What Is Fatty Infiltration of Liver and How to Treat It?
Q: Dear Doctor, during my medical check up, I found mild changes of fatty liver. How can I cure it? How can I avoid the increase in amount of fat on liver?
Though such mild changes are not very serious, it would be good to intervene early.
Our liver is very active in handling fat. Fat globules from the blood are taken by it. It is here where different lipoproteins are produced and fat is used by the body. When the balance between the intake of fat by the liver and its use is disturbed, fat globules get deposited in it. This produces a fatty liver.
Factors Leading to Fatty Deposits in Liver
Why this imbalance of activities of the liver occurs is not fully understood. However, certain conditions are seen to be associated with it.
These include obesity (being overweight) and type 2 diabetes. These two conditions are mutually related.
Excess fat, when taken, gets deposited at various places in the body. The most dangerous of these places is around the abdomen (belt area). Our pancreas, an important organ in metabolism, is situated here.
This fat decreases the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Insulin is a hormone responsible for proper metabolism of the body.
With decreased sensitivity to insulin, the body has to make more insulin to regulate blood sugar. High blood insulin causes increased blood pressure, increased triglycerides and changes like fatty liver.
Excessive alcohol intake can also lead to fatty liver.
Management of Fatty Liver Disease
- Reduce your overall weight. You need to take a balanced diet, not totally excluding carbohydrates or fats, but decreasing the overall calories.
- Increase intake of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Drink lot of water and try to stay active physically. If you are engaged in some sedentary job, take out time for yourself and go out for walks.
- It would be good to add some dietary fiber supplement to your diet.
- Keep an eye on your blood pressure and sugar levels.
As you reduce your weight, these problems will subside. Fatty liver, at this stage, is a reversible condition. You just need to take care.