Fatty Liver Disease: Risk Factors & Treatment Options

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Fatty Liver Disease  

Fatty liver disease happens when fat builds up in your liver. This can cause damage, inflammation, and other complications.  

There are two main types of fatty liver disease: 

  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As this name suggests, this type of fatty liver disease isn’t caused by drinking alcohol. 

  • Alcoholic fatty liver disease. This is also known as alcoholic steatohepatitis. It’s caused by heavy alcohol consumption.

It’s possible to have both types of fatty liver disease at the same time. 

About one in four people worldwide have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It’s the most common cause of liver disease in the United States. 

NAFLD is broken down further into two types: 

  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). Also known as hepatic steatosis or simple fatty liver disease, this occurs when there is too much fat in the liver but minimal inflammation or damage to the liver cells. 

  • Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). With this type of fatty liver disease, you’ll have fat in your liver, inflammation, and liver cell damage. This can lead to cirrhosis (liver scarring) and liver cancer. 

Most people with NAFLD have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Healthcare professionals aren’t sure why some people develop nonalcoholic fatty liver while others develop NASH.

If you have fatty liver disease, you’re more likely to develop health conditions like: 

  • Cirrhosis

  • Liver cancer 

  • High blood pressure 

  • Type 2 diabetes

  • Cardiovascular disease 

  • Metabolic syndrome

  • Dyslipidemia (abnormal levels of lipids, or fats, in your blood)

Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease  

Fatty liver disease is known as a “silent disease” as it has few symptoms. 

In fact, you might have fatty liver disease and not even know it. You may not experience any symptoms at all until it causes health problems. 

When symptoms are present, they can include fatigue and discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen 

In very severe cases, as the condition progresses, you might experience: 

  • Jaundice (when your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow due to liver damage) 

  • Swelling in your abdomen or legs 

If fatty liver disease leads to cirrhosis, you might experience: 

  • Fatigue 

  • Weakness

  • Nausea 

  • Loss of appetite

  • Weight loss

  • Swelling 

  • Jaundice

Causes of Fatty Liver Disease  

It’s unclear exactly what causes fatty liver disease when it isn’t caused by alcohol. 

Potential causes may include: 

  • A high-fat diet 

  • Overweight and obesity 

  • Genetics

  • Insulin resistance 

  • Type 2 diabetes

  • Dyslipidemia  

  • Toxins 

  • Medications like corticosteroids or some cancer drugs

Alcoholic fatty liver disease is caused by drinking too much alcohol over an extended period of time.

Risk Factors for Fatty Liver Disease  

Having overweight or obesity is a major risk factor for fatty liver disease. Estimates suggest that up to 75 percent of people with overweight have NAFLD, and more than 90 percent of people with severe obesity have the condition. 

The risk factors for alcoholic fatty liver disease include drinking heavily, especially if you’ve been drinking heavily for a long time. 

Among those who drink a lot, you’ll have a higher risk of fatty liver disease if you: 

  • Have obesity 

  • Are female 

  • Have certain genes

Other risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease include: 

  • Prediabetes 

  • Type 2 diabetes

  • Obesity 

  • High blood pressure 

  • Having high cholesterol or triglycerides 

  • Metabolic syndrome 

  • Rapid weight loss 

  • Infections like hepatitis C 

  • Some medications 

  • Toxin exposure 

  • Age 

  • Ethnicity (you’re more likely to develop NAFLD if you’re Hispanic)

Diagnosing Fatty Liver Disease  

Fatty liver disease can be easy to miss, as many people don’t experience symptoms. If you get a liver function test for another reason, your healthcare provider might notice abnormal results and want to check for fatty liver disease.  

To start, your healthcare provider might ask you about your medical history. This may include questions about: 

  • How much alcohol you drink

  • Whether you take any medications

We know it can feel uncomfortable talking about your drinking habits, but it’s important to be honest here. 

Your healthcare provider isn’t here to judge — only to help you take charge of your health. They’ll need an accurate idea of how much alcohol you drink to help diagnose and treat fatty liver disease. 

Next, your healthcare provider might do a physical exam. This may include checking your eyes for signs of jaundice. They may feel your abdomen to see if it’s painful or enlarged.

Your provider may also order tests to help diagnose fatty liver disease. 

These tests may include: 

  • Blood tests

  • Imaging tests

  • A liver biopsy

Fatty Liver Disease Treatment 

The type of treatment you need for fatty liver disease will depend on which type you have. The following are a few common treatments.

Weight Loss 

If you have overweight or obesity, your healthcare provider may recommend weight loss to help manage nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.   

Losing weight can help reduce steatosis (fat build-up), inflammation, and fibrosis (thickening or scarring in the liver). 

Research suggests that losing three to five percent of your body weight can improve fat build-up, while losing 10 percent can reduce liver inflammation. 

