Fatty liver

In today’s article, we are going to talk about fatty liver , or, as it is known in the healthcare field, hepatic steatosis. As you will see, it is a benign liver disease, and here you have all the information you need to know it in depth.

What is the fatty liver?

First of all, since we are going to talk about fatty liver, we should understand well what it is and why it happens . Later, we can go on to talk about its causes, its symptoms, and the most common treatments to solve the associated problems.

The fatty liver is a liver disease is generally benign. This disease is characterized by the accumulation of fatty acids and triglycerides in liver cells. On many occasions, fatty liver is associated with cirrhosis , and it tends to be thought that hepatic steatosis is due to excessive alcohol consumption. However, it is important to mention that this is not always the case .

Within hepatic steatosis, there is both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver. As you can imagine, in the first case, it is due to excessive alcohol consumption, but in the second case, it occurs for other reasons.

What it is quite related to, is being overweight, so if you are overweight and notice any of the symptoms of fatty liver (which we will mention later), you should be careful.

It should be mentioned, however, that in many people nonalcoholic liver statosis occurs, and they do not present any type of symptoms or problems. It depends on each body and each person .

However, it is important to get check-ups, because fatty liver can progress to steatohepatitis, liver failure, or even cancer. Therefore, we must be careful, even though we do not have symptoms or related problems.

What are your causes?

Given what is fatty liver, we can go on to talk about what are the most common causes . It should be noted that there are no clear causes as such, or, at least, they are not known. However, some risk factors are known. They are as follows:

• Overweight
• Prediabetes and diabetes
• High cholesterol
• High triglycerides
• Arterial hypertension
• Bad diet
• Excessively rapid weight loss
• Intestinal diseases

When having one of these (or several) risk factors, it is advisable to be especially careful, because it is possible that you will get fatty liver . And, of course, to the extent possible, these risk factors should be controlled.

Fatty liver symptoms

Having seen the causes, let’s move on to see the common symptoms of fatty liver . In this way, if you feel some symptoms that you do not know how to interpret, you will be able to know if it is possible that you are suffering from hepatic steatosis.

Pain in the upper right part of the abdomen

This is the most common symptom and one of the first to appear. It is characterized by a sharp pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, usually after meals.

General discomfort

The malaise is also given quite promptly when this problem suffer, and suffer more severely after meals. The biggest problem with this symptom is that there are many other problems that can cause it.

Tiredness and chronic fatigue

The fatigue and chronic fatigue are also typical of fatty liver, because the liver is an organ that stores nutrients, removes toxins and synthesizes enzymes . If this work is not done properly, the body suffers markedly, and it feels weak.

Weightloss

Fatty liver-related weight loss can also occur in some people . However, it does not occur in all people, and it is a symptom that can be camouflaged excessively, therefore, it is advisable to look at other symptoms rather than this one.

Feeling of heaviness

The feeling of heaviness is related to tiredness and chronic fatigue. However, like other symptoms on this list, the feeling of heaviness can occur for many other reasons. In any case, it is best to go to the doctor and get out of doubt.

Jaundice (sometimes)

In extreme cases, jaundice may appear . However, this symptom is a bit strange in fatty liver. However, if it does appear, even if it is associated with more serious diseases, normally, you do not have to be more scared than necessary.

No symptoms

As we mentioned above, there are some patients who do not have symptoms, pain or discomfort . To some extent, this is a dangerous topic, because the disease could evolve silently.

It is true that, in general, fatty liver is a benign disease that does not progress to more serious stages, and that is why there are people who can live with fatty liver for many years.

However, there is always the possibility that it will progress to inflamed liver, cirrhosis, or cancer. That is why, even if there are no symptoms, it is advisable to have periodic check-ups and pay attention to their possible existence .

Fatty liver treatment

Now, let’s see what are the most common treatments for fatty liver . As you will see, we have been living with this problem for quite some time, so we have good methods to treat it without difficulties.

