About Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver disease is a chronic condition caused by the accumulation of large amounts of fat in the liver, which results in inflammation and can slowly lead to cirrhosis of the liver. The most common cause of fatty liver disease is alcoholism and heavy drinking. Another significant cause is obesity, especially if you tend to hold a lot of weight in your midsection. Other causes can include hyperlipidemia, or high levels of fat in the blood, diabetes, genetics, and side effects of certain medications like aspirin, steroids or tamoxifen and tetracycline.
Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver disease itself doesn’t cause symptoms for most people, but some symptoms can include fatigue, weight loss and abdominal pain.
Treatment of Fatty Liver Disease
It’s important than you seek treatment for fatty liver disease from a specially-trained gastroenterologist. The main treatment of fatty liver disease involves eliminating alcohol consumption and reducing underlying risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, and abnormal lipid levels, through diet and exercise.
Did You Know?
- About 30% of American adults have fat in their livers and don’t realize it until they receive high liver enzyme results.
- It most often occurs in those aged 40 years old and older.
- It is a very common condition that affects more than 3 million people in the U.S. each year.