If you lose weight, you might find your NASH switches to NAFL — i.e., liver inflammation and damage improves, but you still have some fat build-up in your liver.

If you’ve struggled to keep weight off in the past, your provider may recommend weight loss medications.

These include:

  • Semaglutide (Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Rybelsus®, compounded semaglutide) 

  • Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®, Zepbound®, compounded tirzepatide) 

  • Liraglutide (Victoza® and Saxenda®)

  • Metformin 

  • Topiramate 

Weight loss is highly individual, so your best bet is to speak with a healthcare provider who can give you personalized advice on achieving your goals — and what those goals should look like.

To reach your weight loss goals, you can also try: 

  • Making healthy food choices. Reach for fruits, vegetables, lean protein, legumes, and whole grains like brown rice and whole-wheat bread. 

  • Drinking less. Alcohol has lots of calories and contributes to weight gain.

  • Getting more activity. Make regular activity a habit. This can be structured exercise like workout classes or general movement, like walking more each day.

  • Drinking more water. Water can help you feel fuller and promote the breakdown of fat.

  • Prioritizing sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Keeping a regular sleep schedule, drinking less caffeine, and maintaining a relaxing bedtime routine can help you get more shut-eye. 

Medication for Fatty Liver Disease 

Your healthcare provider may recommend medications for fatty liver disease. 

These include: 

  • Metformin

  • Vitamin E 

  • Orlistat

  • Pioglitazone  

In March 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved resmetirom — sold under the brand name Rezdiffra® — for people with NASH and moderate to advanced liver scarring. 

In clinical trials, Rezdiffra helped improve liver scarring or resolve NASH after 12 months.

Weight loss injections like semaglutide have also been found to directly improve fatty liver disease. 

2023 systematic review examined three clinical trials including almost 460 participants with NAFLD. Findings suggest that semaglutide helped improve the participants’ liver health. 

Those taking semaglutide had a higher likelihood of their NASH resolving compared to those taking a placebo.

Semaglutide led to improvements in: 

  • Liver stiffness

  • Steatosis 

  • Liver enzymes 

  • Body weight

  • A1C (a measure of blood sugar) 

Cutting Out Alcohol  

For alcoholic liver disease, treatment will include cutting out alcohol. 

You can do this by: 

  • Getting support from a therapist, addiction specialist, or support group.

  • Speaking to a healthcare provider about medication that can help curb alcohol cravings.  

  • Quitting drinking together with a close friend or family member.

  • Avoiding triggers — these might be certain places, people, or times you often drink. 

  • Making lifestyle changes like finding a new hobby, playing a sport, or adopting a new workout routine. 

  • Replacing alcoholic drinks with sparkling water or mocktails. 

Other Treatments

If your NAFLD is caused by a certain medication, you might be advised to stop this medication. Your healthcare provider will give you instructions on how to stop your medication and whether to start an alternative treatment. 

Depending on the severity of your condition, you may need further treatment. For example, fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can cause serious health issues that require medication, surgery, or even a liver transplant.

Fatty Liver Disease Prevention Tips 

To reduce your risk of developing fatty liver disease, aim to maintain a healthy weight and limit your alcohol consumption. 

Other steps you can take include:

  • Eating a healthy diet. Focus on eating mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and whole grains. The Mediterranean diet and the DASH eating plan are good examples of healthy eating.  

  • Getting regular physical activity. Aim for a mix of cardio and strength training.   

Staying on top of your health. See your primary care provider regularly to limit your fatty liver disease risk factors.

This article originally appeared on ForHers.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

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Healthy Agreement: 5 Health Topics That Unite Republicans, Democrats & Independents

Healthy Agreement: 5 Health Topics That Unite Republicans, Democrats & Independents

While political lines are being drawn left and right (figuratively and actually), there are some topics that bring America together when it comes to personal health. 

While they may not see eye-to-eye on issues like abortion and the Affordable Care Act, it turns out that Republicans, Independents, and Democrats see more eye-to-eye than not when it comes to their physical, mental, and even intimacy health, according to a study from Hims. These are the five health topics that connect Americans across party lines.

Depositphotos

Outside of finances and their future, all parties agree that a top source of stress is their weight. 25% of Democrats, 24% of Independents, and 26% of Republicans say their weight is weighing heavily on their mind. Weight even ranked higher than key issues like the state of the world (20% are stressed), climate change (13%), and the upcoming presidential election (12%).

In fact, the majority of all parties (60%) said that their weight was impactful (35%) or very impactful (25%) on how they felt during the day—even more impactful than their social media (45%), their news feeds (46%), what others think of them (49%), and even their job performance (58%).

Furthermore, 72% of Independents and Democrats, and 74% of Republicans agree, “My life would be a lot better if I were 10 pounds lighter.” And two-thirds of Americans of all parties say they are open to prescription weight loss medication.

