Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, also known as NAFLD, is a condition in which one has too much fat in his or her liver. You must be thinking that this is impossible since the ailment is not related to drinking alcohol, but some factors can give your liver fat even if you are not an alcoholic. So what happens when you have NAFLD? How about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease natural treatment?
How It Happens
For you to have the said condition, fat needs to accumulate in your cells first. Aside from that, you can have non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in which the fats in your liver can end up causing liver cell inflammation. This ailment can also give you scarring in the liver. Another condition is that when you have cirrhosis. In this disease, your liver cells are replaced. Scar tissues will replace the cells and cause problems in your liver to the point that it will not work properly.
Going back to NAFLD, it is a metabolic syndrome that you can get from diabetes. It can also happen to those people who are obese or overweight and those who have elevated blood lipids. The condition is common in children and adults.
Several factors contribute to giving you NAFLD. Here are some:
- Gut microbiota: in which you can have a liver disease through liver inflammation.
- Adipose tissue: It is a fat tissue infiltration and inflammation that you can get from white blood cells.
- Liver cell death or necrosis: Also called apoptosis.
- Inflammatory response: Release and production of toxic inflammatory proteins.
- Oxidative stress: This happens when there is an imbalance between your anti-oxidant chemicals and pro-oxidant chemicals that can end up giving your liver damage.
Since one of the major causes of NAFLD is obesity, the first ones who are believed to have the condition are those who are overweight. Doctors will conduct routine blood testing to see if there are mild elevations in your liver.
Another diagnostic test that you can do is radiologic investigations. These refer to CT scan or abdominal ultrasound. In some cases, the doctor might suggest that the liver enzymes should be checked as well.
Just take note that NAFLD will only appear on normal liver blood tests.
It is important to note that other than being obese, you can get the condition when you drink too much alcohol, too many medications, have inherited or metabolic liver disease, viral hepatitis, or autoimmune liver disease.
If the doctor believes that you have NASH, he or she will do a liver biopsy. In this test, the doctor will insert a small needle into your skin. Do not worry, there will be local anesthesia for this procedure. The doctor will then get a small piece of your liver to monitor it. The doctor will confirm that you do have the condition when the liver has inflammation or scarring. Aside from NASH, liver biopsy can check if you have serious liver ailments that can risk your overall health.
Natural Treatment
The good thing about NAFLD is that it can be treated naturally. The first and most important thing that you can do is to lose weight. Doing this can lower your chance of having the condition as well. If you are having a hard time losing weight, you can start by lowering your calorie intake. Take note that you still need to increase your physical activity if you wish to remove those excess fats in your body.
You can also prefer to maintain a healthy diet. Meaning to say, you need to let go of unhealthy foods that can only increase fat in your body and focus on healthy ones like fruits and vegetables. Drinking plenty of water is also good. If possible, you need to stay away from colored drinks as these contain too much sugar.
For your exercise, you can do a minimum of 30 minutes. Do this on most days of the week. If you are not used to exercising before, do not beat your body with high-intensity workouts. Just take things slowly but not too much. There are tons of exercise types that you can do aside from going to the gym. You can jog every morning or night, depending on your preference.
Another thing that you need to do is control your diabetes if you have one. It is recommended that you consult your doctor about this matter. If possible, you can take your medications as long as these are advised by your doctor.
Since you will be moving to a healthier lifestyle, be sure to lower your cholesterol levels too. Focus on plant-based diets to maintain your cholesterol levels. Lastly, love and protect your liver. Since it is the damaged organ, you need to do everything to protect it.
Do not stress your liver if you can. Avoid drinking alcohol as well, and if the doctor prescribed you some medicines, do not forget to take these. Be sure that all medications are prescribed by your doctor before buying one. If you are planning to do herbal medicines, ask your doctor first too.
Conclusion
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition that you can’t just ignore. It needs to be diagnosed as early as possible so you can get treated immediately. Do not wait for your liver to be damaged, and end up getting a liver transplant.
As early as possible, start losing weight. You can lower your calorie intake by focusing on healthy foods instead of those that are full of fat and calories. You can try plant-based diets too if you want since these can lower your cholesterol levels too.
Doctors suggest that you exercise too. Workouts are not limited to those that you can do in the gym. You can still exercise at home if that is what you want. Protecting your liver is your top priority, so be sure that you switch to a healthy lifestyle.
