Does loving hand-shaken drinks lead to fatty liver disease and accelerate liver cancer? Mediterranean diet plus "Type 1 vegetables" to lose weight and save liver
Too many sugary drinks! Fatty liver may turn into cirrhosis and liver cancer
If you like to eat high-sugar foods, be careful of fatty liver disease, which may progress to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)! In fact, fatty liver is when liver cells are filled with oil droplets like “blowing bubbles”, blowing the liver cells bigger and bigger, which is called “steatosis”. When fat accumulates in large amounts in liver cells, it is called fatty liver.
With the advancement of medicine and the lifestyle of modern people, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis has gradually replaced viral hepatitis and become one of the important causes of liver cirrhosis. Risk factors for fatty liver include obesity, poor diet, and excessive intake. Refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks, and even mutations in the PNPLA3 gene involved in liver cell metabolism.
Statistics show that 30-50% of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis will develop cirrhosis within 3-7 years. Once non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is combined with cirrhosis, the risk of developing liver cancer is as high as 4-27%. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a complex metabolic disease with multiple causes and systems. As the degree of liver fibrosis progresses, it not only increases the risk of esophageal variceal bleeding, liver cancer, diabetes and abnormal renal glomerular filtration rate, but also may increase Overall risk of death.
Early-stage non-alcoholic steatohepatitis has almost no symptoms. About 75% of obese or diabetic patients have fatty liver problems. It is worth noting that although an excessively thick waist circumference (more than 90 cm for men and more than 80 cm for women) is an indicator of excessive visceral fat. Many signs are also regarded as warning signs of fatty liver, but not all “fat people” have non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Asians are more common in those with fatty liver but normal weight.
Is there any cure for fatty liver disease? What exercises and nutrients are helpful?
Normally, liver function abnormalities will appear during blood tests for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is an indicator of liver inflammation. However, in nearly 50% of cases of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, the blood test function is normal. Therefore, if non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is suspected, For steatohepatitis, ultrasound is usually used. When there is cirrhosis, ultrasound will show nodular liver parenchyma and reduced liver volume, as well as nodular unevenness on the liver surface.
There are currently no specific drugs for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Therefore, changing lifestyle is the most important way. Since exercise has a significant effect on reducing body fat and liver fat, one study pointed out that 3- Four days of 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic or anaerobic exercise can reduce liver fat and reduce liver damage in people with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
In terms of nutrients, vitamin E is recommended for patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis due to its antioxidant benefits. Omega3 fatty acids have the effect of lowering blood lipids and liver fat, and are considered to be useful in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with high triglycerides. Recent studies have shown that Statins blood lipid drugs have the effect of lowering blood lipids and reducing liver cancer, and can be used for people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who have high blood lipids and high triglycerides.
Weight loss can effectively improve fatty liver! Eat more Mediterranean diet with cruciferous vegetables
Most people with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis are overweight, and weight management is one of the most effective ways to reduce fatty liver disease. Generally speaking, losing 5% of your body weight can reduce some liver fat. Losing 7-10% of your body weight can reduce the damage to liver cells caused by inflammation. On average, losing 5-10% of your body weight can improve insulin resistance and liver disease. function and effects on liver tissue. For obese people, appropriate weight loss can also reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.
Any healthy diet that helps control weight can help improve non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and the low-calorie Mediterranean diet is one of the best choices. The main principles of the Mediterranean diet are to eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, Nuts and olive oil. In terms of meat, it is recommended to eat less red meat and more lean meat from deep-sea fish and poultry containing fish oil. In addition, a 2020 study pointed out that eating more cruciferous vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, radish, Chinese cabbage, kale, purple cabbage) is associated with a reduced risk of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Source:
The skinny on fatty liver - Harvard Health Publishing
Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis — Opportunities and Challenges
Zhang Yulin, Cao Shuyi: “Overview of the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver cancer”, Journal of Internal Medicine 2016: 27: 195-201
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