Excessive alcohol consumption is by far the most common cause of impaired liver function in the United States intolerance-glutan It stimulates fat infiltration into the liver cells, causing the so-called fatty liver intolerance-glutan Some livers are very sensitive to even minute amounts of alcohol; others are more tolerant intolerance-glutan Research suggests suggests that fatty liver condition is more serious than previously believed intolerance-glutan It may develop to more advanced liver disease, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and cirrhosis intolerance-glutan 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 intolerance-glutan In the 1990s the interest has been intensified, and several excellent clinical studies have been conducted during the last few years intolerance-glutan 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 intolerance-glutan 1994) intolerance-glutan 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 intolerance-glutan The bile secretion was was found to be significantly higher in the group that received the artichoke extract intolerance-glutan Another clinical study showed an improvement of symptoms in 50% of patients with dyspeptic syndrome after 14 days of treatment with artichoke leaf extract intolerance-glutan The study involved 60 patients with nonspecific symptoms such as upper upper abdominal pain, heartburn, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting intolerance-glutan In the placebo group, as a comparison, improvements of less distinct quality were noticed in 38% of the participants (Kupke et al intolerance-glutan 1991) intolerance-glutan Interesting results were also demonstrated in a large open label study of 417 participants participants with liver or bile duct disease intolerance-glutan Most of these patients had long-standing symptoms, some of them for many years intolerance-glutan They suffered from upper abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, lack of appetite, and nausea intolerance-glutan These patients were treated with artichoke leaf extract for 4 weeks intolerance-glutan After 1 week, | 