20 February 2024 
It’s easy to merge in unhealthy habits like consuming fast food and sipping sugary drinks. But these choices can take a toll on our health, especially when it comes to our liver. Fatty liver disease is becoming more common nowadays, affecting people of all ages.
This condition occurs when the liver gets more fat than it should, exceeding the normal limit of 15%. There are two main types of fatty liver:
- Alcoholic fatty liver: It is caused by excessive alcohol consumption
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver: It can develop due to factors like poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
It’s crucial to understand the causes and treatment options for fatty liver disease to maintain liver health and overall well-being.
The Origins of Fatty Liver Disease
Alcoholic fatty liver comes from drinking too much alcohol, while non-alcoholic fatty liver can start from things like diabetes, obesity, and eating too many calories. People with a BMI over 30 are more at risk, but even a BMI of 25 can be a concern.
Fatty liver isn’t just for older adults; anyone eating lots of carbs, fatty foods, junk food, and sugary drinks is at risk.
How To Identify Fatty Liver Disease?
Identifying fatty liver disease isn’t easy since it often shows no symptoms. Even if you feel tired or weak, you might think it’s just from watching too many movies.
Nausea is common with alcoholic fatty liver, and later stages might bring loss of appetite, yellow skin, itching, easy bruising, and more tiredness. Cirrhosis means the liver has permanent scarring from lost cells.
How to Treat Fatty Liver Disease?
The solution to fatty liver involves straightforward lifestyle adjustments. For alcoholic fatty liver, the key is to refrain from alcohol. In the case of non-alcoholic fatty liver, reducing sugar intake is crucial. As excess sugar is converted into fat and stored in adipose tissues and the liver.
Incorporating regular exercise, particularly cardio, for a few minutes daily contributes significantly to combating fatty liver. While no drug guarantees a 100% direct attack on fatty liver, medications addressing liver regeneration and managing high sugar and diabetes are commonly employed in the fight against this condition.
Final Thoughts
Fatty Liver Disease may not always pose significant harm. While there’s no need to panic in typical cases, if your sonography reveals a fatty liver accompanied by elevated Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT) levels, it indicates Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Although not always harmful, caution is advised. Inflammation of the liver signals potential chronic disease (cirrhosis), increasing the risk by about 15%. Detection of cirrhosis leaves limited time, as the condition worsens rapidly.
