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When the liver gets bigger, the whole body suffers (Photo: Tomás Arthuzzi / HEALTH is Vital)
The liver can endure decades of aggression without giving any symptoms. 'exhaustion. If, on the one hand, this robustness is an advantage, on the other, masks a scary disease that develops: Nonalcoholic fatty liver the popular fat in the liver . What is it and what are the causes?
"It is estimated that it already reaches 40% of adults in the West," says hepatologist Raymundo Paraná, president of the Latin American Association for the study Of course, this phenomenon does not come alone: it results (and rubs shoulders with) mismanagement in other parts of the body. According to the Ministry of Health, 54% of Brazilians are overweight and 18% are considered obese – a statistic that increases year by year.
"This is reflected in a set of diseases that we call the metabolic syndrome., With the appearance of alterations in cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and steatosis," notes the gastroenterologist Fernando Wolff from the Moinhos de Vento hospital in Porto Alegre.
The silent character, even, makes fat accumulation even more dangerous: as there are no complaints, the subject lives for years without worrying about what is happening in the abdomen. Meanwhile, the risk of undergoing a cardiovascular attack, such as a heart attack or stroke, doubles.
"To make matters worse, 15% of these people develop a more serious illness, steatohepatitis," says Paraná. Under these circumstances, the poor liver is taken hostage by inflammation and injury and does not work properly. If something is done, cancer or cirrhosis is the next step.
It's really ugly worldwide: in the United States, steatosis has conquered alcoholism and has become the second most important reason for liver transplants – it's right behind it. viral hepatitis. A study by the Universidad Austral in Argentina shows that the number of tumors caused by the disease has increased seven-fold in Latin America between 2005 and 2012.
The good news is that it can intervene well before the liver enters the swamp. Simply do an ultrasound to establish the diagnosis, then start a simple and effective therapy – without the need for a pill! "The mainstay of treatment is to lose weight by modifying one's diet and doing some exercise," says Araojo Neto's hepatologist João Marcello of the National Cancer Institute.
Discover in the headings below why the liver is so important.
How non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is formed
1. Being overweight, sedentary lifestyle and unbalanced diet make the amount of glucose in the blood go up too high.
2. Over time, this scenario leads to resistance to insulin. That is, this hormone can no longer put sugar in the cells.
3. Glucose overload will stop in the liver. In cells called hepatocytes, it turns into triglycerides, a type of fat.
5. Over time, the fatty ducts become ineffective and become part of their functioning.
6. The lack of liver cells in good condition generates a detrimental stress for the liver, which enters a state of inflammation.
7. Several hepatocytes die. Instead, a fibrous tissue appears as a scar.
8.
How the diagnosis is made
Since the problem does not show any symptoms, it is possible to use routine tests to diagnose it:
] Blood : ALT and AST enzymes (also known as TGO and TGP) are high?
Biopsy: Necessary to determine if there is too much fat in the liver.
Need to determine the condition of the gland. the severity and extent of the image
How to reduce fats in the liver
1. Diet and exercise make a person lose weight. This lowers glucose levels and relieves insulin resistance.
2. With this, the triglycerides are gradually released by the gland in the form of VLDL, which serves as energy to various parts of the body.
3. Weight loss, however, must be gradual. Thus, the fat reserves located in the abdomen are eliminated to measure.
4. Rapid weight loss results in the removal of a large amount of fat from adipose tissue and liver, which triggers inflammation.
The liver can also be damaged by other malefactors
Alcohol: The drink is one of the main causes of cirrhosis in the world.
Virus: The infectious agents responsible for hepatitis A, B and C are the most worrying. DNA: Genetic mutations have been identified that increase the risk of developing steatosis
In the long term, misuse or abuse of drugs causes a pause.
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