Insulin resistance may be primary cause of NAFLD.

What is Fatty Liver Disease?

Fatty liver is also known as Non- Alcoholic Steatorrhoeic Hepatosis (NASH) or Non-Alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease (NAFLD). NAFLD primarily affects people over 30 years old who are over weight. In the USA about 15 to 20% of people are affected with NAFLD and it can even effect children. It affects a much higher percentage of over weight people.

However, in a recent study looking at the role of insulin resistance in fatty liver disease, there was no significant difference in glucose uptake during the test between normal-weight and overweight NAFLD subjects. This finding rules out the possibility that obesity plays a significant role in fatty liver disease. This test suggests that insulin resistance in NAFLD might be a primary cause of NAFLD, sometimes aggravated by obesity and diabetes associated insulin resistance. In NAFLD patients, the blood sugar level was normal or high-normal in the fasting state. Despite high levels of insulin in the blood stream, the liver did not switch off glucose production in response to insulin infusion, indicating the presence of liver insulin resistance.

The liver is the largest gland in the body. There is evidence that growing older is not a reason for the liver to function any less efficiently. It is estimated that the liver has over 500 different functions.

The function of the liver is to:

• Assist in the digestion of food. It makes bile, which is needed to digest fats.
• It makes many chemicals important for functions all over the body
• It helps to keep the blood clean and well-maintained by removing toxins, dead cells, micro-organisms from the blood stream. It is essentially a filter and cleanser of the blood stream thereby helping the body to fight infections and to get rid of poisons.
• regulates fat metabolism
• major fat-burning organ in the body
• It stores carbohydrates in a form that allows a quick release of energy when it is needed. This is why people with liver damage may lack energy.
• It regulates blood sugar.
• It makes plasma proteins, needed to help the blood to clot

When the liver is not able to filter and cleanse the blood stream it will become overloaded with toxins and fat. A poorly functioning liver can lead to autoimmune conditions and diabetes; and because the liver regulates fat metabolism, if your liver is unhealthy you will have difficulty in controlling your weight. Normally the liver not only burns fat, it dumps extra fat into the intestines. A liver which is fatty is actually storing fat which makes you feel sick and can actually lead to an early death.

What Are the Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease?

Fatty liver, no matter what it’s called, is easy to understand. It means that healthy liver cells are being replaced with fat! Since fat cells weigh more than liver cells, the liver becomes enlarged and heavier. If you could see your liver it would look yellow, instead of red, and greasy. You also have pain in your upper, right abdomen, over the liver. Your doctor can see gallstones and excess fat in an ultrasound scan of the liver.

What are the signs that you might have NAFLD? They are:

• You are over weight and find it hard to loose weight. You probably carry a lot of your weight in your abdomen
• You and your doctor are not happy about your cholesterol. Your cholesterol and triglycerides are elevated in your blood
• You may have Syndrome X (insulin resistance)
• Your blood sugar values are too high. Your doctor calls it type 2 diabetes or Adult Onset Diabetes
• You feel tired most of the time and have very little energy.
• You’re sick all the time because your immune system is weak
• Fatty liver makes you feel ill
• Your liver enzymes are elevated

Fatty liver is the most common cause of abnormal liver function tests in the USA. The elevated liver enzyme results mean that there is damage to the liver cells. Liver enzymes are normally found mostly within liver cells. Only when the cells are damaged or inflamed, do the enzymes leak into the blood stream. This can occur due to:

• a fatty liver
• excessive alcohol consumption
• some medications such as:
  
  • long term antibiotics or pain killers
  • synthetic Hormone Replacement
• viral infections of the liver such as hepatitis C & B
• auto-immune hepatitis
• hemachromatosis
• primary biliary cirrhosis
• exposure to toxic chemicals such as insecticides, pesticides or organic solvents
• incorrect diet

Liver function tests are a group of blood tests that can help to show how well a person's liver is working. Liver function tests include measurements of albumin, various liver enzymes (ALT, AST, GGT and ALP), bilirubin, prothrombin time, cholesterol and total protein.

