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What Causes Elevated ALT And GGT Levels?
Question: How can I lower the ALT (135) and GGT (65) readings of my liver tests - is it due to B12 deficiency?
Is it as result of diet, I do eat lots of fruit and veggies. 2/4 cups of coffee per day and 1 std white wine in the evening. I eat red meat (small portion) less than twice per week. I do have high levels of stress. I do not have a gall bladder and therefore avoid fatty foods.
Is it as result of diet, I do eat lots of fruit and veggies. 2/4 cups of coffee per day and 1 std white wine in the evening. I eat red meat (small portion) less than twice per week. I do have high levels of stress. I do not have a gall bladder and therefore avoid fatty foods.
Brief Answer:
Need to find out the cause of elevations
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX thank you for using Healthcare Magic. B12 deficiency is unlikely to cause elevations in your liver tests. You need to have further evaluation of your liver to see what is causing this. Changing your diet won't have a big impact. You are already avoiding fatty foods which would be the main thing I would suggest.
You need further evaluation including bloodwork and possibly imaging studies of your liver. If you are overweight, this could be fatty infiltration of the liver. Alcohol can cause abnormalities in the liver, so you might try stopping that. However, in your case I suspect it's not a problem, since your intake is moderate and you don't mention any elevations in the AST (which usually goes higher than the ALT with alcohol and cirrhosis).
I would suggest you be checked for chronic hepatitis B and C. You are in the age group where testing for hepatitis C is recommended for everyone, regardless of liver tests. An elevation like you have is very consistent with hepatitis C (or B). These are treatable.
Less likely is some obstructive process in the liver. If you had your gallbladder removed for stones, the process that created them occurs in the liver, so you might have some blockage there. I would expect an elevation in your bilirubin, though, and you don't mention that.
Best to see your doctor and get further evaluation of your liver. Once the problem is diagnosed and treated, those levels should come down.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Need to find out the cause of elevations
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX thank you for using Healthcare Magic. B12 deficiency is unlikely to cause elevations in your liver tests. You need to have further evaluation of your liver to see what is causing this. Changing your diet won't have a big impact. You are already avoiding fatty foods which would be the main thing I would suggest.
You need further evaluation including bloodwork and possibly imaging studies of your liver. If you are overweight, this could be fatty infiltration of the liver. Alcohol can cause abnormalities in the liver, so you might try stopping that. However, in your case I suspect it's not a problem, since your intake is moderate and you don't mention any elevations in the AST (which usually goes higher than the ALT with alcohol and cirrhosis).
I would suggest you be checked for chronic hepatitis B and C. You are in the age group where testing for hepatitis C is recommended for everyone, regardless of liver tests. An elevation like you have is very consistent with hepatitis C (or B). These are treatable.
Less likely is some obstructive process in the liver. If you had your gallbladder removed for stones, the process that created them occurs in the liver, so you might have some blockage there. I would expect an elevation in your bilirubin, though, and you don't mention that.
Best to see your doctor and get further evaluation of your liver. Once the problem is diagnosed and treated, those levels should come down.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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