Is it Possible for Stress to Increase Liver Enzyme Levels?

Can Stress Cause Elevated Liver Enzymes?

The answer is yes, stress and anxiety can potentially cause elevated levels of liver-produced enzymes. It’s important to understand what liver enzymes are, what they do, and how to ensure they stay within healthy ranges.

What Are Liver Enzymes?

Liver enzymes are proteins that your liver produces to help catalyze biochemical reactions and processes that your body needs to operate normally. They play a crucial role in your metabolism, regulating your red blood cells, creating glucose, storing energy, controlling the levels of other chemicals, and facilitating the excretion of waste products.

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Symptoms of Elevated Liver Enzymes

Abnormal enzyme levels can cause a range of symptoms, including abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, jaundice, loss of appetite, and excessive fatigue.

Causes of Elevated Liver Enzymes

The cause of elevated liver enzymes can be one or more conditions, such as excessive alcohol consumption, metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, liver cancer, inflammation of the muscles, side effects of medications, celiac disease, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, fatty liver disease, or cirrhosis.

Tests for Elevated Liver Enzymes

Your doctor can test your liver function by taking a sample of your blood and sending it off to the lab. The lab will test the levels of liver enzymes found in your blood, mainly AST, ALT, ALP, and GGT. Normal levels of these enzymes vary from person to person but should fall within a standardized range.

How to Treat and Manage Stress?

Stress is unavoidable, but there are many things you can do to help keep it under control. Taking breaks, exercising, practicing meditation, connecting with others, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and making a routine to follow can all help manage stress and support healthy liver function.

What Can You Do to Normalize Elevated Liver Enzymes?

Normalizing your liver enzyme levels can be as simple as changing your diet and getting more exercise. Regular exercise, eating more vegetables and less meat, avoiding processed and fast foods, and drinking coffee can all help support healthy liver enzyme levels.

The Lowdown

Stress and anxiety may cause your liver enzyme levels to get out of balance, but a healthy diet and good stress management can support healthy levels of liver enzymes. If you’re concerned about your liver enzyme levels, speak to your doctor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about liver enzymes, their symptoms, causes, risk factors, and why healthcare providers check them in this section.