Hello everyone,
Dr. Chuma here for another segment, the last of the year.
I received a great recommendation on a follow up topic to last week’s segment which I would like to discuss today. What are the signs and symptoms of fatty liver disease?
A big thank you to my biggest fan, my mother Bohdanna, for always encouraging me and always offering advice, in this case, about this important topic.
But before I get into it, I just wanted to remind everyone about the importance of keeping everyone as safe as possible with the upcoming holiday season.
Although Covid cases remain low, it is still out there and the incidence of the flu as well as RSV and pneumococcal pneumonia has been growing steadily. In addition, I have seen many patients with prolonged symptoms, sometimes over a month, who have tested negative for all those specific microbes. There are a lot of bugs out there and we need to protect ourselves and those around us.
It is not too late to get your Covid booster or flu, rsv or pneumococcal vaccines. There are lots of opportunities to get together with people in the upcoming months. It may be a little late for Christmas, but the season is just starting. There are still New Years, all the holiday parties and the upcoming Debutante Balls, for all those Ukrainians out there.
Also, if you’re sick, just stay home. It may be sad for you to not participate in celebrations, but it’s better than getting someone vulnerable, really sick and then needing to go to a funeral!
Now onto the main topic.
As far as signs and symptoms of fatty liver are concerned, the simple answer is that the vast majority of people with this disease are walking around, not knowing that they even have it since in the early stages, there are no symptoms.
If you want to revisit the basics of fatty liver disease, you can read the transcript of last week’s segment on my website doctorchuma.com, where all my posts are stored. But, just as a reminder, this condition occurs when a person has reached their threshold of being able to store excess fat under their skin and starts to store it in between and in their organs. The most commonly affected organs are the liver, pancreas, heart and muscle.
As the fat builds up, it causes those organs to deteriorate and malfunction. The pancreas loses its ability to produce insulin, the heart develops arrhythmias and arterial disease and the kidney stops filtering blood and getting rid of excess toxins. In the liver, fat impacts on the liver’s ability to regulate glucose and fat production, as well as act as the body’s main detoxifying organ.
The most common early sign of fatty liver is simply being overweight or certainly obese, whether it’s because of some other condition, medication or poor lifestyle choices. Other common conditions associated with fatty liver disease include pre-diabetes or diabetes, elevated cholesterol or elevated blood pressure. But other than in advanced cases or with imaging, there is no way to know for sure.
As the disease progresses, some of the signs and symptoms may include:
- Fatigue.
- Generally not feeling well, also called malaise.
- Pain or discomfort in the upper right belly area where the liver is located.
Some of the symptoms of advancing liver disease from fatty infiltration include:
- Itchy skin, a result of early build up of bile, a liver byproduct, in the skin.
- Advanced bile build up leads to yellowing of the skin or eyes, called jaundice.
- Abdominal swelling called ascites which occurs from fluid build up because of poor blood flow through the liver.
- Shortness of breath occurs as the abdomen fills with fluid and an enlarging liver pushing on the diaphragm.
- Swelling of the legs and enlargement of the spleen from poor blood return to the heart from an engorged liver.
- Red palms. This occurs due to dilated blood vessels, often linked to hormonal imbalances caused by liver dysfunction.
- Easy bruising and red spots on the skin, a result of coagulation abnormalities because of liver disease.
If you are at this stage, the poop is really hitting the fan and you are quickly heading towards irreparable damage and scarring, called cirrhosis. Early liver damage is still reversible but once there is scarring, you may be headed towards developing liver cancer or needing a liver transplant.
If you are concerned about fatty liver disease, the simplest test is an ultrasound of the liver. There is no radiation involved and it is quick and accurate. But this tells you nothing about the liver’s function. Blood levels of liver enzymes will indicate if your liver cells are starting to be damaged. But before that happens, your liver will start becoming resistant to insulin and your blood sugars may start to rise significantly. In addition, elevated cholesterol is a sign of a malfunctioning liver, as well as too much added cholesterol in the diet.
If you are concerned, see your doctor.
Simple steps you can take to prevent or start reversing fatty infiltration of all organs is:
- Lose weight. Even a few pounds can be beneficial.
- Stop eating so much.
- Cut way back on fats, especially saturated fats, from all sources.
- Cut out all added sugars, including simple hyper processed carbohydrates, which are quickly converted into fat in the liver.
- Consume lots of fruits and vegetables. They do have sugar, but are also packed with fiber, nutrients and water. Fructose from whole plants is processed differently than added sugar in processed foods.
- Watch the alcohol which is directly toxic to the liver.
- Drink coffee. Both regular and decaffeinated coffee has been shown to be very beneficial to liver function.
I know that this is tough advice as we are about to enjoy Holiday celebrations but remember that any improvement is better than no improvement when it comes to lifestyle changes. However, the more you change, the better off you’ll be.
Have a great and safe holiday season and see you next year.