What is Fatty Liver Disease and How to know if you have it.
There are two types of Fatty Livers. NAFLD and AFLD. Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
The Liver is the largest organ in the body performing a host of functions. The problem is any disease in the liver often goes unnoticed until it comes to the last stage. Even then, taken the right measures it is possible in most cases to avoid a transplant because quite phenomenally the liver is an organ which possesses the incredible power to regenerate itself.
But a large part of the population becomes critically ill and the number of fatalities is growing very rapidly.
So what is causing such a proliferation in the NAFLD and AFLD that is rising exponentially and the answer is in our food and the environment besides of course the sedentary lifestyle that we live in.
How often do we see a well proportioned body with a protruding belly and visceral fat ? It all comes down to the excessive sugar, added sugary drinks and the constant munching of snacks and eating carbohydrate rich food.
Our bodies are not designed to handle sugar. Prehistoric man occasionally got it from honey and fruits which were mostly seasonal and way less sweet than they are today. People ate whole fruits and not the juice we are so accustomed to consuming today which cuts out the fibre and leaves it at par with pure sugar and without the fibre there is nothing to slow down it’s absorption.
Alcohol is a form of empty calories and the Liver treats it as a toxin. As soon as you down a beer or the first drink, you throw the liver into overdrive and its other functions take a back seat. It has no option but to treat it as an emergency and start processing it to eliminate it from the body. In the end and after years of abuse, the liver starts to damage by scarring and since it starts storing excess food as fat around the body organs, the first being around itself and the sides which appear as the handles around the waist.
The body is so super intelligent that it does everything with a purpose. The fat is deposited for future in time of need. But unlike the historic generations, we never ever seem to miss a meal. The very purpose of fat being used as fuel is defeated and the fat remains stored if not constantly increased. Even during a fast we actually tend to eat and drink things like fruit juice and milk.
The good news is that there a number of things you have to start doing from today to reverse a fatty liver and avoid and reverse major diseases like diabetes, heart disease and Hypertension.
First we will take the biggest culprits. Sugar and Alcohol. Sugar is a drug. Sometimes it is more difficult to stop sugar than to stop alcohol or any other drug. But doing it in an intelligent way like eating whole fruit instead of a sweet biscuit when you have a craving will help you to eventually stop sugar completely. Needless to mention that Indian society is obsessed with sugar. Even if your child passes an exam it's time to celebrate with a sweet let alone family functions, dinners and offerings to Gods which are all based on sugary sweets.
So stopping sugar and alcohol may be difficult but at the expense of your health it is best to at least try and God will provide you the strength to conquer.
Among the list of things to avoid besides sugar and alcohol are processed foods, almost all salad dressings and sauces and ketchups. In today's world, it is almost impossible to avoid sugar and manufacturers have found ways to cheat the public with fancy names which are often even more damaging than sugar. For example take a bag of cheese balls and the label reads no added sugar. Of course it must be a healthy food. But read the label carefully and you will find an ingredient called Maltodextrin. Maltodextrin has a GI OF 130 ! it is even more dangerous than sugar which has a GI of 100. But adding Maltodextrin makes you eat more and never get satisfied. Bingo….manufacturers purpose resolved !
In the end I will lay stress on whole foods, Omega 3 rich foods or supplements, leafy greens and fermented vegetables and unrefined cold pressed oils. Do away with refined flour, start adding healthy fat to your diet. Do NOT eat continuously and stick to two meals per day without breakfast. Occasional water fast of 24 or 48 hours will serve to relax and let the liver perform more detox functions besides keeping your weight in check.
Give your body a chance to use the fat which it has stored for future use and your body will reward you with better health, less visits to the doctor and live a fuller, more energetic life.
Vibhuti Misra
Holistic Health Specialist
+91 813 088 2160
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