Many liver disease patients, especially younger ones, want to take advantage of the Chinese New Year holiday to nourish their bodies and boost their own immunity, hoping to recover from liver disease more quickly. For liver disease patients, is it true that the higher their own immunity, the better it is for their liver disease?

Many people mistake hepatitis B surface antibodies for overall immunity, thinking that higher antibody levels mean stronger immunity and better outcomes for liver disease. In fact, this is a big misconception. Hepatitis B surface antibodies only represent immunity against the hepatitis B virus and do not reflect the body's overall immune strength.

Most people contract hepatitis B virus through mother-to-child transmission at birth. Before the age of 18, during childhood and adolescence, the immune system is not fully developed and cannot recognize the hepatitis B virus, so it does not attack the virus. During this period, known as the immune tolerance phase, the patient essentially does not develop symptoms, and there is a peaceful coexistence between the virus and the body.

However, upon reaching adulthood (after age 18), the body's immune system matures and becomes capable of recognizing and attacking the hepatitis B virus. While clearing the virus, it also damages liver cells. The hepatitis B virus, in turn, resists, leading to mutations in many hepatitis B virus cells and resulting in drug resistance.

For adolescents infected with hepatitis, the immune tolerance phase is common.

Among them, 25% of adolescent carriers experience a gradual decline in immune tolerance as they age, while their immune clearance ability against the virus gradually increases. Since liver cell damage is caused by the immune response to virus clearance, hepatitis symptoms manifest during this stage.

75% of chronic asymptomatic carriers experience slow fluctuations between immune tolerance and immune clearance, with the viral load decreasing by one logarithmic unit only once every 3-5 years. After middle age, they gradually transition to "HBeAg-negative" status, and it takes another 10 or more years to resolve the carrier state.

Immunity is highly exclusive. Simply put, aside from itself and substances it recognizes, the immune system seeks to clear all other materials, whether beneficial or harmful to the body. Immunity is a self-generated protective ability of the body. A mature immune system can recognize and clear the hepatitis B virus.

In chronic hepatitis B virus carriers, the virus itself coexists and integrates with liver cells. When the body's immune system matures, it can recognize the hepatitis B virus and attempt to clear it. However, in the process of eliminating the virus, liver cells are also damaged. This is the reason why carriers progress to hepatitis.

Therefore, for patients with liver disease, it is important not to blindly boost immunity, especially through the use of dietary supplements, as this can easily lead to drug-induced liver injury and worsen the degree of liver damage. It is crucial to follow standardized treatment based on the needs of the condition.