Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Vitamins For A Fatty Liver Disease Diet - The Controversy

Vitamins for a fatty liver disease diet have been a topic of debate when it comes to the best way to reduce fat in your liver. Some vitamins and minerals are great for the liver in certain quantities, but can be extremely harmful in excess. Others can be beneficial and liver friendly, but they can harm other areas of the body. So which vitamins, minerals, and supplements, if any, should be taken along with a fatty liver diet?

Most experts agree certain vitamins and minerals are liver friendly and help to improve liver function. In her ebook, "Fatty Liver Diet Guide", veteran liver nurse, Dorothy Spencer, points out 6 such vitamins and minerals. These are:
  • Folate (folic acid) which improves liver function and can be found in foods like leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.
  • Vitamin B complexes (including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and cobalamine) which are involved in protein metabolism.
  • Vitamin K which aids in synthesizing prothrombin.
  • Manganese and selenium which help activate and/or speed up some of the enzymes needed for both fat and carbohydrate metabolism.
  • Sulfur which aids in the formation of B vitamins.
  • Vitamin C and vitamin E which are showing potential as fatty liver treatments due to their antioxidant capabilities which can slow hepatic cellular deterioration.
The important thing to remember when using vitamins and minerals as part of a diet for reducing FLD is that excessive consumption can be harmful not only to the liver, but also to other areas of the body. For example, vitamin K can cause liver damage in large amounts and excessive niacin (vitamin B3) can encourage the liver to digest more fat which adds to the problem for fatty liver patients.

Biotin should be avoided as it can increase the production of fatty acids. Likewise, too many amino acids can lead to other conditions, sometimes as severe as brain damage. It is not recommended to take supplements of vitamins A and vitamin D since these are often stored in fat deposits and, therefore, are in ample supply in a fat congested liver.

Most vitamins and minerals can be obtained in ample quantities through a diet plan consisting of specific fatty liver diet recipes aimed at improving liver function.

Next, for the rest of the (sometimes controversial) story about vitamins for a fatty liver disease diet, please visit: Fatty Liver Diet

If you really want to improve your health and stop FLD from progressing to Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Cirrhosis, or worse, then gain access to liver-friendly diet recipes and learn how to reduce liver fat now by visiting: Fatty Liver Treatment

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Fatty Liver Diet - Friend And Foe Foods To Reduce Fat In The Liver


Without a nutrient-rich fatty liver diet in place, it can be extremely difficult to reduce the effects of steatosis and fatty liver disease (FDL). FDL is present in millions of people worldwide, particularly those who suffer from other conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although benign and asymptomatic in many patients, if the disease is not regulated and kept under control, it can progress into a life threatening ailment through cirrhosis, liver cancer, and eventually total liver failure.

The liver is an amazing organ with over 200 functions. It has often been called the body's "chemical factory" and is a built-in, natural filter. It is also a storehouse for fats, vitamins, and minerals and produces up to 24 oz of bile per day.

Bile is important in the emulsification of fat in the intestines. Emulsification refers to the process of breaking down large fat globules into smaller ones. The liver is also the only organ in the human body capable of regeneration. If it shuts down, death can occur within 24 hours.

Is Fat In The Liver Normal?

You may already know excess fat in the body is often stored in adipocytes (fat cells) in areas such as the belly and thighs. So why does fat get into the liver in the first place?

First, it is important to understand fat in the liver accumulates as triglycerides and not as adipocytes. It's perfectly normal for small amounts to show up and be stored in the liver. Reasons for this include:

1) Fat metabolism occurs mostly in the liver.
2) Under some circumstances, such as when a person experiences hypoglycemia, the liver will convert glycogen to fatty acids.
3) Fatty acids are converted into energy in the liver when stores of glucose (the main energy source for the body) run low.
4) Since fat is not water-soluble, lipoproteins carry fatty acids both from and to the liver to be processed.

With all these processes involving fat occurring in the liver, it only makes sense for some fat to be stored there. However, when fat makes up more than 5-10% of the liver by weight, a fatty liver occurs.

Diet plays a key role in reducing a fatty liver. Clearly the greatest foe is fat itself. Therefore, high fat foods should be avoided. Lean cuts of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, should replace fried and/or dark meats such as beef. Alcohol, as well as high sugar fruit juices and energy drinks, should be avoided.

