Dr Zahid Chauhan: Let’s chew the fat on liver disease

Dr Zahid Chauhan

Around 12% of people in Britain are at risk from a silent killer called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Seen more commonly in people who are obese or even just overweight, this can result in potentially deadly cirrhosis or liver failure. While it can be managed if spotted early, many of its symptoms don’t present themselves until it is too late.

No wonder The British Liver Trust has described figures showing that one in eight middle-aged adults have an inflamed liver as, “very alarming” and, “a wake-up call.”

Our livers play a vital role in detoxifying our bodies, helping them to absorb the proteins we need and aid digestion. Alcohol abuse is often associated with liver damage and while it doesn’t help when it comes to fatty liver, NAFLD is more of a condition to do with diet and exercise, and those at particular risk include people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

A healthy functioning liver should contain no fat at all. Prolonged inflammation of the liver shrinks this important organ and leaves it scarred and eventually unable to work. Liver damage can result in conditions such as jaundice and even cancer.

As mentioned earlier, spotting the signs of fatty liver disease can be problematic and may need to be picked-up during an ultrasound scan at the hospital. Advanced symptoms include severe stomach ache and fatigue.

There is also no treatment available, aside from a possible liver transplant, and so it is important that you act immediately to avoid a fatty liver.

If you are overweight, try a healthier diet of fruit and vegetables and avoid foods rich in salt and sugar. Aim to do two-and-a-half hours of moderate exercise per week. Experts claim that a 10% reduction in your weight can halt the progress of liver damage, and also actually remove some fat from your liver. It may be an often repeated mantra, but you also need to stop smoking, now.

I began with some shattering statistics about how common NAFLD is in the general population. Here is an even more sobering one. A worldwide study showed that fatty liver is observed in three-quarters of obese people and that 35% of these progressed onto serious complications. It is truly time to trim the fat, if we want to ensure that we liver-little longer.