What Can I Do About Fatty Liver Disease?

So what can you do about fatty liver disease if you have it? An article in the Journal Medicine Today encouraged a gradual weight loss program. This has been shown to improve liver function and reverse liver damage. Rapid weight loss from diets or surgery may have a negative impact on liver health. A gradual weight loss of 5 to 10% over 6 months is recommended. Following a balanced, healthy weight loss program is important. Luckily the liver can regenerate itself.

Apart from diet and nutritional deficiencies, the most important factors are:

• Insulin resistance or Syndrome X
• Toxicity:You may have a build-up of fat-soluble toxins (such as insecticides & pesticides which may have been used to grow your food), drug metabolites or waste products of metabolism in your fatty tissues and liver. This slows down the metabolism of the fatty parts of your body and taxes your liver. This means that the liver burns fat less efficiently. Gentle and regular detoxification is very helpful when trying to lose weight. Drinking plenty of water, raw vegetable juices and liver detoxification formulas will help the detoxification process. Read about common household toxins.

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What Else Can Be Done?

Many Doctors still do not make the link between the traditional western diet and fatty liver. Many simply brush over the condition, telling patients there is nothing that can be done and that it will simply be ‘monitored’. Meanwhile the condition gets worse and worse as the functional liver tissue slowly gets replaced by fat over the years. If left unchecked, a severe inflamed fatty liver can lead to scarring of the liver tissue which is called cirrhosis.

How long does it take for liver to repair itself?

Thankfully the liver is one of the most resilient organs in the body. It is capable of much self healing if given a chance. Luckily the liver is capable of regenerating itself and with proper diet and supplements it can repair itself* and the enzyme levels will slowly come down over time in the case of simple fatty liver. This may take some months. It is also not uncommon for the enzyme levels to fluctuate up and down before they decrease.

The body needs the correct nutrients to heal the liver. A program of healthy eating, supplementation and protecting the liver from toxins and stress allows the liver to repair itself.

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Nutritional Approaches To Fatty Liver Disease

Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Supplements for Fatty Liver Disease:

• Digestive Enzymes:Plant-based digestive enzymes to optimize digestion of all the foods you eat. Look for enzymes that are acid resistant and survive stomach acid without synthetic enteric coatings. Be sure the supplement is complete.
• Essential Fatty Acids: Both Omega-3 (fish oil) and Omega-6 (borage oil) are necessary to reduce inflammation. Look for an Omega-3 that is pharmaceutical grade to be sure it is not contaminated with heavy metals or environmental pollutants. These contaminates stress the liver. It may be necessary to take these oil supplements with digestive enzymes to aid absorption.
• Fiber: Both soluble and insoluble fiber are important. Soluble fiber pulls toxins from the body and insoluble fiber promotes waste removal from the body.The FDA recommends that we eat 25 grams of fiber a day for a 2,000 calorie diet, most Americans typically consume half of that amount. Fiber can be added to soy, rice or oat milk, and fruit smoothies, or added in with the favorite breakfast cereal. Natural fiber foods sweep your colon clean. Including fiber will assist the action of pumping fats and cholesterol out through the bowel actions. Be sure to drink plenty of filtered water while increasing fiber intake.
• Probiotic: These are the "good" bacteria that live in our digestive tract and assist in food digestion, improved immune function and vitamin production. Look for one that guarantees the delivery of live cultures to the gut.
• Herbs:
  • Look for a botanical blend that promotes comprehensive liver health. Plant-based healers such as milk thistle seed extract, dandelion, and turmeric help flush out toxins, thwart free radicals, and support liver regeneration. Reishi mushrooms have been shown to offer immune support. Pregnant or nursing women and children under twelve should consult a physician before supplementing with these herbs.
  • Banaba leaf extract/colosolic acid (Langerstroemia speciosa). In laboratory studies, colosolic acid was shown to stimulate glucose uptake. In a series of small studies, an extract standardized to 1% colosolic acid was found to help maintain normal blood glucose levels. This natural ingredient helps maintain cell responsiveness to insulin thereby supporting normal blood sugar levels.
• Vitamins and Minerals:
  • Balanced, bioavailable, natural B-Complex
  • Vitamin C - natural, sustained release vitamin C to ensure that your body has access to this vital nutrient all day long. Some experts suggest 2,000 to 3,000 mg. a day in divided doses.
  • Vitamin E - look for naturally occurring tocopherols. Natural vitamin E is more biologically active than synthetic vitamin E.
  • Selenium: low selenium levels may worsen the toxic effects of alcohol on the liver.
  • Zinc - 200 different enzymes in your body depend on zinc. Their functions range from making genetic materials, DNA and RNA, to helping with the metabolism of fatty acids.
• CoQ10: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supports energy production in your cells. The liver is a major consumer of energy and needs additional support when afflicted with fatty liver disease. CoQ10 is also a powerful antioxidant and will help protect liver cells from oxidative damage.

