Losing weight, changing diet to lower triglycerides and cholesterol and abstaining from alcohol are all adjustments people can make to their lifestyles to treat fatty liver disease, notes Johns Hopkins Medicine. Fatty liver disease involves fat deposits within the liver that hinder the filtration of toxins from the bloodstream.Continue Reading
People with just fat in the liver without damage have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. People who have fat in the liver, damage and inflammation have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. Between 10 and 20 percent of Americans have NAFLD, while as many as 5 percent have NASH. Doctors think the most frequent cause for fatty liver disease is obesity, an epidemic that has doubled. At the same time, fatty liver disease is also on the rise.
Fatty liver disease often happens without any symptoms, explains Johns Hopkins Medicine. Most people who have NAFLD can live without damage, although some develop NASH, which may lead to such symptoms as weakness, fatigue, weight loss, itching, yellowed eyes or skin and a spiderlike network of blood vessels. If untreated, NASH develops into cirrhosis; symptoms such as internal bleeding and fluid retention can result. Cirrhosis often becomes liver failure and necessitates a transplant.Learn more about Conditions & Diseases