Liver problems like buildup of fat in your liver due to alcohol consumption over a long period of time is called alcohol-associated liver disease.
However, there is a disease that occurs in the liver with low to zero alcohol consumption.
YES! Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD in short, is a disease in which there is a build-up of fat in the liver of a person. The disease occurs in stages or series of conditions, with it getting worse with each successive stage. The 4 stages of NAFLD are:-
- Simple Fatty Liver (Steatosis): The first and most harmless stage, with no to slight symptoms or changes in the body can be observed or felt.
- Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH): In this stage, inflammation in the liver starts.
- Fibrosis: In fibrosis, the liver still manages to work efficiently but the continuous inflammation causes the scarring of the tissues of the liver near the bl;ood vessel.
- Cirrhosis: This is the final and most dangerous stage. Till this stage the liver had shrunk and became scarred and lumpy due to years of inflammation and no medical care. The next step to this stage is either liver failure or liver cancer.
It usually occurs in people who are suffering from obesity, however there are some other factors also that influence or increase the chances of a person’s risk of NAFLD.
So, you are at risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease if you have:-
- type 2 diabetes
- underactive thyroid
- have high blood pressure
- have high cholesterol
- have metabolic syndrome
- smoke
- obesity
- condition that affects how your body uses insulin
Though, the actual or exact cause or reason behind why NAFLD occurs in a person’s liver is still not well understood and under study. However, these risk factors, poor lifestyle and unhealthy diet are some of the reasons for increasing the chances of a person to suffer from fatty liver disease.
What are the Symptoms Body Shows if a Person Has a Fatty Liver Disease?
Even when a person catches a slight flu, his/ her body shows symptoms, so definitely in case of fatty liver disease, our body shows some signs or symptoms too. These symptoms are easy to detect and when you start noticing them, the most right decision is to visit a professional doctor as soon as possible without any second thoughts.
So, these are some signs a person will notice if he/she has started developing NAFLD:-
- pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
- fatigue / weakness
- weight loss
- fluid and swelling in the stomach (ascites) and legs (edema)
- jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes
One thing which is not in the favor of the patient suffering from NAFLD is that, in the early two stages of the disease, there are almost no obvious signs or symptoms indicating that there is an issue in the body that needs to be taken care of. This makes the diagnosis for fatty liver disease to to be taken when it reaches the stage three and becomes hard to treat.
How is NAFLD Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of fatty liver disease can be done in two ways:-
1. Liver function test: It is a blood test in which the doctor looks for the amount of liver enzyme in your body. If the blood test shows higher-than-normal levels of liver enzymes, it indicates the possibility of fatty liver disease.
2. Ultrasound: An ultrasound is then done to see if it reveals excess fat in the liver. Another ultrasound called transient elastography, helps to measure stiffness in the liver tahiti caused after scarring of the liver tissues due to inflammation. More the stiffness means more is the scarring, thus more the inflammation.
What are the Possible Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease?
There is no such particular treatment available to treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. However, if you are in stage 2 or 3, the best possible treatment or solution you and your doctor will go for is lifestyle changes and diet changes.
The solution also involves emphasizing the diseases that are risk factors for fatty liver disease like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, etc.
If the conditions drop to more severe and reach stage 4, then the best and most suggested solution your doctor will go with is liver transplantation. This totally depends on the availability of the donor and the matching between the donor and the recipient.
Culmination-
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD is a disease that has no exact cause discovered till now and thus no treatment besides liver transplant. Though, the disease can be triggered by other health factors and therefore in order to not let the liver get affected due to other diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc, it is suggested to take proper care and medical supervision in order to keep in check these other health issues.
NAFLD can be kept in control and can be prevented from becoming life threatening by taking a proper balanced diet, exercising and having a healthy lifestyle.
