Signs You Are Suffering From Fatty Liver Disease

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Our liver is the second largest organ of our body. It has many functions. The most important one being breaking down fats from our food and storing it in the adipose tissues.

It also regulates the blood sugar levels in our body. Therefore it is very important to keep our liver healthy.

Our liver naturally has some amount of fat stored in it. But when the amount of fat increases, it causes a host of problems.

The insulin converts the sugar in our food into glucose; the liver absorbs this glucose and stores it in the form of glycogen.

When the liver is full of glycogen, it converts it into fatty acids and stores it in the adipose tissue as body fat. Though most of the fat ends up in fat tissue, some of it remains in the liver itself. This leads to fatty liver disease and it is a common cause of type 2 diabetes.

Fatty liver disease may be classified into two types- non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease:
This affects people who are not heavy drinkers. It usually runs in the family and is hereditary. It most commonly affects middle-aged or obese people. It is caused when your liver is not able to break down as effectively and ends up storing it in the liver itself.

Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease:
It affects people who are heavy alcohol drinkers. This condition is said to be hereditary in a certain way. Studies have found a gene which is responsible for craving alcoholic drinks, leading to excess drinking and eventually alcoholic fatty liver disease.

It is very important to understand the underlying causes of the fatty liver disease and take preventive steps to correct it. Here are a few symptoms you will notice if you are suffering from fatty liver disease-

Fatigue-

When any of our organs are not functioning properly, the body tries to send extra blood to it to compensate. This leads to unexplained tiredness and loss of energy.

Loss Of Appetite

Excess fat in the liver will prevent the brain from triggering hunger, which leads to loss of appetite.

Weight Loss-

This may be due to the loss of appetite. It also happens due to the body unable to metabolise the carbs and fats present.

Lack Of Concentration-

People with fatty liver disease often suffer from hazy thoughts. This is because the liver isn't removing all the toxic substances from the body. Thus people experience ‘mental fog'.

Dark Coloured Patches On The Skin-

As the liver is unable to filter out the fats and other substances from our body, these form a part of discolouration on the skin.

Pain In The Belly-

Our liver is situated in the lower abdomen. Due to excess fat stored in it, it swells and causes pain in the abdomen.

These are some of the typical signs of fatty liver disease. It is easy to manage this disease with correct lifestyle changes. Giving up drinking will do you good and your liver will thank you for it. Also, in case of obesity, trying to lose weight and eating healthy will ensure a fit and healthy liver, and you!!