Doctors’ orders for liver enzyme tests are often recommended for drinking alcohol excessively, liver infections like hepatitis B and C, symptoms of a liver disorder, gall bladder disease, monitoring certain medications know to affect the liver, as well as conditions like high triglycerides, diabetes, high blood pressure or anemia, to name a few.
Tests ordered by doctors for liver examination are called alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin and bilirubin levels. Each of these tests is for different liver issues to help determine the health of the liver’s proteins, bilirubin in the blood and liver enzymes.
The healthy liver performs important functions such as removing contaminants from the blood, regulating blood sugar, storing minerals and vitamins, regulating blood clotting, removing bacteria, fighting infections, maintaining hormone balances, converting nutrients from food, producing cholesterol, proteins, bile and enzymes, and removing harmful contaminants from the body.