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Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

What is NAFLD? What causes it? What happens if it goes untreated? What can I do if I am diagnosed with it? Read further to answer all of these questions!

What is NAFLD?

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease affects 30%-40% of U.S. Adults. This is becoming the leading cause of liver transplants. 
NAFLD is a disease that can have no symptoms, and can even present with normal labs. This is why we have dedicated our program to not only stopping it in it's tracks, but reversing it. It has been shown that losing 10% or more of your body weight can help reverse this disease, which greater than 65% of our patients do. Click below to learn more about what NAFLD is!

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What are the causes and risk factors for NAFLD?

Causes:

  • Overweight/Obesity

  • Medications

  • Some Herbs

  • Infections (hepatitis)

  • Excessive Alcohol Use

Risk Factors:

  • Obesity (BMI > 30)

  • Type 2 Diabetes

  • High Blood Lipids (Cholesterol, LDL, Triglycerides)

What can happen if fatty liver goes untreated?

  • Scarring of the liver (Cirrhosis)

  • Liver cancer (Hepatocellular carcinoma-HCC)

  • Liver failure which may require liver transplantation

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Image by William Felker

How is NAFLD treated?

  • Losing 10% of your total body weight has been shown to drastically decrease the amount of fat on your liver

  • Changing your diet to reflect a Mediterranean or Whole-Foods Plant-Based diet

  • Though not as effective as weight loss and lifestyle changes, drugs are available through clinical trials and have shown some benefit

Additional Resources

Helpful Graphic Explaining More about NAFLD

Additional Basic NAFLD Info

In Depth Research: "Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: An expanded review"

The Fatty Liver Rx Podcast

This podcast is created by our very own wellness team! Give it a listen!

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