Once the diagnosis of fatty liver has been made many patients are dumbfounded as to how it came to be because most of them have never sipped on alcohol ever. It is true that alcohol is one of the commonest associations to it but fatty liver can have multiple associations. The non-alcoholic type fatty liver is quite common in our setting and while many have it, it remains asymptomatic. Though it’s asymptomatic one must not ignore it because if care is not taken it can progress to liver failure and it may also be a manifestation of insulin resistance. Daily Mirror Life spoke with Dr. K. K.W. Perera to get an insight about the disease.

 

 

What are the symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver?

 

 

It usually shows few or no symptoms, but some may present itself with a bit of fatigue and a dull pain on the right upper abdominal quadrant area. A diagnosis is made following an abnormal liver function test during a routine blood test, for many it’s detected as an incidental finding during an ultra sound test done for a different illness. In many instances, it’s associated with obesity, type2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, hypertension and combined hyperlipidemia.

 

 

How is a fatty liver formed and what are the risk factors for fatty liver formation?

 

It occurs when the liver has trouble breaking down fats, causing fat to build up in liver tissue. The exact mechanism of why this happens is yet unknown since many disease conditions are linked to this. Non-alcoholic fatty liver can take up several forms ranging from harmless to life threatening.

 

Non-alcoholic fatty liver-this causes excess liver fat build up without any complications or symptoms and many of us might have it without any knowledge of its’ existence.

 

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-in a small number of people with a fatty liver, the fat can cause inflammation in the liver. This can impair liver functions.

 

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated cirrhosis- the inflammation caused by fat leads to scarring of liver tissue leading to liver failure that is very serious!

 

A wide range of diseases and conditions can increase your risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease including, High cholesterol and triglycerides in blood, obesity, type2 diabetes, gastric bypass surgery, malnutrition and rapid weight loss, toxins in pesticides, metabolic syndrome and certain medication such as aspirin in children, high dose intravenous tetracycline, steroids, amiodarone, etc. could precipitate to a fatty liver.

 

 

How can we prevent the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

 

Lose weight-if you’re obese it’s important to cut down on the calorie intake and increase physical activity, make it a point to regularly measure the waist circumference(desirable value for men-<94cm, women-<80cm)

 

Eat healthy-reduce the amount of saturated fat in a diet and add more fruits and vegetables, the antioxidants in fruits will prevent further damage caused by inflammation.

 

Exercise and be more active-engage in regular exercise and incorporate more activity in to your day eg-by using stairs instead of elevator, walking instead of taking small trips in the car.

Lower cholesterol- a healthy plant based diet, exercise and medication will maintain cholesterol at healthy levels.

 

Control diabetes-if you’re a diabetic, closely monitor blood sugar and maintain it in a healthy range.

Protect the liver-avoid things that will put extra stress on the liver such as alcohol.

 

Careful use of chemicals-follow safety measures and carefully use household chemicals as things like pesticides can also precipitate a fatty liver.

 

 

 

(By Samurddhi Tillekeratne)