The liver can be considered one of the most important organs of our body. The problem with the liver is that once something goes wrong with it, many other functions of the body will also start getting affected. If any liver disease is starting, your body will gradually start giving you signals before that. The liver is present in such a part of the body where even the slightest irritation or pain can affect your stomach, intestines and right side.
The most important function of the liver is to produce bile juice in our body so that nutrients like fats and vitamins can be digested properly. If this work gets stuck due to some reason, then fatty liver disease occurs. To know about it in detail, we spoke to Dr. TuhinMitra, Associate Consultant, Gastroenterology Department, Fortis Hospital Anandpur (Kolkata). He told us that this is the most common liver disease which, if not taken care of, later on becomes a very serious health condition.
What is fatty liver?
This is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Exactly as the name suggests, fat accumulates around the liver. Due to this, bile juice is not produced properly and your liver has to do extra work. Most of the people are troubled by this health condition.
Why does fatty liver occur?
The most important reason for fatty liver is alcohol consumption. People who drink too much alcohol may suffer more from this liver problem. In some cases, it may also be caused by tobacco and undiluted spirits or medicines.
Along with this, this disease can also happen to people who do not consume alcohol and this case is called Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). This can be due to many things like infection, genetics, type 2 diabetes, overweight, extra fat etc. Sometimes liver fat increases due to problems like triglycerides.
If it is not caused by alcohol, there may not be any fundamental damage to the liver. In this case, inflammation of the liver and other types of damage begins when nothing is done to reduce the fatty liver. This condition is called Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).
Ways to deal with fatty liver
According to DrTuhinMitra, if fatty liver is troubling, then it is very important to change the lifestyle. In such a situation, you will have to eat and drink in the right quantity. You will have to take care of your weight and stop drinking too much alcohol.
In such a case, first of all, you need to lose weight. If someone has a fatty liver problem, he will have to reduce at least 7% of his body weight. This weight loss and activity will affect the extra fats present in the body, which will help in curing liver problems. If there is any other disease due to which weight loss is not possible, then you should also consult a dietitian who can give you the right fitness regime.
Eat these types of foods if you have fatty liver
You have to include fruits and vegetables in your diet. It is especially important to eat green leafy vegetables. High-fibre foods like pulses, oatmeal, nuts etc. are very important. Foods rich in Vitamin E can also be eaten like mustard, avocado, olive oil, nut butter and fish.
If you have fatty liver, do not consume these things at all
If the problem of fatty liver is troubling you, then it is very important to avoid these things-
- Alcohol
- High sugar
- High salt
- Fatty foods like butter
- Food made from refined flour
- Heavy meats like beef and pork
- Fried food
Diabetes management is also very important in case of fatty liver problems. You have to maintain your blood sugar level and have a proper diet.
Try to get your full checkup done when the report comes and take a health plan as per the doctor's advice.