Health Hotline Magazine | June 2019

good4u HEALTH HOTLINE

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ave you heard of foie gras? Considered a culinary delight by some, abhorred by many, it is made by force feeding corn to ducks or geese, which grossly fattens their livers. Translated to English, it literally means “fat liver” (sounds nicer in French, doesn’t it?), and the condition is not restricted to French ducks. According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 40 percent of American adults are walking around with fatty livers, and research suggests that nearly 10 percent of children from ages two to 19 have fatty livers, making it the most common form of liver disease in children. i ii iii Known in the medical community as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), it is a condition in which fat accumulates in the liver and is generally driven by a high sugar and refined-carb diet rather than excessive alcohol consumption. Rates are steadily increasing and it has become the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the United States iv . In some people NAFLD can develop into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in which inflammation and liver cell damage is also present. This can progress to scarring of the liver (fibrosis), cirrhosis (permanent scarring and hardening of the liver), and liver cancer. It is estimated that about 20 percent of people with NAFLD have NASH. v NAFLD is closely associated with obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type-2 diabetes, and high triglycerides and/or LDL cholesterol, which has led researchers to call it the “liver manifestation” of metabolic syndrome. vi In the U.S., rates of obesity vii closely parallel rates of NAFLD, and cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in people with NAFLD. viii As you can see, all of these conditions are deeply intertwined. The good news is that you can control and even reverse fatty liver, starting with diet. A diet that includes a healthy balance of protein, healthy fat, and an abundance of vegetables is critical for not only controlling fatty liver disease, but for maintaining a healthy weight, healthy blood sugar and insulin levels, healthy triglycerides, and a healthy ratio of LDL: HDL cholesterol. One of the most important things you can do is strictly limit sugar consumption and completely avoid high-fructose corn syrup, which has been directly implicated in the development of fatty liver. ix x xi It’s also important to limit your consumption of deep fried foods, which usually contain trans fats and contribute to unhealthy triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

JUNE | 2019 | ISSUE 24 11

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