The liver is the most crucial organ that performs functions vital to life such as processing nutrients from food, producing bile and building protein. It also acts like a filter, and is responsible for removing alcohol, chemicals and other toxins from the body. However it is often neglected. Excessive consumption of alcohol, fatty foods and even long term medication can stress and burden the liver, weakening its functions and increasing the risks of liver disease.

Do you have a fatty liver?
Modern day’s stressful lifestyle, coupled with unhealthy dietary habits lead to the rise of modern diseases- fatty liver. Fatty liver is not easily detected in the early onset and can go undetected for years. As the condition progresses, symptoms such as fatigue abdominal distention after meals, bloatedness, discomfort after slight alcohol consumption, mild diarrhea after meals begin to surface.

Over-consumption of alcohol and diet high in trans and saturated fats result in high level of bad blood lipids in the liver which weaken liver function and cause imbalance of the spleen. Over time, the liver becomes less effective at fat metabolism. As fat accumulate in the liver cells and blood lipids level increases, this can lead to fatty liver and impairment of liver functions.

Fatty liver is exacerbated by inflammation in the liver which could hasten its progression into liver cirrhosis, a condition where the inflamed liver becomes scarred and hardened, causing liver failure. This disease affects more men than women between the ages of 25-75. Therefore, early prevention and treatment is necessary.