Causes and symptoms of fatty liver? Are sugary drinks a landmine? Is excessive fatty liver disease likely to lead to inflammation and cancer?
Consulting Expert: Dr. Lin Zhengkuan, Director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Gastroenterology at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital
What is fatty liver? Do you have symptoms?
Fatty liver is a change in the body’s liver cells that accumulates too much fat and undergoes fatty degeneration. When the human body takes in too many calories, liver cells convert the calories into triglycerides, which increase and accumulate in large quantities. The accurate medical definition is that when triglycerides account for more than 5% of the weight of the liver, it is called fatty liver.
Most cases of fatty liver have no obvious symptoms. However, when liver cells accumulate excess fat for a long time, it may cause inflammation of the liver, which may lead to fatigue, loss of appetite, and lack of energy. More severe liver inflammation may cause jaundice, a condition in which the skin and urine turn yellow.
What causes fatty liver? Is it related to diet?
The causes of fatty liver can usually be divided into two categories. The first is alcoholic fatty liver caused by drinking alcohol. Another major category is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Whether it is alcoholic or non-alcoholic, it is related to eating habits. In addition, obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and a few drugs may cause fatty liver. It has also been found clinically that hepatitis C carriers often have fatty liver.
Alcohol is one of the main causes of fatty liver disease. In addition, consuming too many high-calorie, high-fat, sweets, sugary drinks and other foods will cause the body to absorb excess calories and increase the chance of fatty liver disease. In particular, sugary drinks mostly add fructose, which can easily cause liver metabolism to slow down and make it easier to store and accumulate fat.
Groups at high risk for fatty liver disease? How is it usually checked?
High-risk groups for fatty liver include obesity, alcohol consumption, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The most common causes of obesity are mostly related to poor eating habits and insufficient exercise. Too little exercise among modern people is often significantly related to poor living habits, which also increases the chance of fatty liver disease.
Fatty liver has gradually become one of the most common chronic liver disease problems among Taiwanese. Some local studies in Taiwan show that about 20%-30% of the adult population has fatty liver disease. The prevalence rate may be higher than that of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and there is a slowly rising trend.
The most commonly used clinical examination tool for fatty liver is abdominal ultrasound. If the liver tissue turns white and bright under ultrasound, it means there is too much fat. Long-term accumulation of excessive fat will increase liver inflammation. Therefore, blood tests for GOT (AST) and GPT (ALT) will also be combined. If the liver function index rises abnormally, it means that the liver is already inflamed. Condition.
Can fatty liver cause other liver problems?
As steatitis progresses, severe liver inflammation may occur. Clinically, about 1/4 of fatty liver cases are already inflamed when detected during examination. Long-term inflammation may evolve into chronic hepatitis, even lead to fibrosis of liver cells, and finally progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer, leading to the “trilogy” of liver diseases. .
Does fatty liver also occur in young people?
The incidence of fatty liver among young people is indeed on the rise, which is related to poor drinking and living habits, more social activities, and less exercise. At the same time, many young people have obesity problems, and they are often accidentally found to have fatty liver during health check-ups. However, there are also cases of non-obese people with fatty liver, which are related to daily diet and liver metabolic function.
What are the current treatments for fatty liver disease? Any chance you won’t need to take medicine?
Currently, there is no specific treatment for fatty liver, and relevant new drugs are still under development. Therefore, when dealing with fatty liver disease, we should adopt the approach of “prevention is better than cure”, by improving eating habits and quitting alcohol. In particular, those with excessive BMI should lose weight appropriately. Studies have proven that losing 8% of your body weight can significantly improve liver inflammation; losing 10% of your body weight may make fatty liver disappear and is the most effective way to improve fatty liver.
In addition to diet control, it is also necessary to cooperate with effective, regular, and sustained exercise. It is recommended to focus on aerobic exercise with an intensity that reaches sweating. Exercise 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time, and a heart rate greater than 130 is considered effective exercise. It can help the body metabolize fat and reduce fatty liver problems.
Adjusting your lifestyle is the most effective way to improve fatty liver. Hepatoprotective drugs or vitamins and other medicines and foods available in the market can only be regarded as auxiliary methods. Some studies have pointed out that vitamin E can improve inflammation caused by fatty liver, but it needs to be eaten in a certain amount, and some experts are opposed to it. Therefore, eating only foods and drugs that are said to protect the liver is not the fundamental solution after all. The problem of fatty liver should be improved by controlling lifestyle, quitting alcohol, and losing weight.
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