Your liver is your largest internal organ, situated on your right side below your ribcage. It performs many essential functions that keep your body healthy and in good condition. These include storing and releasing energy, making blood proteins such as clotting factors, excreting waste products and helping digest certain foods, especially fats. In certain situations, extra fat may build up in the liver, causing fatty liver disease, which may interfere with digestion and eventually lead to liver inflammation, or hepatitis.
Fatty Liver Disease
Extra fat builds up in the liver as an early stage of alcoholic liver disease that can eventually lead to cirrhosis. Sometimes, however, fatty liver disease develops for no apparent reason. In both cases, fat deposits in the liver often cause no symptoms at the start; that's why this disease is referred to as "silent." The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, NDDIC, says 10 to 20 percent of Americans have fat in their liver without any damage or symptoms. However, another 2 to 5 percent of American adults have fatty liver disease, in which the liver may become inflamed and its function eventually affected.
Symptoms
When fatty liver disease is in more advanced stages, it may cause symptoms that include fatigue, weight loss and weakness. The NDDIC says it may take years before this happens, but when it does, the symptoms may gradually worsen as more and more fat accumulates and the liver becomes increasingly inflamed. In some cases, fatty liver disease eventually produces cirrhosis, a situation in which the liver becomes scarred and portions of the organ are unable to function, leading to worsening of symptoms and slowing down of the digestive process.
Bile and Fats
One of the essential functions of the liver is to produce bile, a liquid released into your intestine when you consume a fat-containing meal. Components in bile called bile salts emulsify fats in your food, converting them into smaller molecules that digestive enzymes break down for digestion and absorption. Bile is also important in helping you absorb vitamins D, E, K and A, which are fat soluble. If you have advanced fatty liver disease that has compromised your liver function, the disorder may slow digestion of fats and absorption of these vitamins because the liver is unable to produce sufficient bile.
Recommendations
If you have fatty liver disease, you may be able to preserve or improve your liver's function by changes in diet and lifestyle. Hepatitis Foundation International recommends avoiding excess alcohol and any nonessential drugs and medication; if you must take medications, you should never take them at the same time you are drinking alcohol. The foundation also recommends eating a generally nutritious diet and limiting your intake of fat, with fat calories making up no more than 30 percent of your daily total. Since the liver uses protein, choose modest amounts of lean protein from fish and poultry, and minimize you intake of red meat. Add vegetable, dairy and whole-grain foods often to your diet, since your liver may be better able to tolerate these protein sources than meat protein. Discuss these recommendations in detail with your doctor or a dietitian to develop a plan that is right for you.
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