What is Fatty Liver (Steatosis)?

About one of every five Americans has a fatty liver, which is also called steatosis. In fact, up to 9 of every 10 diabetics and people with obesity have fatty liver.

In steatosis, pronounced stee-ah-toe-sis, fat accumulates in the cells of the liver. The condition is cumulative, and as more fat is added to the cells, the cytoplasm of the liver is distorted. Soon the nucleus may be distorted and in some cases, the cell may even burst. Since all this extra fat is not supposed to be in the cell to begin with, you can imagine how the excess begins to interfere with liver function.

Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

There are several strategies that are used to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and facilitate the reversal of the condition. Below are 7 of them with an explanation of why they work:

1. Exercise
Exercise will help you lose weight, especially if you participate in some of the most advanced gym workouts that never give you more than a 30-second rest.

The Functions of the Liver

Your liver is the second largest organ in the body (your skin is #1) and is located in your abdomen. To find your liver, you need to be familiar with the quadrant system of identifying the organs. In this system, you first draw an imaginary horizontal line underneath your ribs and another at the level of your groin.

Then draw an imaginary vertical line through your navel. These lines now separate your abdomen into four quardrants. The two quadrants on your right side are called the right upper quadrant and the right lower quadrant. The two quadrants on your left side are called the left upper quadrant and the left lower quadrant.

Taking Antioxidants Can Help Promote Liver Health

The antioxidant vitamins include vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E. All these vitamins must be in adequate amounts in the diet in order to prevent deficiencies and all of them work together to protect and replenish each other. The antioxidants are important in prevention of many diseases, including fatty liver disease.

There are real reasons why taking antioxidants is a good idea when you have fatty liver disease. Obesity and eating too much of the wrong fats in the diet generate free radicals that cause fat cell dysfunctions and reprograms these cells genetically in a negative way. 

Symptoms of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

When someone has Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, there aren't any classic signs and symptoms simply because the disorder is a silent one. However, as the disease progresses, you may start to see many symptoms that affect the skin, brain and of course, the liver itself.

Fatigue is a symptom that could be seen in the beginning stages but this symptom is one of the ones that is never used as a clearcut symptom for any disease. There are hundreds of diseases that have fatigue as part of a whole list of symptoms.

As fatty liver disease progresses and more fat accumulates in the liver, more and more symptoms will begin to surface. Below is a list of some of them plus why they occur:

What are Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

Fatty liver disease generally does not have any symptoms at all in the beginning stages, but as it progresses, there are many symptoms that may develop. On the other hand, there are cases where these symptoms may occur suddenly or slowly over time, depending on the cause of the disorder.

Here's a list of some of them:

Extreme tiredness - The liver is responsible for generating energy for you during the day and when it's not working properly, extreme tiredness sets in.

What are Symptoms of Cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis of the liver is the diagnosis given when the liver becomes scarred and the functional tissue of the liver is decreased. This means there are fewer cells taking care of all the functions of the liver. Thus, the rate of nutrient processing, hormone creation, drug detoxification and toxin removal slows down remarkably. 

About 30,000 people die from cirrhosis each year in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control.

There are two stages of cirrhosis - the early stages and the end stages. The end stages could lead to death. Here's a synopsis of these two stages below.

Symptoms of Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD)

Symptoms of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) depend on whether or not alcoholic hepatitis will develop. In the early stages of alcoholic liver disease, there are no specific symptoms of anything wrong. However, if you look closely, you will find symptoms and signs that the body is not right.

For example, there will be mental signs and symptoms, such as lack of concentration, moodiness, depression, confusion at times, insomnia and fatigue. The consumption of alcohol depletes the body of nutrients, especially B vitamins and magnesium, which all cause these types of symptoms. Magnesium deficiency further causes muscle tremors - and in severe deficiency is responsible for the delirium tremens that occurs when an alcoholic tries to withdraw from the drink.

