What is fatty liver disease and what causes it?

It is said that drinking alcohol is very harmful to the body, but many men just don't believe it. They still drink excessively every day and don't care about their bodies at all. As the saying goes, drinking alcohol hurts the liver, and many people think that fatty liver is caused by drinking alcohol. So, what is fatty liver and what are the causes?

What is fatty liver

Fatty liver refers to a disease caused by excessive fat accumulation in liver cells due to various reasons. Fatty liver disease is a serious threat to the health of the Chinese people and has become the second largest liver disease after viral hepatitis. Fatty liver is a common clinical phenomenon, not an independent disease. Its clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic in mild cases to severe in severe cases. Generally speaking, fatty liver is a reversible disease, and early diagnosis and timely treatment can often restore normalcy.

Causes

1. Obesity-related fatty liver

The degree of fat accumulation in the liver is proportional to body weight. 30% to 50% of obese people have fatty liver, and the rate of fatty liver disease in severely obese people is as high as 61% to 94%. When the weight of obese people is controlled, their fat infiltration will also decrease or disappear.

2. Alcoholic fatty liver

In long-term alcoholics, 75% to 95% of liver biopsies show fatty infiltration. Others have observed that drinking more than 80 to 160 grams of alcohol per day increases the incidence of alcoholic fatty liver by 5 to 25 times.

3. Rapid weight loss fatty liver

Fasting, excessive dieting or other rapid weight loss measures can cause a large increase in fat decomposition in a short period of time, consume glutathione (GSH) in the liver, increase malondialdehyde and lipid peroxides in the liver, damage liver cells, and lead to fatty liver.

4. Malnutrition-induced fatty liver

Malnutrition leading to protein deficiency is an important cause of fatty liver, which is often seen in insufficient intake or digestive disorders, which prevent the synthesis of apolipoproteins, resulting in the accumulation of triglycerides in the liver and the formation of fatty liver.

5. Diabetic fatty liver

About 50% of diabetic patients may develop fatty liver, most of whom are adults. Because 50% to 80% of diabetic patients in adulthood are obese, their plasma insulin levels and plasma fatty acids are increased, and fatty liver is related to both the degree of obesity and excessive intake of fat or sugar.