Fatty liver or Fatty infiltration of the liver is a condition where fat gets deposited on the liver. When there is more than 5% fat on the liver, it is a fatty liver disease. This can happen either because of a bad lifestyle (known as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver) or due to excessive alcohol consumption (Alcoholic Fatty Liver).

Founder ofNUVOVIVO, MR RAJIV AMBAT, gives an account of what they do for their clients. The video gives you an idea of how Nuvovivo helps manage lifestyle conditions such as Fatty Liver with a combination of a healthy diet, exercise and support. 

While Grade 1 fatty liver is so common and often not very dangerous, excessive fat deposition on the liver can be dangerous and should not be taken lightly as it can progress to more serious conditions like fibrosis or cirrhosis. Uncontrolled diabetes, Obesity, and High Cholesterol are all factors that contribute to fatty liver.

Uncontrolled eating habits and bad habits like smoking and alcohol are the main causes of fatty liver. 

If you have any of the following physical symptoms, seek medical attention immediately and get proper tests done. In the absence of medication, the diet and exercise regimen we prescribe can completely prevent the non-serious fatty liver condition.

Main Symptoms of Fatty Liver

Fatty liver can be confirmed by clear physical examination. In addition, some other physical symptoms can predict the condition. Below are some of those symptoms. Checking yourself for any of these symptoms is highly recommended.

• Frequent vomiting and tendency
• Unusual yellowing of the eyes, skin and nails
• Abdominal swelling
• Anorexia

Fatty Liver Test – Liver Function Test

How will a person know if he or she has fatty liver? Most often, a grade 1 fatty liver goes unnoticed with no physical symptoms. However, if you take either an LFT (Liver Function Test) or an ultrasound scan (USG Abdomen Scan), the fatty infiltration of the liver can be detected. A combination of both these are ideal to detect fatty liver, however, your physician may suggest only one of these depending on many other factors

LFT or Liver function test is a blood test that shows the levels of a series of enzymes produced in the liver. When the liver becomes inflamed, these enzymes are released into the bloodstream. Hence, abnormally high levels of these enzymes is indicative of fatty infiltration of the liver.

Multiple enzymes and parameters are shown in an LFT, such as  – 

• Bilirubin -Bilirubin is a yellow pigment that is formed in the liver as a waste product of removing old red blood cells, as the body breaks down ‘heme’ – a component of hemoglobin in the blood. A large part of this bilirubin is removed from the body and  excreted away as feces. However, bilirubin levels in blood can be high and that can happen because of multiple reasons ranging from fatty liver inflammation, anemia (hemolytic), jaundice, gallstones, gilbert syndrome etc.
• SGOT & SGPT  – Also known as AST & ALT respectively, are aminotransferases enzymes that are seen in the liver. However, these enzymes are also seen in other tissues and muscles – but in varied quantities. An elevated level of these two enzymes can hence mean many conditions and not just liver inflammation. Hence both SGOT and SGPT numbers are read in conjunction to make sense out of it and diagnose.  For example – SGOT is also found in heart and kidney also, and hence a high SGOT with lower SGPT levels may be indicative of fatty liver or even other conditions such as  – kidney damage, heart tissue damage, pancreatitis, muscle damage etc. SGPT on the other hand is primarily seen in liver and a high SGPT levels is almost always indicative of a fatty liver (sometimes, even muscle damage)
• ALP – Alkaline Phosphatase is an enzyme that is seen in the liver and also in bone and bile ducts. A high levels of ALP can hence mean liver inflammation or even bone diseases or blocked bile ducts, gallbladder inflammation etc
• GGT – Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase is an enzyme that is seen in the liver and also in bile ducts. GGT is hence higher in diseases that have liver inflammation or bile duct blockages. GGT is often read in conjunction with ALP to diagnose or differentiate between fatty liver or bone disease. For example  – a normal GGT level, with elevated ALP can be seen as indicative of bone diseases, whereas elevated levels of both GGT and ALP are often seen as liver inflammation. 

As seen above, the above mentioned vital parameters are to be read in conjunction with one another to diagnose Fatty liver condition.

Fatty Liver Treatment Diet

As the name suggests, fat is the main villain that plays a major role in leading to the condition of fatty liver in your body. If you are a foodie or an alcoholic, your risk of fatty liver is much higher than others.  With obesity and type 2 diabetes on the rise, more than a billion people are expected to have fatty liver by 2030, say researchers. There is no prescriptive drug that will stop the liver getting fat, though their effects can be curtailed. 

Doctors unanimously agree that a healthy diet and exercise can improve the fatty liver conditions. Most people have a misconception that diet means giving up food or stop eating carbohydrates (rice, wheat etc) and instead eating protein rich food . If you have any disease, there are exceptions and additions to a diet plan to control that disease. Similarly, even for fatty liver there are certain Do’s and Don’t s in the diet planning. 