Risk Factors of Developing Fatty Liver

If you have any family member that has developed a fatty liver, then it's good to know what are the risk factors of developing the condition. Below are seven risk factors to consider:

1 Obesity
One of the biggest risk factors is obesity. Although every person with obesity won't develop fatty liver, many will.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver

All non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not alike. If it's in the beginning stages, it's called non-alcoholic liver disease. At this stage, there are very few symptoms. Someone might have fatigue more than usual, weakness and weight loss but that's about it. Many patients don't have any symptoms at all. Yet if the condition progresses, it can be a silent killer.

How to Prevent Fatty Liver Naturally?

The answer to disease always goes back to the same thing: eat a healthy diet if you want to stay healthy. And this is the case if you want to prevent a fatty liver.

Vancouver researchers reported in 2013 that DHA may play a central role in co-coordinating complex networks that integrate liver fatty acid metabolism. And most people's diets are low in DHA and EPA, the two omega 3 fats that could potentially benefit fatty liver disease.

Russian scientists discovered that patients with metabolic syndrome who had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease made clear mistakes in their diet. They ate too many calories each day, of which these calories included too many animal proteins and fats. Their food choices left them to be deficient in fiber, carbohydrates, antioxidants, vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxal-phosphate).

4 Risk Factors of Alcohol-Related Fatty Liver Disease (ALD)

There's primarily one risk factor for developing alcohol-related fatty liver disease (ALD): the consumption of alcohol.

So who is most likely to become an alcoholic drinker? Psychological studies show that those who are dependent on alcohol are people who can't say no to an extra drink, or the first drink at all. Here's a list of people who are most likely to become dependent on it:

• Young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 The statistic of those in this age range who binge drink - a habit that can easily lead to fatty liver disease - is as high as 41%.

Boost your defense system against fatty liver

In natural healing, there's a principle that cleansing the internal organs of the body is what keeps people healthy and prevents aging, keeping you look youthful for a long time. Here's the rationale: The more toxins your body contains, the more unhealthy the cells are since cells are not supposed to contain toxins. It's not difficult to understand that a cell that has no toxins is going to operate at a higher capacity than one that is full of toxins. The process of cleansing detoxifies the body's burden of the toxins.

Typical Medications Used to Treat Fatty Liver Disease

When a patient has fatty liver disease, the doctor must evaluate the patient fully to determine how the fatty liver disease began. Is it because the patient was overweight or obese? Is the fatty liver due to diabetes and metabolic syndrome? Is the cause related to high cholesterol and triglyceride levels?

Thus, there's not one medication for everyone who has fatty liver disease. Instead, the answer may be medication to lose weight, metformin to bring down the blood sugar level, or statin drugs to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

Benefits of Liver Cleansing Diets

Liver cleansing diets are never boring. You will eat more vegetables than ever before, delight in fruits, eat different types of protein foods, nuts, and wholesome grains. Herb teas and pure water are included as well as vegetable juices. All foods are made from wholesome organic sources and protein sources are grass-fed and antibiotic-free.

The reason why you want to start a liver cleansing diet if you have fatty liver disease is because you want to give your liver the perfect opportunity to regenerate. Medications will never be able to regenerate the liver unless the medications are stem cells! 

Causes of Alcohol-related Fatty Liver Disease (ALD)

The only cause of alcohol-related fatty liver disease is alcohol. This is obvious to medical experts because those who drink more than two to three drinks daily for long periods of time will often have fatty liver disease - and the fatty liver disease may disappear when the person gives up alcohol.

There are usually no symptoms with alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, some people do experience fatigue, pain in the liver area of the abdomen, and weakness. The cells of the liver are storing large amounts of fat in the form of triglycerides.

Causes of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has numerous causes. Like alcoholic fatty liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may be reversed if caught in the early stages. Dietary changes and discontinuing all alcohol will be what it takes to start the fatty liver disease reversal.

Here are some of the causes of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD):

1 Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance. When someone has insulin resistance, then it's easy to develop obesity. The obesity and insulin resistance together and by themselves will cause fatty liver disease.

Which Drugs Cause Fatty Liver?

