Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Diet
The liver serves an important health function in the body. It helps in storing glycogen, helps process fats, helps make proteins, processes medicines taken by the body, helps remove toxic waste from the body, and helps in making bile which helps digest fats.
Continued alcohol consumption can lead to three types of liver diseases namely alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. These diseases will not develop if the individual is drinking within the safe limits of alcohol consumption.
Alcoholic Fatty Liver Symptoms
- Alcoholic fatty liver is defined as a build-up of fat which occurs within liver cells.
- The most common cause is excessive alcohol consumption.
- The patient does not usually show signs or symptoms of this disease.
- In fact, alcoholic fatty liver is often uncovered during a routine physical examination or when the doctor is checking the patient because of another illness.
- Fatty liver may be discovered through slightly raised liver enzymes or slightly enlarged liver.
- Fatty liver that has gone undetected can lead to more serious liver conditions.
- Advanced stages of alcoholic fatty liver can lead to hardening of the fats, scarring of the liver, and the development of alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
- During this point, the patient will need to be hospitalized to receive full treatment.
- If alcoholic fatty liver disease is not treated early, it can lead to fatal complications.
Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Treatment
- Alcoholic fatty liver disease in its early stage is reversible.
- The patient is advised to lower alcohol consumption or to observe complete alcohol abstinence.
- Diet may play a role in fatty liver, especially non-alcoholic fatty liver.
- For patients suffering from this condition, it is advised to change or alter his or her diet.
- Diet for alcoholic fatty liver disease is basically a low-fat diet. Patients are advised to lower their consumption of fatty foods.
- Over time, the condition will resolve itself.