Diet Plan for Fatty Liver Disease

The proper absorption of nutrients is often a problem for people with fatty liver disease because an important function of the liver is to convert food that we eat into stored energy needed by the body to function properly. Also, the liver is responsible for removing toxins from the body. For these reasons, eating a healthy diet is an important part of treatment for fatty liver disease. Avoidance of low glycemic, highly refined foods is important to address insulin resistance. To avoid malnutrition, it is important to maintain a well-balanced diet with adequate caloric intake per day. (Calculate your healthy daily caloric need and BMI)

• Stop consuming alcohol. Alcohol is a liver toxin and severly disturbs blood glucose and tryglycerides.
• Your diet should be full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. The diet should contain as much raw food as possible. Many experts suggest juicing. Green leafy vegetables and beets would be the best choice for juicing. Use organic foods as much as possible to avoid the chemicals used in conventional food production.
• Eat small frequent meals. Remember your digestive enzymes to aid in nutrient absorption and to prevent bloating.
• Protein: According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, high-quality dietary protein may be particularly important to repair muscle mass. However, too much protein can raise ammonia levels and further harm the liver. The type of protein you eat, therefore, is very important. There is no limit on the amount of vegetable protein (such as soy) you can have in your diet, but you should restrict your intake of animal protein.
• Avoid eating sugar and white flour. Both are inflammation forming foods and disturb blood sugar.
• Dairy: To lose weight and improve your liver function, many believe you must avoid all non-organic dairy foods including milk, cheese, cream, butter, ice cream, yogurt, chocolate, etc. It is not the fat content of milk that causes problems losing weight but the drug residue that is left behind by conventional dairy practices. Non-organic dairy foods contain high levels of antibiotics, steroids and artificial growth hormones as this is what the herds are treated with in today's high tech dairies. The cows are treated to prevent disease and boost milk production. As with humans where substances go through into breast milk it is the same for cattle. Human women would never be allowed to take these drugs and continue to breast feed their children. The question is why is milk contaminated with these drugs okay for consumption for our children when it comes from a cow? Try some fresh soy products in the dairy cabinet or rice, almond or oat milks.
• Drink 2 liters of fresh, clean, unchlorinated water each day. It is important to drink at least 8 glasses of purified water everyday and some people will need to drink up to 12 glasses daily. Water should be drunk gradually throughout the day in-between meals.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners as they are essentially just chemicals that your liver must break down.

How long does it take to see results?

The liver has become a fat storage organ rather than a fat burning organ, so this situation must be reversed before actual weight loss can occur. Obviously this will depend on the extent of the fatty liver as to how long this will take. Also be prepared for the fact that you will more than likely hit a 'plateau' (weight loss will stop or slow right down) and this may go on for weeks or a month or two. Don't be discouraged at this time, the fat loss is occurring but is going from within your liver so you may not see any visible fat loss from the body. Stick with it! It is at this time that people will tend to give up thinking that that's it they won't lose anymore. Not true! You must be diligent and patient, the symptoms you are experiencing have taken years to develop and cannot be reversed by a couple of weeks of "dieting" Yo Yo dieting is not advisable as the weight lost will return plus more and the metabolism will slow.

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Learn about liver function tests

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.