What Does Your Liver Do?
The liver is one of the unsung heroes of your body. Weighing in at about 3 lbs (1.4 kg) it is the heaviest internal organ and most of the time we give it almost no thought. Your liver performs hundreds of functions, scientists estimate that it has anywhere from 500 to 800 jobs within your body and not all have yet been identified and thoroughly researched[i]. We can be sure that with this level of functionality it plays an essential role in our overall health; particularly in digestive and nutritional health. Almost every organ of your body relies upon the support of the liver for its healthy activity.
There is no way to substitute for the liver in the long term if it ceases to function, all that can be done if the liver fails is dialysis or a liver transplant, neither of which is a pleasant or comfortable option for those who suffer liver failure.
If you are suffering from fatty liver, the chances are that you are entirely unaware of it, even though you may well have noticed some of the symptoms and either ignored them or blamed them on some other cause.
Even though the liver is such a vital organ, most people are utterly unaware that liver disease is the most common disorder in the world with 2.1 billion people affected around the globe. In the western world, the most common form of liver disease is fatty liver or, more scientifically, hepatic steatosis.
What Is Fatty Liver And How Does It Become Fatty?
Fatty liver refers to a build-up of fat within the organ. It is an umbrella term for several liver conditions that affect people who might drink little or no alcohol, although heavy drinkers are even more likely to be afflicted. In the United States, around 80-100 million people suffer from this form of chronic liver disease[ii].
Doctors consider Fatty liver to be in its early stages when the amount of fat cells in the liver is higher than just 5%.
Apart from drinking too much alcohol, likely causes of the disease are a diet that is high in processed sugars, not enough physical exercise, high blood triglycerides, high cholesterol, obesity, and there is probably a genetic component to the disease as well.
What Are The Effects Of A Fatty Liver
Fatty liver has a whole range of effects upon the body. If you suffer from one or more of the following, then you could be suffering the consequences of a fatty liver:
- Tiredness or weakness
- Pain in the back, lower torso or abdomen
- Nausea
- Lack of appetite
- Yellow color to your skin or eyes
- Overweight, but unable to lose excess pounds
- Skin discoloration to the underarm or neck regions
- Poor skin condition with an unknown cause
- Cramping and abdominal pains
- Headaches
- Confusion, lack of concentration or impaired judgment
- A general feeling of malaise, of undefined ill health
All these symptoms can have other causes than fatty liver disease, but untreated liver disease can lead to liver failure and a much higher chance of a fatal outcome through cirrhosis, stroke, heart attack, cancer, and diabetes.
If you suffer from these conditions, then you need to take some action before your liver starts to fail and your overall health goes into decline.
What Can You Do To Improve Your Liver Health?
A lifetime on dialysis or a waiting list for a liver transplant are not the only options for you if you suffer from fatty liver disease. There are things that you can do, all-natural ways to reverse the damaging effects of fatty liver upon your health. There are no recognized drug therapies to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)[iii]. Treatment for fatty liver disease is all about things that you can do for yourself but to succeed you need to know exactly what to do. As with many things in life, finding useful information is not easy but vitally important.
References for this article:
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver
[ii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20354567
[iii] https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/fatty-liver-disease#4-8