By Carlo J. Molina Jr.
BEYOND doubt, everything that exceeds beyond the limits may result to unpredictable risks. However, it is entirely normal to have some fats in your liver, but if it makes up more than 5 percent to 10 percent of the organ’s weight, you, perhaps, have fatty liver disease.
Liver, as the second-largest organ, processes materials that people intake, including food and drinks, and sort out detrimental substances from the blood. But with excessive fats in the organ, this course of action is being interrupted. Accordingly, fatty liver disease is a condition in which the cells of the liver strangely build up a greater amount of unnecessary fats.
According to an article written on healthline.com, around 10 percent to 20 percent of Americans have fatty liver. Moreover, the majority of cases are popularly perceived as in people between ages 40 to 60. If core causes are not directly recognized and treated, fatty liver disease became disturbingly dangerous.
Types
The four types of fatty liver disease are nonalcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic fatty liver, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and acute fatty liver of pregnancy.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver build ups when fats begin to turn out on the liver tissue, as the central organ has difficulty in cutting redundant fats. Obviously, when we comprehend the word nonalcoholic, this sort of fatty liver disease is not caused by alcoholic products.
Alcoholic fatty liver, on the other hand, is definitely correlated to alcohol drinking. Most likely, abstention from serious intake of alcohol will cause the fats in the liver to disappear. If continuous alcohol use will be constant, cirrhosis or the more advanced fatty liver condition may develop.
Furthermore, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the massive swelling of the liver grounded by unwarranted increase of fats, thereby, damaging the regular function of the liver. If will not be treated, it is probable to result into dismal liver failure.
Last, acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a critically odd complication of pregnancy. Pregnant women will be screened for this type of disease. The improvement of this disease will step up after delivery and the said sickness has no lasting effects.
Causes
Generally, the most common cause of fatty liver is extreme alcoholism or heavy drinking. Aside from alcoholism, other causes of the disease includes obesity, hyperlipidemia or high levels of fats in the blood, malnutrition, diabetes, genetic inheritance, pregnancy, rapid weight loss, as well as the side effects of medications , like aspirin, steroids and tetracycline.
Symptoms
There are usually no related symptoms of fatty liver disease. Conceivably, people may experience fatigue or indistinct abdominal distress. Patients’ liver may be faintly enlarged and inflamed. When liver is inflamed, poor appetite, weakness, confusion, weight loss and abdominal pain, might ensue.
Meanwhile, healthline.com has provided consequential fundamentals on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of terrible disease.
Diagnosis
• Physical exam. Undoubtedly, trusted medical professionals and doctors can discover liver inflammation through examining the abdomen. It is substantially weighty to report before your doctors if fatigue and loss of appetite take place. Health personnel should also be primed about patient’s history of alcohol, medication and supplements usage.
• Blood tests. Through the observance of blood tests, health experts can discern if liver enzymes are higher than the normal count.
• Ultrasound. Using the ultrasound, fats on the liver will be manifested as the white area in the image. Other imaging means, like CT or MIR scans, are acknowledged to be used. However, these methods can merely identify fats in the liver but they can’t affirm any further underlying damages.
• Liver biopsy. In the process of liver biopsy, doctors or physicians will insert a needle into the liver to acquire a portion of tissue that will be used for examination. Patients will be given painkillers or anesthesia for them to tolerate or endure the consequent pain. This manner will also determine the accurate roots of your disease.
Treatment
Just like having no absolute symptoms, fatty-liver disease has also no absolute medications or surgery, as well. Alternatively, health authorities have recommendations for patients including avoiding alcoholic products, managing cholesterol, losing weight and controlling blood sugar.
Increased physical activities or exercises is vastly suggested if fatty liver are caused by obesity or unhealthy eating habits, to excrete certain types of food from your diet. The need to lose weight and cure your liver, it is also suggested to trim down amounts of calories, fatty foods, and foods that are high in sugar. Subsequently, eat plenty of healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables. Chickens and fish, which are rich in proteins, should be included.
Prevention
The finest way of preventing is protecting your liver. If you prefer to drink alcoholic beverages, always do it moderately. As per the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, “moderate alcohol consumption is defined as having up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.”
Thus, comply with your doctor’s instructions. Take prescriptions for diabetes and high cholesterol as directed. To sustain a healthy and fit weight, have a regular exercise at least 30 minutes a day in most of the week.