What is Fatty Liver?
Of course, the liver does contain some fat. Nevertheless, with anything above 10 percent of the content of your liver being comprised of fat, there’s a name for that, and it’s fatty liver, otherwise referred to as hepatic steatosis.
Harvard Medical School have stated that as many as 20 percent of adults in North America do have fatty liver disease to a certain degree. This is a condition that, in the past, primarily would occur in those that drank excessively, however, over recent years, that number has risen dramatically because of the increases in diabetes and obesity.
Anything between 70 and 90 percent of people that have diabetes or obesity suffer from fatty liver disease.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease – What is it?
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, or NAFLD for short, describes a liver abnormality/disease. NAFLD progresses from fatty liver, which is relatively harmless, and that’s not because of a high level of alcohol consumption, it’s due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH for short.
Some 2 to 5 percent of North Americans are affected by NASH and it occurs whenever there is scarring of the liver cells and liver tissue and when there is inflammation to a varying degree -together with fatty liver.
NASH, though, quite unlike fatty liver, is considered to be a liver disease and it can, in fact, progress to the point it becomes cirrhosis. In turn, that can progress to liver failure.
Symptoms Associated with Fatty Liver
There are generally zero symptoms with fatty liver. All the same, when thy do occur, you may notice signs of:
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Jaundice
• Blood vessels that become spider-like
• Legs and/or feet swelling
• Itching
From that list above, it is certainly far from clear why such symptoms should be associated to fatty liver because there doesn’t appear to be a direct correlation.
Notwithstanding, there are times when it’s obvious where the relationship lies.
Whenever someone makes a complaint about discomfort or pain directly over the area where the liver is, this can be brought about through the liver covering being stretched and that can occur because there is inflammation and an increase of fat deposits.
The pain that is experienced is normally dull and it tends to ache. It’s not intense, nor is it severe or sudden. And whenever the pain occurs, it’s devoid of a predictable pattern.
Is Fatty Liver Reversible?
Yes, the condition of fatty liver is indeed reversible. Simply through making some alterations to your lifestyle: for example, losing some weight, placing a limit on the indulgence of over-the-counter medication (less toxins enter into the body), and reducing the consumption of alcohol, of high-sugared foods and of high-fat foods, you can reverse fatty liver in as little as a few months.
Fatty liver, when it goes unchecked, can then lead to NASH, and that’s a far more worrisome condition. If you suffer from NASH, typically, you will have liver damage and inflammation of the liver, and you could also have some initial scarring which is referred to as fibrosis. If fibrosis goes unchecked, it can then lead to a condition known as cirrhosis of the liver.
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