Fatty liver is one of the health conditions associated with diabetes: studies indicate that up to 70% of diabetics suffer from it. The good news is that not only is it preventable, but it can also be reversed since the liver is the only organ that has the ability to regenerate, explains Dr. Tarek Hassanein, founder of the Southern California Liver & GI Center, to Univision News.
“There is a certain genetic predisposition with mutations that are usually common in the Hispanic population,” explains Hassanein, although he clarifies that it is far from being the only reason why fatty liver affects this sector of the population so much.
Associating overweight with well-being and lack of access to health also play an important role. "They do not receive enough nutritional advice or advice to help them improve fatty liver," he emphasizes.
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Anyway, anyone, regardless of race or age, can develop fatty liver. Not by chance is the most common liver disorder in the US.
Few or no symptoms
Small changes in the diet can have a great impact not only to prevent fatty liver but also to reverse it: “The diet is the fundamental pillar of the management of this disease and not all people who have fatty liver will have complications such as cirrhosis or liver cancer ”, emphasizes the specialist.
Losing weight can reduce fat, inflammation and fibrosis in the liver, so one of the first steps is to lose weight.
Timely and regular medical check-ups are vital since fatty liver is a silent condition with few or no symptoms. There are those who feel tired or have discomfort in the upper right side of the abdomen, but it does not occur in all cases.
Screening tests include blood tests and ultrasound. Once the fatty liver is diagnosed, the stage is determined. There is talk of simple fatty liver when there is fat, but little or no inflammation in the cells; and non-alcoholic liver steatosis when there is already inflammation and damage at the cellular level, which can cause fibrosis or scarring of the liver.
There are no medications that have been approved to treat fatty liver. It is believed that a diabetes medicine or vitamin E may help, but more research is needed.
For more information on fatty liver visit this link.
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