Even slim people can be affected: How to recognize fatty liver - and what works against it

Doctors differentiate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver.

Both forms can be life-threatening.

These symptoms should be taken seriously.

Fatty liver inflammation is the most common liver disease in Germany, according to the German Liver Foundation.

The organ reacts with an inflammation to the increased storage of fats.

This happens when the liver has to process and absorb more fats and toxins than it can break down or store.

According to

the German Liver Foundation,

around a third of adults have an enlarged liver due to fat deposits

- and the trend is rising.

Also worrying: every third overweight child is also said to suffer from fatty liver.

When the fatty liver becomes inflamed, the tissue can harden, scar, and even develop into cirrhosis of the liver.

This is characterized by the fact that functioning liver tissue perishes.

In the worst case, the liver can no longer perform its most important tasks

, such as breaking down toxins such as alcohol and drugs.

If the liver cirrhosis is very advanced, there is usually only a liver transplant left to save the patient's life.

Detoxify fatty liver - by abstaining from alcohol, more exercise and a healthy diet

But in the first stage, fatty liver (medical term:

steatosis hepatis

) can still be treated well, as the North German Broadcasting Corporation (NDR) informs.

To defat and heal a fatty liver, it is enough to lose five to seven percent of body weight

.

The German Liver Foundation also reports that being overweight promotes fatty liver disease.

But other causes are also possible - usually in combination - for example:

• wrong diet

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Obesity

• heavy consumption of alcohol

• Diabetes mellitus

In the case of alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFL), abstaining from alcohol is one of the most important therapeutic measures.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) sufferers should also change their lifestyle

.

Depending on the exact cause, fatty liver disease can regress through changes in diet, more exercise and alcohol abstinence.

Also read

: Detoxify the liver simply: This cure has an ingenious side effect.

Symptoms: how does fatty liver manifest itself?

When the liver is sick, patients often notice it late.

"The liver does not cause pain," the German Press Agency (dpa) quotes Rainer Günther, head of hepatology at Kiel University Hospital.

Pronounced daytime sleepiness can, but does not have to be a sign.

That is one of the reasons why Günther and colleagues developed a liver test.

Interested parties can use a questionnaire to determine their own risk and, if necessary, have the result clarified by the doctor.

Mostly, the fatty liver is a chance finding, according to Elke Roeb of the dpa.

Deutsche Leberhilfe also lists a

feeling of pressure in the right upper abdomen, fatigue and difficulty concentrating

as

possible fatty liver symptoms

.

These risk groups are more at risk of developing fatty liver

Obesity

does

favor the development of fatty liver,

but slim or slightly overweight people can also be affected.

According to the German Liver Aid, the following people in particular are at risk of developing fatty liver:

• Overweight

• diabetic

• People with alcohol problems

• Menopausal women

• Patients with liver disease (e.g. viral hepatitis)

• People who need to take medication regularly

Read more

: Liver Cancer: These Warning Signs Should Be Taken Seriously.

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