A person having fatty liver may, most probably, also have other lifestyle conditions like – high cholesterol, high blood sugar (diabetes), uric acid, hypertension etc. The diet, menu planning and exercises have to be conducive to each of these medical conditions, with the ultimate goal of improving the health and reducing the liver fat

In short, a person with fatty liver, most probably has either excess body weight / body fat or has an unfavourable body composition – i.e, more fat mass and lesser muscle mass in the body. Such a person has to reduce the body fat and improve muscle mass, thereby improving metabolism. This would require a combination of healthy eating habits (not crash dieting) along with the right kind of exercise. Including antioxidant rich food, especially those continuing Vit E & Vit C etc are particularly helpful in reducing the oxidative stress on liver and improving liver health

In the case of diseases and patients, most doctors recommend preventing the disease rather than treating it when it occurs. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fatty liver on the basis of certain diets and exercise. The first thing you need to do is keep your liver healthy. Even if you have no problems with your active youth, the habits you are following now may be bad as you get older.

We would like to recommend some habits and some tips to control fatty liver – 

REDUCE OVEREATING AND OVERWEIGHT

Weight loss will be followed by fatigue and constant tiredness if not done the right way. A well balanced diet which is not too restrictive in calories is the right way of losing weight. Also, make sure you are not losing lean muscle mass while losing weight. A healthy weight loss is when a person loses only the body fat without losing the muscle mass, thereby improving the body composition.

Such a healthy fat loss will improve a whole lot of bodily vitals, with liver fat being one among them. In a three-month study of obese adults, reducing 500 calories per day, led to a 8% reduction in body weight, with fatty liver score significantly reduced.

EXERCISE AND STAY ACTIVE

Exercise is not a punishment. Staying active and exercising regularly will increase the metabolism and the lean muscle mass. As you exercise, you are spending more calories, and hence you may end up in a calorie deficit, thereby facilitating a healthy weight loss.

Exercises, however, are of different types. Always do exercise that combines the right amount of cardio + weights training + yoga. These exercises however need to be done based on physical conditions only.

FATTY LIVER NATURAL TREATMENT AT HOME

As mentioned earlier fatty liver can be replaced and controlled by natural methods without any side effects. Dietary matters have already been suggested..

Include a lot of vegetables in your diet- especially green leafy vegetables. Vegetables are rich in fiber, other minerals and come with a whole lot of antioxidants. These antioxidants are anti inflammatory in nature and reduce the oxidative stress in your body. Such antioxidants in vegetables will reduce the oxidative stress on the liver. Especially vegetables such as spinach, coriander and tomatoes without the use of any chemicals eliminates the toxins that have accumulated in the liver.

If you are a non-vegetarian, you do not have to abstain from non-veg food. Lean meat such as chicken, fish etc can be included in diet to meet your protein requirements. Fish is yet another excellent source of protein. Usage of red-meat, however, may be controlled – especially if there are associated issues like uric acid, high cholesterol etc.

HOW TO CURE FATTY LIVER NATURALLY

The first thing to think about when thinking about natural steps to lose fat is physical exercise.

By doing exercises, you are burning more calories and if your diet is also balanced, you will be on a calorie deficit. Such a well planned calorie deficit will help in reducing body fat while preserving lean muscle mass.

Studies have found that taking endurance exercise or preventive training many days a week will substantially decrease the amount of fat accumulated in the liver cells, regardless of whether or not you lose weight!

What do we do at NuvoNivo?

A lifestyle disorders expert can prescribe proper diet and exercise to help reduce the fatty liver condition. We offer programs related with health and recommend a completely natural and home based diet and very practical exercise routines at regular intervals. We also offer necessary support for all your health and diet related queries. 

Based on the followup and support, mainly we offer two programs – 

• Low Touch Plan at Rs 15,000
• High touch plan at Rs 25,000

LOW TOUCH PLAN PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (DURATION – 3 MONTHS)

• Personalised nutrition, for which evaluation is done every two weeks. 
• Personalised workout for which evaluation is done every two months. 
• Check-in via WhatsApp (every three days) and occasional telephone calls

HIGH TOUCH PLAN PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (DURATION – 3 MONTHS)

• Personalised nutrition, for which evaluation is done every one week. 
• Personalised workout for which evaluation is done every one month. 
• Whatsapp support and Check-in via direct calls (on alternate days)

It involves preparing a diet plan that includes a carbohydrate / protein / fat ratio and calorie intake to match your goals. The plan thus created will be evaluated periodically based on the type of plan (Low Touch or High Touch). This assessment and subsequent change will be based on progress (loss of centimeters around the abdomen, loss of kilograms). 

We only recommend a regular diet. We urge you to maintain your health in a natural way. We do not sell any kind of supplements. In the unlikely event that we recommend the supplements due to any deficiency, you may need to purchase it from a nearby supplement store.

EXERCISE PLANNING

We provide physical exercise instructions, including a video explanation, based on your fitness and goals. This exercise plan includes clear visions of your health and fitness. These exercises can be gym based or home based, according to your health and fitness goals. We expect at least half an hour of exercise for  five days a week,  from a beginner.

Depending on the programme, we will assess the physical exercise routine for one or two months. Bear in mind that there are various forms of workouts, such as swimming, running, yoga, gym, zumba etc. Not all exercises are for everyone – a person who is obese needs to limit cardio vascular exercises, as it may lead to injuries.

START FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

If you have an internet connection and a smartphone in your hand, you can launch this program from anywhere in the world. Once you are enrolled for the program, your waist and abdomen circumference (cm), weight (in kilograms), recent blood reports, list of current medications, other medical conditions (current or previous), eating habits, and foods you are allergic to! Once we have these details, we will create a diet plan and exercise plan tailored to your eating habits, lifestyle and medical conditions and share them with you via email and WhatsApp.