7 Steps For Fatty Liver Treatment And Reversal

A sedentary lifestyle combined with the take-out and fast-food culture has contributed to a worldwide increase in cases of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is a condition of the liver where access fat is deposited in the liver eventually resulting in organ failure over time if left untreated. The good news is that when diagnosed early, there is a way to get treatment for your fatty liver disease and reverse it altogether. In fact, I completely reversed my Fatty Liver in about two years.

Did you know that in the United States, about 25-30% population suffers from NAFLD? The real problem though is that the disease often goes undiagnosed until organ damage has occurred. So, if you have been diagnosed with NAFLD, you should consider yourself fortunate because you can now take action to treat and reverse your NAFLD before it is too late.

Strategy for fatty liver disease treatment

Currently, there are no known/approved medications that treat NAFLD. Fortunately, you can treat NAFLD naturally with a good diet and regular exercise.

Exercise For Fatty Liver

Exercise plays a huge role in reversing the Fatty Liver Diet. For example, losing just 10% of your body weight can substantially reduce the amount of fat deposited in the liver. The exercise regimen to start with doesn’t have to be anything hard. It can be as easy as 30 minutes of brisk walking per day for 5 days a week. If you can’t find 30 minutes block in your day – do two 15-minute blocks or three 10-minute blocks.

And if you cannot really make 30 minutes somedays that is ok, do whatever you can, every 5 minutes helps!

Get some exercise if you cannot make the whole 30 minutes. Make up for it in the next few days. Some exercise is better than none and a goal of on average 30 minutes a day should become a norm.

Diet For Fatty Liver

As I mentioned earlier, a good diet can help you reverse your fatty liver. But what exactly is a good diet. This is the point where most people, unfortunately, recommend a low-fat diet or a low-carb diet to solve the problem. In truth, however, there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats. Similarly, not all carbs are bad.

What exactly is a good diet? Not all carbs are bad. Not all fats are untouchable.

Below are the high-level guidelines that will start helping you reverse your fatty liver. However, I urge you to read them in detail so that you understand the nuances of each.

#1. Take the processed Food To the Trash To Treat Fatty Liver

Processed food – baked goods, chips, breads, frozen items, granola bars, energy bars, protein shakes, cereal, etc contain too many simple carbs, sugars, fats, and other undesirable ingredients that will only make your problem worse. Remember, just because something is vegetarian or organic, doesn’t mean it is not processed. Even artificial vegetarian meats are heavily processed and consuming those could stress your liver. So from now on, pay special attention to nutritional labels and avoid high carb and high sugar items, especially those with added sugars.

Vegetarian, Organic, Zero-Sugar does not make an item liver-friendly. Start paying special attention to the nutrition and ingredients label and avoid processed foods as much as you can.

Instead of processed foods, make whole ingredients, fresh vegetables, and healthy fats as part of your regular diet.

#2: Lose Weight For Fatty Liver Treatment

Losing weight can have a huge impact on your fatty liver. Your first and foremost goal should be to lose about 5-10% of body weight. However, do not jump immediately to a Keto diet. Watch the video: Which Keto is good For you.

Read on to understand what is the best diet for Fatty Liver.

#3. Avoid Sugars For Reversing and Treating NAFLD

Avoid sugar like a plague but remember not all sugars are bad. There is sugar in fruits, vegetables, dairy, and other items which may be ok to consume since those items are packed with other important nutrients. However, added sugars in processed foods must be definitely avoided. Also, you should look to limit the overall daily sugar and carb consumption to get that weight reduction going.

There are fatty liver-friendly sugar alternatives to help with your sweet cravings and you can find them here: Managing Sweet Tooth and Fatty Liver.

#4. Avoid At least Simple Carbs For Reversing NAFLD

Next, it is important to avoid foods made of processed and simple carbs like white rice and white flour. To lose weight, you would need to reduce the overall carb intake anyways. However, do not start looking at carbs like they would burn you. Not all carbs are bad and not all carbs are the same. When you can or need to, eat the healthier, complex carbs.

Key points to remember here are:

• We need to reduce overall carb intake to help reverse fatty liver disease.
• Since 100% carb intake is tough to reduce, turning towards good complex carbs is ok in moderation. However, consuming complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and seeds is perfectly fine. Oats, Quinoa, Millets, Flax seeds, Hemp seeds, and Sunflower seeds are all ok to consume.

It is clear that the overall carb consumption has to reduce to reverse fatty liver. However, that does not mean all carbs are bad. There are healthier options out there, the key is moderation, especially after you have achieved your weight goals.

#5. Consume Only Good Fats To Help Fatty Liver Get Better

This is where I found that Keto and Fatty-Liver friendly diets create a lot of conflict and a lot of overall debate. The root of the conflict stems from the fact that there are a lot of keto diets out there that do not restrict the quantity or type of fat you consume and for someone suffering from fatty liver this could be a bad idea as too much fat consumption can stress the liver.

It is also true however that not all fat is bad. The fats found in nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado oil for example are fatty liver-friendly. So important thing to remember here:

1. Reduce fat consumption, especially saturated fat. Consequently, learn to avoid all high fat, fried and fast food.
2. Consuming nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocado oils may be ok, however, do not overdo it.

#6. Complement Your Diet With Liver Fortifying Herbs, Spices and Supplements etc.

There are actually several liver-helping ingredients out there. However, it is important to understand what is safe for you to consume and in which form. Be careful though – if you decide on consuming wine because you have heard that “resveratrol” is good for fatty liver – then you are possibly going down a bad path.

Coffee is shown to be good for fatty liver, however, you should drink within the limits and be aware of possible side effects. More details about coffee are covered in this video: Is Coffee Good For Fatty Liver

You will find that there are also many supplements that are considered good for fatty liver. That is a larger topic that I will cover later, however one important thing with opting to take supplements is to make sure your physician has had a chance to review the possible side effects with you.

Be very thoughtful about supplements. A friend of mine kept sipping wine justifying it as a means to get “resveratrol” and ended up worsening his NAFLD. Basically the small amount of resveratrol in wine is not enough to justify added alcohol and sugar consumption as part of wine. He could have chosen grapes instead.

#7. Seek Help When In Doubt

I am working to provide as much information on Fatty Liver as I can, however, the science of fatty liver is very young. Understandably, there is a lot that is not currently clear. So it is a good idea to join a fatty liver support group – like this Facebook group below – and ask questions when you have them.

Please join: Reverse & Heal Fatty Liver Facebook Support Group

For more Fatty Liver FAQs, check here: Fatty Liver (NAFLD) Frequently Asked Questions.