Depositphotos.com

Republicans, Democrats, and Independents agree on the importance of mental health. When asked what’s more important, their mental well-being or their physical appearance, all parties agreed that their mental health was the top priority: 66% of Democrats and 63% of both Independents and Republicans chose their inner well-being over their outer appearances. 85% of Democrats, 86% of Independents, and 84% of Republicans agree, “I believe the world is facing a mental health crisis.”

What measures do they think we should take to address the issue? Access to mental healthcare tops their list with 90% of Democrats, 89% of Independents, and 86% of Republicans saying that this type of care should be a universal right. Over 70% of each party doesn’t have confidence in the current American healthcare system, particularly when it comes to mental health, and 60% are unsure if their current healthcare covers mental health care.

Visions/istockphoto

Mental health may matter more than physical appearance, but that doesn’t negate the power of a great hair day. In fact, the vast majority of all parties agree that a good hair day improves their mental state: 84% of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans agree, “It’s amazing how much a good hair day can improve my mood,” and over one-quarter of each party say that it improves their mental health.

The power of hair may even spur the economy, with more than 1 in 10 Americans saying great hair inspires them to buy something new.

Here are the top 10 ways a great hair day shapes America’s perception of themselves. 

  1. 37% say it boosts my confidence

  2. 27% say it makes me smile more

  3. 26% say it improves my mental health

  4. 20% say it makes me more social

  5. 19% say it makes me more attractive to my partner

  6. 17% say it makes me want to do something special

  7. 15% say it changes others’ perceptions of me

  8. 15% say it inspires me to exercise, or be more healthy

  9. 15% say it makes me want to treat myself or buy something new

  10. 15% say it improves my intimacy life

dolgachov/Istockphoto

Good health may not depend on a great start to the day, but a healthy outlook on life when you wake up sure can’t hurt. Despite the differences among political parties, a perfect morning looks exactly the same. All parties agree it begins with a great night’s sleep, a good cup of coffee, and their partner saying “I love you.” After that, it’s a sunny morning and morning intercourse that rounds out Democrats’, Independents’, and Republicans’ perfect start to the day.

There were a few places the parties diverged, albeit slightly. Republicans were more likely to say that great intercourse the previous night was an added bonus to the next day; Democrats want more personal space than do the other parties; and Independents were more likely to say an inspiring idea was a great way to kick off their day. 

What was at the bottom of their list for great ways to start the day? News. What showed up in their news feeds mattered very little, with only 9% saying that it positively influenced their morning.

DepositPhotos.com

All parties agree that more intercourse and less screen time is a good equation. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans equally say their bedroom lives matter more than their social media. When forced to choose one over the other, 56% of Democrats and 57% of both Independents and Republicans chose intercourse over social media.

Independents, however, are the most sensual party. They spend the most on intimacy yearly ($468 vs. $270 among Democrats and $314 among Republicans). What’s more? 21% of Independents have a toy no one knows about vs. 19% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans. Finally, Independents are the most likely of the political parties to say they’d like more experimentation in their bedroom life.

What are Democrats and Republicans looking for to spice up their bedroom life? There were very few differences. Both parties agree that better intercourse begins with more intercourse (#1 answer choice), and better climax (#2). From there, Democrats want less stressful intercourse (#3) and more endurance (#4), whereas Republicans want a better libido (#3) and more confidence (#4). Rounding out both parties’ #5 was more intimate intercourse.

Ridofranz / iStock

This study is based on a 5,504-person online survey, which included 5,000 18-to-65-year-old respondents in the top 50 metropolitan areas (100 respondents per city) and a nationally representative sample of 504 18-to-65-year-old respondents to contextualize results. The study was fielded in May 2024.

Findings were analyzed by more than 100 demographic and psychographic cuts, including city, region, gender (when we refer to “women” and “men,” we include all people who self-identify as such), age, race and ethnicity, relationship status, parenting status, orientation (hetero, bi, gay, lesbian, pan, ace, queer, etc.), and political affiliation, among other areas of interest.

All data in this study are from this source, unless otherwise noted. Independent research firm, Culture Co-op, conducted and analyzed research and findings.

istockphoto/Drazen Zigic

Eat a high-protein breakfast. Eating more protein can help you feel fuller for longer between meals and can even help with weight loss.

Get moving. Whether your workout of choice involves a sport or strength training or a walk outside, getting some movement is a great way to start your day.

Experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise a week for overall health. If you’re looking to lose weight, some suggest increasing this to 200 to 300 minutes per week (or about 30 to 40 minutes a day).

Try meditation. Regular meditation can provide benefits for your mental and physical health. It can even help with anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that mindfulness-based treatment may improve stress reactivity and assist with managing the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

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Featured Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.

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