What Is Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Prevention & Treatment

One of the most common liver issues many people have to deal with is fatty liver disease. It comes in two types: alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The first one is induced by over-indulgence in alcohol. However, for the non-alcoholic type, various reasons may come to play.

This article is about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, its causes, and how you can prevent and treat it. Knowing about all this is important as prevention is always better than cure.

What Is Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

In simple words, the storage of excessive fat in the liver leads to fatty liver disease. What sets it apart from other kinds of liver diseases is that it usually doesn’t showcase any early symptoms. Luckily, today there are easy to do liver testing methods available that help in diagnosing this serious disease. 

As it’s not obvious initially, a patient finds out about its occurrence quite late. However, the good news is that this disease doesn’t cause much of an issue for those having to deal with it. 

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also known as NAFLD, combines many liver problems. Together, they are termed NAFLD. This affects people who don’t drink alcohol or consume it in some quantity once in a while. Hence, it’s safe to say that alcohol has no role in inducing this disease.

In a nutshell, when fat storage in the liver cells goes out of bounds, it translates into NAFLD. It is, however, different from chronic liver diseases. 

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an umbrella term for various liver conditions that affect people who drink little to no alcohol. As the name suggests, the main characteristic of NAFLD is too much fat stored in liver cells.

Symptoms Of Fatty Liver Disease 

As mentioned earlier, the fatty liver disease doesn’t showcase any symptoms. However, most commonly, people dealing with this disease may feel:

1. Fatigue 
2. Dizziness 
3. Slight pain in the upper abdomen
4. Abdominal swelling 

As soon as you see these symptoms, get your appointment with a doctor. It will help you catch the cause behind your consistent uncomfortable situation. 

Risk Factors That May Lead To NAFLD

There are a lot of reasons why you may end up having NAFLD. For instance:

1. High Cholesterol 

Consuming food that’s full of bad carbohydrates has long-lasting effects. It doesn’t showcase any harm initially, but with time, the damage caused by it gets evident in many ways. One of such ways is the occurrence of NAFLD. It accumulates far across the liver, making it tough to function properly.

2. Obesity 

The obesity in which most of the fat is accumulated in the abdomen can cause bad fatty liver disease. 

3. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Another health issue that is connected with fatty liver disease is a polycystic ovarian syndrome, also known as PCOS. It’s quite common amongst females in which cysts are developed in the ovaries. At times, it also leads to NAFLD. 

4. Type 2 Diabetes 

Type 2 diabetics may also have fatty liver disease because it accumulates unhealthy fat in the blood. It eventually finds its way to the liver and damages it.

Prevention Of Fatty Liver Disease  

It’s definitely possible to prevent fatty liver disease, and there are many ways you can do so. Some preventions that you can take are as follows:

1. Maintain A Healthy Diet 

A diet based on vegetables and fruits will help prevent not only fatty liver disease but also other health issues. So keep your plate filled with veggies of various colours, and you’ll never regret it ever!

2. Keep Your Weight Checked

Accumulation of fat across the body is called obesity. The chances of an obese person developing fatty liver disease are much more than that of a person with a normal weight. 

3. Consistent Workouts

Exercising daily is a great way to prevent fatty liver disease. Working out even only for fifteen minutes a day will improve your health greatly. However, if you don’t find the time to do so every day, at least work out two or three times a week. 

Treatment Of Fatty Liver Disease 

Treating fatty liver disease with medication is not entirely possible. Instead, the patients are advised to lifestyle changes and modifications to treat this health issue.

To treat this issue, you must avoid alcohol consumption, consume healthy food items, exercise daily, and take vitamin E regularly.

If caught early, it’s possible to reverse the fatty liver disease. As the liver has the ability to regenerate itself, you can expect the liver to get back to its optimal working conditions by modifying your lifestyle. 

Prevention Is Better Than Cure 

Fatty liver disease affects the functioning of the liver and damages it greatly. You must maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid all the non-healthy distractions to avoid contracting it. 

Author bio
Gloria Mabery is a passionate traveller who has given up trying to tame her nomadic streak. She’s been backpacking around the world for seven years, transforming her travel and wellness experiences into stories. As well, she works as a content writer, mostly administering her interest in digital marketing. Gloria’s main interest is in alternative medicine and discovering the traditional ways people deal with health issues and strive for longevity.