Often the use of drugs is unavoidable, but one of the problems with them is that they may cause harmful side effects such as fatty liver. Any medication that causes a person to gain weight is potentially contributing to fatty liver. Thus, the listing of many drugs associated with fatty liver disease includes the following:

• Birth control pills -Drugs to prevent pregnancy are so widely used that the side effects are rarely considered.

What is Fatty Liver Grade 3?

Fatty Liver has three different grades: Grade 1, 2 and 3. Each of the different grades is associated with certain types of symptoms, and as they progress, they can result in death.

Fatty Liver Grade 1 is the beginning stages of fatty liver. Fatty Liver Grade 2 is where more and more fat accumulates in the liver and the liver starts to decrease its functionality. The cells responsible for performing different functions are dying off as the fat invades the cells. The medical condition is getting even more desperate and medical attention is needed.

Eating Habits That Contribute to a Fatty Liver

According to studies, your diet is closely tied in with the creation of fatty liver. That's what researchers worldwide are reporting in their research. Thus, by reversing your eating habits that are out of alignment with healthy eating, you can then prevent and reverse fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is reversible if you attack it with good nutrition in its early stages.

Below is a list of 11 eating habits to make sure you are already including in your daily routines:

1 Stop eating processed fats and hydrogenated fats.
Check the labels of the foods you are eating; when you see hydrogenated fats on the list, discard the food. It's contributing to the promotion of a fatty liver.

What is Fatty Liver Grade 2

In Fatty Liver Grade 2, more and more fat is being deposited as triglycerides. The fat forms vacuoles in the cells and displaces more of the cell contents, making them dysfunctional. Symptoms start appearing more rapidly in Grade 2 than in Grade 1 and the condition is definitely more serious. Those with this condition need medical care.

The cause of Fatty Liver Grade 2 could be a number of things, including:

• alcoholism
• diabetes
• metabolic syndrome
• obesity
• certain medications that cause fatty liver
• genetic disorders of high blood fats (cholesterol, triglycerides)

What is Fatty Liver Grade 1

There are three different levels of fatty liver: Grade 1, 2 and 3. Grade 1 is the beginning stages of a fatty liver and generally has the fewest symptoms as well as the best prognosis. As fatty liver progresses to Grade 2, Hepatitis and Grade 3, Cirrhosis, the condition gets much more serious and may require hospitalization.

Here are some basic facts about Grade 1 Fatty Liver:

• You may not have any symptoms at all during this stage.
• You may discover you have fatty liver when you are at your annual check-up and the test results showed elevated liver enzymes. The ALT enzyme will be elevated on the blood test.

1 in 5 People Unknowingly Have Fatty Liver Disease, Here Are The 10 Natural Remedies You NEED To Know

Diet is your first line of offense against a diagnosis of fatty liver. Your diet can totally transform your health and your life.

Below are eight foods to eat in your diet if you have fatty liver.

1. Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy veggies are the #1 food to have in your diet when diagnosed with fatty liver. Kale, spinach, watercress, dandelion greens, mustard greens, collard greens and romaine lettuce are full of nutrients that help your liver regenerate.

Fatty Liver Detox Diet Plan

You may have heard the term, "fatty liver detox" but do not know what it means. A fatty liver detox is the use of a diet that will specifically detoxify the liver. It's a diet that will start the reversal of the cells affected by fatty liver disease to normal. This is not making any type of medical claim; the liver is one of the only organs in the body that we know of that can and does regenerate itself when you give it what it needs.

Treatment of Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (ALD)

There are several ways of treating alcoholic fatty liver disease, but the most important method is to stop drinking alcohol. This really does mean the total elimination of alcohol - all beer, wine, hard drinks, tonics and everything else that contains alcohol.

Alcohol damages the liver in several ways:

• When you drink large amounts of alcohol, you begin to lose your appetite. Over time, you end up with vitamin and mineral deficiencies that contribute to the development of fatty liver disease. Studies show that deficiencies of vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, methionine, choline, vitamin C, and other B vitamins may be related to fatty liver disease.