Recommendations for the treatment of fatty liver

It should be noted that there is no definitive treatment to solve the problem. However, some basic elements are recommended, such as reducing body weight through diet and exercise.

Of course, to the extent that fatty liver has a lot to do with having a poor quality of life, especially with regard to diet, a very good way to control the problem is through a healthy diet , rich in fruits and vegetables.

Exercise allows the body to eliminate fat , and since fatty liver is based on having fat cells in the liver, eliminating this fat will be of great help to improve the quality of life, despite the disease.

See a nutritionist

The best thing to do when it comes to controlling fatty liver, in general, is to go to the nutritionist . If said nutritionist has knowledge of designing exercise plans, all the better.

In this way, you can tell him that you have fatty liver, and he will take care of making you the best possible exercise and diet plan to solve your problem, based on your personal characteristics.

This can be done, to a certain extent, by the doctor, but, in general, it is better to go to a specialist in the field of nutrition, and not settle for the opinion of a doctor who does not have a specialty, but only general knowledge of different fields.

In addition, going to a nutritionist will be of great help, because, as we have already mentioned, rapid weight loss is also linked to liver problems. That being the case, it is better to go to the nutritionist and have him tell us how to lose weight little by little, so that the liver does not suffer more than necessary.

Natural remedies to prevent fatty liver

Let’s start with the natural remedies to prevent liver steatosis . Later, we will see the natural remedies to treat it, in the event that it has already appeared.

You have to bear in mind that, in most cases, fatty liver is caused by unhealthy habits and lifestyles. Therefore, it is evidence that fatty liver can be prevented .

In addition, considering that, some time ago, when people ate healthier and exercised more constantly, fatty liver was a disease with little incidence in society, it can be assumed that it can be prevented with simple Natural medicine.

Taking it a little more to the extreme, if we have fatty liver in the early stages, it can not only be prevented, but it can even be cured (it will be enough to control the levels of fat in the body through exercise and a good diet). When it comes to eating, the best diet to follow to prevent fatty liver is one that has fresh , healthy foods and is low in fat. The Mediterranean diet, for example, is a very good option.

In fact, the presence of overweight, obesity and, by extension, fatty liver, is lower in Mediterranean countries than in others with other diets. It’s not by chance. And it is no coincidence that the presence of these diseases has grown as the tradition of this diet has been lost and the eating habits of other less healthy countries have been adopted.

Another key aspect is that of alcohol . Alcohol plays a fundamental role in the accumulation of fat in the liver, therefore, it is important that alcohol is substantially reduced (even completely eliminated) from the diet.

On the other hand, you will have to exercise constantly , with a half hour a day, for example. Preferably, exercises that help burn fat, such as going for a run every day. In this way, we will eliminate the fat that is in the body, and we will help the fatty liver have less fat to deal with, reducing the problems associated with fatty liver and, in some cases, curing it completely.

Natural remedies to treat fatty liver

Now, having seen the natural remedies to prevent fatty liver, let’s see what are the best natural remedies to treat it once it has already appeared:

• Tips above : The tips above, intended for prevention, also work for treating fatty liver. Therefore, do not stop applying them, because reducing the amount of fat, although it serves to prevent, also serves to treat fatty liver.
• Purifying teas: Artichoke and dandelion teas are highly purifying. They will allow you to help your liver eliminate toxins and assimilate nutrients, and, in addition, it will help eliminate part of the fat inside. All of this will help you have a better quality of life even though you suffer from fatty liver.
• Milk thistle: Milk thistle is one of the plants with the greatest benefits for the liver. It has silymarin, which contributes greatly to the regeneration and protection of liver cells. You can take milk thistle capsules or extracts, which you can find in all kinds of herbalists.
• Teas : Teas, especially green, are of great help to regenerate the liver, and greatly contribute to reducing the problems associated with fatty liver. With teas, it helps to dissolve and eliminate accumulated fat, so do not stop consuming them.

As you can see, fatty liver is a disease that should be monitored, but that does not involve excessive problems. With the above information, and a good medical check-up, you shouldn’t have any problems.