione supplements on the market, taking glutathione orally may not increase your glutathione levels significantly. A more effective do-it-yourself approach is to provide your body with the nutrients and exercise it needs to manufacture glutathione. Here are a few ways to stimulate the production of glutathione and conserve its use:

• Consume foods and spices that are rich in glutathione or its building blocks. Garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale) are rich in sulfur, which is essential for glutathione production. Spinach, avocados, asparagus, and turmeric (which contains curcumin) can also help increase glutathione levels.
• Increase your intake of vitamins C and E. These antioxidants support glutathione recycling and enhance its effectiveness.
• Supplement with precursors (building blocks). Precursors include N-acetylcysteine (NAC), alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), and whey protein.
• Exercise regularly. Moderate exercise has been shown to boost glutathione levels while reducing oxidative stress, which helps to conserve glutathione.
• Manage stress. Chronic stress depletes glutathione. Practice stress management techniques, such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and mindfulness.
• Avoid alcohol and other toxins. Excessive alcohol consumption and exposure to environmental toxins can deplete glutathione.
• Get enough sleep. Quality sleep supports the body’s natural detoxification processes and promotes glutathione production.

To increase glutathione levels more directly, you can take it intravenously or by breathing in nebulized glutathione. The latter can be beneficial for treating certain respiratory conditions but may have less impact on raising glutathione levels in the liver.

At PROVOKE Health, we offer medically prescribed glutathione as an IV infusion. Our Autoimmunity Flare IV delivers between 200 and 3,000mg of this powerful antioxidant to your body to activate enzymes, improve the metabolization of alcohol and other toxins, reduce belly fat, alleviate oxidative stress (which can improve complexion), promote skin health, and enhance mood.

NAFLD is a silent yet serious liver condition with limited treatment options. Fortunately, we have two substances to promote liver health and reduce the buildup of visceral fat in the liver — Tesamorelin and glutathione. While more research is needed, incorporating these two therapeutic substances, while adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle, can help to slow and perhaps even reverse the course of this disease, restoring liver health and function.

If you’ve been diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and have received few or no options for treating it, we encourage you to consult with a functional and integrative healthcare provider like the ones here at PROVOKE Health to explore your options. Treatments are available.

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About the Author: Dr. Matthew Lewis, D.C., DACBN, CFMP^® is the Founder of PROVOKE Health (previously Functional Healthcare Group), — a Tampa, Florida-based functional medicine and integrative healthcare practice that is committed to motivating, guiding, and supporting patients on their journey to regaining their confidence, resiliency, and health. By creating and co- managing highly personalized treatment plans that address complex health problems, Dr. Lewis and the team at PROVOKE Health repair patient’s confidence, resiliency, and health.