Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) occurs when your liver has trouble breaking down fats, causing fat to build up in your liver tissue.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has different stages –

1. Nonalcoholic fatty liver. In its simplest form, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can cause excess liver fat. This condition is thought to be very common.

2. Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. In a small number of people with fatty liver, the fat causes inflammation in the liver. This can reduce the liver’s ability to function and lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis).

3. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-associated cirrhosis. Liver inflammation leads to scarring of the liver tissue. With time, scarring can become so severe that the liver no longer functions adequately (liver failure).

A clean diet low (or void) in processed foods and high in plant foods is essential to prevent and also treat FLD. Quality oils are also needed, some fruit and lean protein.

 

Who’s at Risk? Anyone eating processed foods especially those containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), white flour and sugar, and trans fats in take away food. A sedentary lifestyle doesn’t help – the chair’s the killer, long term medication, and chronic illness can also contribute to NAFLD. Other risk factors include –

Gastric bypass surgery
High (bad) cholesterol
High levels of triglycerides in the blood
Metabolic Syndrome
Obesity
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Sleep apnea
Type 2 Diabetes
Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
Underactive pituitary gland (hypopituitarism)

 

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