How well do you know about fatty liver?

Fatty liver is also known as hepatic steatosis. It is the most common liver disease in Malaysia. 60% of Malaysians are at risk from fatty liver. The main job of liver is to filter the blood from the digestive system before sending to the rest of our body and break down the fats during digestion process. When we eat extra fats, it will be stored in our liver and slowly lead to fatty liver. 

Which types of fatty liver are you belongs to?

There are two types of fatty liver disease:

• Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) 
• Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (AFLD)

NAFLD develop in people who don’t drink a lot of alcohol but there are lots of fats deposit on their liver. 

While people who drinks a lot of alcohol, alcohol can damage the liver cell and causing liver cannot function well to break down the fat. Fats deposits on  liver and thus known as AFLD.


What are the symptoms of fatty liver disease?

Both NAFLD and AFLD usually have very little or no symptoms. The early symptoms of fatty liver are:

• Skin itchiness 
• Tiredness
• Bloating 
• Gastric 
• Discomfort in right side of abdomen

What are the complications of fatty liver?

Research showed fatty liver can cause liver inflammation. The fats that deposit on liver can cause liver inflammation which eventually lead to liver cell death and liver cancer. 

There are 4 stages of fatty liver disease: 

• Early stage (Steatosis): There is a build-up of excess fat in the liver.
• Stage 2 ( Steatohepatitis): Inflammation occur in the liver
• Stage 3 (Fibrosis): Inflammation causing liver injury or scarring.
• End-stage (Cirrhosis): Scarring of the liver and can cause failure in function and cell death.

 
Who are at risk of fatty liver?

• Smoker
• Drinker
• Taking medications
• Obese and no exercise group
• Under stress 
• High cholesterol

 
How to treat fatty liver disease?

There is no medications to cure fatty liver disease, however, some lifestyle changes can be made to reduce the complications.

It is recommended to lose some weight by changing diet lifestyle in order to decrease liver fat. It is also recommended to get vaccinations of Hepatitis A and B to avoid infections.