Excessive alcohol consumption is by far the most common cause of impaired liver function in the United States candida-albicans It stimulates fat infiltration into the liver cells, causing the so-called fatty liver candida-albicans Some livers are very sensitive to even minute amounts of alcohol; others are more tolerant candida-albicans Research suggests suggests that fatty liver condition is more serious than previously believed candida-albicans It may develop to more advanced liver disease, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and cirrhosis candida-albicans Because of its long historical use for liver conditions, it seemed reasonable to investigate the artichoke plant scientifically, and the first clinical studies were were conducted in the 1930s with encouraging results candida-albicans In the 1990s the interest has been intensified, and several excellent clinical studies have been conducted during the last few years candida-albicans Realizing the importance of adequate bile flow for health, German researchers set out to confirm the earlier findings of bile-promoting bile-promoting effect of the artichoke plant in a controlled double-blind study on healthy volunteers (Kirchhoff et al candida-albicans 1994) candida-albicans The participants were given a one-time dose of artichoke extract or placebo, and their bile secretion was measured with special techniques over the following hours candida-albicans The bile secretion was was found to be significantly higher in the group that received the artichoke extract candida-albicans Another clinical study showed an improvement of symptoms in 50% of patients with dyspeptic syndrome after 14 days of treatment with artichoke leaf extract candida-albicans The study involved 60 patients with nonspecific symptoms such as upper upper abdominal pain, heartburn, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting candida-albicans In the placebo group, as a comparison, improvements of less distinct quality were noticed in 38% of the participants (Kupke et al candida-albicans 1991) candida-albicans Interesting results were also demonstrated in a large open label study of 417 participants participants with liver or bile duct disease candida-albicans Most of these patients had long-standing symptoms, some of them for many years candida-albicans They suffered from upper abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, lack of appetite, and nausea candida-albicans These patients were treated with artichoke leaf extract for 4 weeks candida-albicans After 1 week, | 