Fatty liver disease, or Hepatic Steatosis, is becoming getting more common in Thailand. The occurrence of the disease signals metabolic abnormalities in your body; such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The disease usually occurs to those whose age in between 45-50 years old. This group of people may have a slow metabolism. This article is to raise awareness about fatty liver disease, and its importance. Fatty liver is a condition where fat build up in the liver in the form of triglycerides.
Fat buildup is a precursor to disease. It may have no symptoms at all, or it may cause hepatitis. If hepatitis occurs and left unattended for more than 6 months, the liver may become fibrosis or cirrhosis. Nevertheless, fatty liver may also occur in people with other conditions; such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and more. However, only fatty liver caused by high triglyceride levels will be mentioned in this article. Triglyceride is a type of fat found in blood. It can be gained from the food we eat and also from synthesis of the liver.
Examples of food that raise the level of triglycerides are sugar, flour, dessert, fruit, and fat from animals and plants; such as coconut milk, vegetable oil, butter, milk; beef, pork, chicken, and more. Alcohol consumption also makes triglycerides level higher. So you can see that much of the food around us contains triglycerides, meaning we are all prone to fatty liver. In addition to fatty liver, high triglyceride levels also increase the risk of coronary disease, ischemic heart disease, paralysis, and paresis. In general, fatty liver symptoms slowly develop. It usually takes more than 10 years to develop cirrhosis.
Its symptom is also not specific, which is why it should be of concern. Many patients become aware of abnormalities into their liver and found out about fatty liver accidentally from their yearly health checkup. If blood test results show a high level of AST and ALT, it usually means that you have hepatitis. Fatty liver can also be found through ultrasound. Do not forget to take good care of your body and give priority to checking up on fatty liver to avoid serious health problems. Provided by Health Lab Hua Hin
