What is fatty liver? How to protect?

Obesity is increasing day by day in our society due to the diet and genetic structure of the Turkish society. Based on this, in recent studies, it has been determined that 2/3 of the Turkish population consists of slightly overweight and obese individuals. One of the diseases increasing in society with obesity is fatty liver. Fatty liver is observed in 75% of obese individuals and 15% of lightly overweight individuals. Of course, conditions such as diabetes, insulin resistance and high cholesterol accompanying obesity are also risk factors for the appearance of fatty liver. The duties of the liver organ, which is also referred to as the second brain, are countless, storage and metabolism of nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat and some vitamins, minerals), cleaning of drugs, alcohol, foreign substances taken into the body, cholesterol and bile secretion, production of some hormones and immunity. It is responsible for many vital functions such as the production of cells. With the later stages of lubrication, the liver begins to fail to perform its duties fully, and our whole body is affected by this situation. Before the situation reaches this level, precautions must be taken against fatty liver. First of all, you should stay away from a high-fat cholesterol diet. At least 5 portions of vegetables and fruits should be consumed per day, an average of 3 portions of milk and dairy products, 2-3 portions of meat group (cheese, egg, red meat, white meat) and 6-7 portions of cereal group foods should be consumed. While making meat dishes, you should use more grilling, boiling and baking methods, consume fish at least 2-3 times a week, and consume eggs (without adding extra oil) every day unless otherwise stated by your doctor or dietitian. Apart from this, it should be preferred to consume breads with whole grain, wholemeal and rye. However, in order to protect liver health, it is desired that the amount of alcohol consumed should be less than 20 ml per day for women and less than 30 ml for men.In addition, smoking and excessive use of drugs also endanger liver health. These factors can advance fatty liver to cirrhosis of the liver, which is an irreversible and more serious disease. Unfortunately, fatty liver cannot be detected without liver enzymes such as ALT-AST or liver ultrasound and biopsy. In some cases, there may be no change in liver enzymes, although there is fat. Those with a waist circumference greater than 80 cm in women and a waist circumference of more than 100 cm in men should be suspected of having fatty liver. There is no specific indicator of the disease, and there is no therapeutic drug. In order to correct and prevent the progression of fatty liver disease, the accompanying diseases should be controlled and physical activity should be increased, the diet should be corrected and liver health should be supported with nutritional support products to correct this condition.