Although it is found in many different parts of our body, alanine aminotransferase, which gives information about the health of this organ, is dangerous for your health, as it is most concentrated in the liver. Let’s take a closer look at what ALT is and see the important details you need to know about this enzyme.
Even if we are not aware of it, our body constantly produces many different enzymes in order to maintain its basic functioning in a healthy way. Thanks to these enzymes, basic tasks such as converting food into energy are performed. Alanine aminotransferase, abbreviated as ALT, is one of them. Although it exists in many different parts of our body, The organ with the most ALT is our liver.
The fact that the ALT enzyme is concentrated in the liver is of great importance for possible health problems. Because according to the results of the blood test, if your ALT value is low or high, your doctor may directly suspect liver problems and start a much faster treatment. Bride What is ALT, an important enzyme? Let’s take a closer look and see in detail what can happen in case of low and deficiency.
What is alanine aminotransferase, ALT for short?
Alanine aminotransferase, abbreviated as ALT, is one of many different enzymes produced in our body. ALT, a type of protein; It is also found in organs such as kidneys, muscles, pancreas and heart at a certain rate, but the most concentrated organ is the liver. Therefore, the ALT value gives many important clues about the health of a person’s liver.
What does ALT do?
The most basic function of alanine aminotransferase, briefly ALT enzyme; converting the food we take into our body into energy. ALT and other similar enzymes in the liver Nutrients that cannot be properly converted into energy can be mixed with the blood and cause many different health problems. For this reason, the ALT value, that is, the healthy functioning of the liver is extremely important.
What is the ideal ALT value?
The ALT value of alanine aminotransferase is denoted by U. per 1 liter of blood The ideal ratio of your ALT value is between 7 and 56. Due to their natural structure, the ALT value of men is much higher than that of women. For this reason, after the values in question are evaluated by a specialist, taking into account other health conditions, a diagnosis of height or low is made.
Causes of ALT elevation:
- Liver damage due to alcohol use
- fatty liver
- Hepatitis A, B, and C, which cause liver inflammation
- Cirrhosis
- Cholesterol drugs and similar drugs that affect liver functions
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- Obesity
- liver tumor
- liver cancer
- liver ischemia, which kills tissue by stopping blood flow to the liver
- Hemochromatosis, a condition of having too much iron in the body
- Mononucleosis
- genetic conditions
Here are some of the conditions that cause your alanine aminotransferase, briefly, ALT enzyme values to be high. As it turns out As the liver is damaged, the ALT level rises. But don’t worry right away. Only 5 percent of people with high ALT have a serious liver condition. The high ALT value of other people may be due to much simpler reasons. Your doctor will make the best decision.
In case of elevated ALT, in addition to the treatment given by your doctor avoiding alcohol and exercising regularly You can contribute to your health. Likewise, you should consume liver-friendly foods such as artichokes, cabbage, spinach, green leafy vegetables, asparagus and beets. You should reduce your fat consumption and increase your folic acid intake.
Causes of low ALT:
- Vitamin B6 deficiency
- chronic kidney disease
Some of the conditions that cause alanine aminotransferase, briefly ALT enzyme values to be low, are in this way. Low ALT is not a very common condition. and not cause for concern. This value may decrease due to some simple problems. In case of low ALT, your doctor will ask for different tests and will reveal the problem that caused this situation.
Conditions that put ALT at risk:
- Regular alcohol use
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- drug use
- family history of liver
If you have one or more of these conditions when you are examined by your doctor for any ailment your ALT value will definitely be checked. Because although there are many different reasons, such conditions in general directly affect your liver health negatively.
In such a case or when your doctor wants to see your ALT value depending on your complaint, you will be given a blood test. Fasting for 12 hours before this test And you only need to drink water. You can get the results of the blood test the same day or the next day. After the test results are evaluated by a specialist physician, a diagnosis is made and the treatment process begins in accordance with this diagnosis.
Symptoms of low and high ALT:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomach ache
- itchy skin
- jaundice effects
- Tiredness
- Loss of appetite
- rapid weight loss
- dark urine
- light colored stool
- swelling in the abdomen
In case of low and high ALT value, one or more of the symptoms listed above can be seen together. Since similar symptoms are seen in both opposite cases, Avoid using non-prescribed drugs without prejudice unless diagnosed by a specialist physician.
Factors affecting ALT value:
- In case of excessive exercise, the ALT value may increase temporarily.
- Many medications, even over-the-counter pain relievers, can affect ALT.
- Your ALT value changes according to your gender.
- During menstruation, the ALT value may tend to decrease and increase.
- As you age, your ALT value may decrease.
- Genetic factors have a great influence on the ALT value.
- There is a direct relationship between body mass index and ALT value.
Here are some of the factors that affect your ALT value. As you can see, the ALT value is not a universal value, It can even change instantaneously depending on many different factors. For this reason, all blood results should be evaluated by a specialist physician. Afterwards, an appropriate treatment can be followed according to the situation.
What is the difference between ALT and AST?
Alanine aminotransferase ALT and aspartate aminotransferase AST are like sister enzymes and are therefore often considered together. While the ALT enzyme is concentrated in the liver, AST is mostly found in the heart, skeletal muscles, and pancreas. They give important clues about your health because they mix with the blood when the organ they are in is damaged.
Alanine aminotransferase, which is an enzyme produced in our liver and is extremely important for our body health. What is ALT and what does it do? We talked about the low and high situations by answering the curious questions. What we describe is for informational purposes only. Remember that as with all health issues, you should get the most accurate and specific information about your ALT value from a specialist physician.