Here at My Pet Nutritionist, we see a lot of people worried about their dog’s recent blood test results. The Liver Enzyme reading may be higher than expected for a variety of reasons, and could be partly down to the food being fed to your dog. This blog aims to help you gain a better understanding of the value you may have received, and what may have caused it to be high.
A Bit About Liver Enzyme Readings
When your dog has a full panel of blood tests, performed by your veterinarian, your dog’s liver function is tested. The results will show on the results sheet as values for ‘ALT’, ‘AST’, ‘ALP’, and ‘GGT’. There is a set range of values which denote normal/healthy liver function which are as follows:
- ALT: 12-118 U/L
- AST: 15-66 U/L
- ALP: 20-200 U/L
- GGT: 0-25 U/L
Each reading is the result for a different liver enzyme – read on to learn about each one. Your vet should help you analyse your dog’s results, and offer feedback as to the health of your dog’s liver.
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What are the Liver Enzymes?
As mentioned, each value relates to the levels of a different enzyme. Enzymes help to speed up chemical reactions in the body, and in the case of the liver enzymes as a whole, they are responsible for the production of bile, blood clotting, digestion, breaking down toxins, and helping the body to fight infection. Let’s take a look at the different enzymes tested for in your dog’s liver.
Alanine Transaminase (ALT)
ALT is an important catalyst for the process involved in the metabolism of glucose and protein, to for pyruvate (major part of cellular respiration) and glutamate (an important neurotransmitter used for memory, mood regulation and cognitive capabilities).
When liver cells are damaged, ALT is released into the bloodstream. High amounts of ALT Leakage, means your dog could have liver disease or trauma.
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Aspartate Transaminase (AST)
AST plays a major role in Gluconeogenesis of the liver, as well as some other tissues and organs. It is a catalyst for the transfer of an amino acid from aspartate to glutamate.
Raised AST values can also be caused by leakage into the bloodstream through disease or trauma to the liver, as well as trauma to the muscles in the body, as AST is also found in the musculoskeletal system in mammals.
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Alkaline Phosphatase (ASP)
ASP is found throughout the body, in the bloodstream. It is the catalyst for the hydrolysis of phosphate esters, leading to the breakdown of proteins in the body, and it is produced not only by the liver, but in the kidneys, intestines, pancreas and bones; it is however, produced mostly by the liver.
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Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT)
GGT aids the transfer of amino acids through the membrane of cells, and is also involved in leukotriene metabolism. It is a prominent marker of liver dysfunction, so elevated GGT readings are best to be further investigated as soon as possible!
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What Causes Raised Liver Enzymes?
While there are various underlaying health conditions which cause raised liver values, including liver disease, hepatitis, cancer, thyroid disease, various myositis diseases (muscular disease), diet can influence your dog’s liver enzyme values.
Too Much Copper
When there is too much copper in the diet for the individual dog, the dog may develop copper-storage liver disease, scientifically known as Copper Hepatopathy. Copper is an important nutrient to include in your dog’s diet, as it aids the production of energy, and maintenance of blood vessels, and connective tissues throughout the body, however the liver is unable to process large amounts of it, which leads to a build up in the liver, which then has to store it. This damages the liver, causing elevated liver enzymes due to disease.
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Too Much Vitamin A
While Vitamin A is an important part of a balanced diet, essential for ocular health, healthy development, a strong immune system, and reproductive health, supplementing the diet with extra Vitamin A can cause elevated liver enzymes.
When looking at nutrient profiles of your dog’s diet, try to use fresh ingredients (fresh fruit and veg, specifically selected, may be the best addition to your dog’s diet), instead of a supplement. Supplements tend to be very concentrated, which could easily tip your dog over their recommended daily intake of Vitamin A – this is called hepatotoxicity.
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Too Much Iron
Over-supplementing iron can also cause hepatotoxicity, which occurs due to iron-poisoning. Having excess iron intake causes raised liver enzymes due to the damage caused by hepatotoxicity, known as hemochromatosis.
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Zinc Deficiency
Zinc deficiency often comes hand in hand with excess Vitamin A consumption. Some studies suggest that elevated Vitamin A in the blood could be caused by a lack of zinc, not just by over-consumption. Zinc levels are often skipped during testing for various diseases, but are extremely important to investigate.
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High Carbohydrate Diets
Studies show that dogs fed a high carbohydrate diet are more at risk of developing liver disease, and therefore raised liver enzymes than those fed a low carbohydrate diet. One of the roles of the liver, is to maintain glucose concentrations in order to control the metabolism of carbohydrates. If the liver is strained too hard due to being overloaded by carbohydrates, it is at risk of leaking enzymes into the bloodstream, causing elevated liver enzymes.
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Ketogenic Diets
As much as a high carbohydrate diet may lead to leakage of liver enzymes, a low-to-no carbohydrate diet may also lead to the leakage of liver enzymes, as the liver overproduces them. Some conditions do require a ketogenic diet, such as those suffering from cancer, but if your dog is on a ketogenic diet, ensure your dog’s blood is tested frequently to pinpoint any potential changes to the liver.
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How Can we Lower Liver Enzymes?
To lower liver enzymes if your dog’s readings are a little high, we need to look not only at potential underlying illnesses, which should be discussed with your veterinarian, but also into tweaking your dog’s diet slightly.
Feeding a fresh diet is important where possible, offering the easiest, most natural way to feed the body and liver. Most dry foods on the market are high in carbohydrates, some even toward 70% carbs – this puts pressure not only on the liver, but on many other organs too. Synthetic vitamins are also used quite commonly in dry foods, and it is far better to get the micronutrients required by your dog, from natural, wholefood sources.
It is also important not to blindly supplement – if your dog has had a microbiome test, and a full blood panel, and it has come back that your dog is deficient in a certain nutrient, you may wish to supplement, or add some specifically picked wholefoods. If your dog has excess of a certain nutrient, you may wish to book a consultation with one of our team to find out how to lower it.
We have a fantastic Lower Copper recipe available on our website, which has been formulated specifically to help those with copper build up. It is designed to meet the minimum requirements for copper in the dog’s diet for those suffering with copper-associated disease. You can
purchase it here!
Our lower fat recipes may also help reduce strain on the liver, and aid the reduction of liver enzymes. The lower fat recipes are formulated to be 10-15% dry matter fat, which is the absolute maximum dry matter fat percentage a dog with elevated liver enzymes should have in their diet, including treats. These can be
found here, by selecting ‘liver’ from the menu.
Adding Milk Thistle into your dog’s diet may be hugely beneficial. Milk thistle is an excellent detox for the liver, and can help repair the damage, in turn bringing elevated enzyme levels back to where they should be. Detoxing the liver is particularly important if your dog has had to have medication including NSAIDs, flea treatments, and various other prescription and non-prescription medications, regardless of their liver enzyme status. Milk Thistle can come in tincture form, tablet form, or in powder form – but be careful if using a non-dog-specific product, as the dosage will be minute!
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We hope this blog post has helped you to understand what may be going on inside your dog’s body, and either put your mind at ease, or raised some handy points to bring up with your veterinarian. A lot of our customers book a consultation to enable us to help them support the body through correct, tailored diet plans for your pet – please don’t hesitate to join the many customers we have helped with this so far, and book in with one of the team for a consultation!
Team MPN x 