Instead, try to focus a fatty liver diet plan on liver friendly foods such as fruits and vegetables (greens, leaves, and vitamin C rich foods) and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates break down slowly, giving the body a slow, steady source of energy.

Simple carbohydrates, like those found in sweets, should be avoided because they break down quickly and are used rapidly by the body. When the body uses these carbohydrates too fast, it then switches to converting protein to energy which can be taxing for the liver. Protein is better used for producing hemoglobin, an important blood component that takes oxygen to cells throughout the body.

Next, now is the time to formulate the best diet plan for reducing a fatty liver: Fatty Liver Diet

If you really want to improve your health and stop FLD from progressing to Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Cirrhosis, or worse, then learn how to reduce liver fat now by visiting: Diet Plan For Fatty Liver

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Natural Cure For Liver Disease

One of the greatest abilities of the Liver is that it can regenerate itself. This should provide a great deal of hope for anyone suffering from liver disease. There are a few things that you need to do in order to turn your scarred liver into a brand new healthy liver. Follow the steps below:

Start consuming Dandelion (that plant that probably grows all around your home). The leaves of the Dandelion plant can be picked, washed, and mixed in with your salads. But you can also find Dandelion tinctures or other forms of Dandelion extracts at your local health food store. Dandelion is extremely useful for the health of the liver and related organs and glands. (Note that a poorly functioning liver will only bring DOWN the function of other organs and glands). It has been used to successfully treat liver disease, such as hepatitis and liver insufficiency.

If you only had one choice for picking a natural cure for liver disease it should be Milk Thistle Seed Extract (...fortunately you have more than one choice, so why not use all of them, it will only speed up your healing). There are a few reasons why Milk Thistle Seed Extract (also referred to as "Mte") is beneficial to the liver and liver regeneration. Firstly, it protects the liver from toxins. Toxins, like Alcohol (the number one cause of Cirrhosis), compete against Mte for space on the cell membrane of the liver...except they always lose against the much stronger Mte. If your liver has Mte (milk thistle seed extract) all around itself, therefore preventing harmful toxins from destroying the liver, then the liver actually has time to regenerate. Also, Mte increase protein synthesis, which means that it speeds up the regeneration of destroyed liver tissue.

Another huge benefit of Milk Thistle Seed Extract is its interference with the enterohepatic circulation. Now, you might be wondering what the enterohepatic circulation is? Toxins are constantly being cycled back in forth between the gastrointestinal tract and the liver. Each time the toxins pass by the liver, the liver gets damaged. However, Mte interrupts the first absorption of toxins and then it helps prevent the re-absorption when the toxins are recycled. Cells that are not yet poisoned are therefore protected and become sites for new liver cell growth. In time a full restoration of the liver can be achieved.

I don't want to sound repetitive so all I'm going to say about Artichoke is that it has the same healing properties as Milk Thistle. That being said I would use both Milk Thistle Seed Extract and Artichoke extract to heal my liver (along with a regular consumption of Dandelion extract). The human liver will regenerate itself, by using the above mentioned natural healers we can restore our livers faster. Don't give in to taking pharmaceutical drugs they cause way too much damage to the liver, even if they are meant to heal your liver. Use natural cures and you will heal your liver faster, safer, and cheaper.

There are many other ways to speed up the recovery of your liver. Things like Acupuncture, Acupressure, Reflexology, Magnet Therapy, Essential Oils, Homeopathic Medicine, Home Remedies, Healing Crystals, and other Healing Herbs can all be used simultaneously to increase the restoration of the liver.

If you are interested in more information on natural healing check out The Green Book Of Health it is a great reference manual for natural healing. You don't need a phd or years of experience to use it. For the first time all forms of natural healing have been brought together to help cure over 60 common ailments. The book is on sale right now, click here for more information

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Fatty Liver Disease Diet Tips - How To Reduce Liver Fat By Watching What You Eat

A good fatty liver disease diet can be implemented to stop and/or reverse excessive fat in the liver without keeping you from enjoying many of the foods you love. Like a healthy diet for the average person, moderation and balance are the keys.

Although you will need to find more healthy alternatives for some of the things you eat and keep a closer eye on your food consumption, you'll still find a multitude of delicious liver friendly recipes to satisfy your taste buds.

Fatty liver disease (FLD) generally falls into one of two categories based on its cause. When alcohol consumption is the main culprit of excess fat in the liver, the disease is classified as alcoholic fatty liver (AFL). If other factors such as a high fat diet, obesity, diabetes milletus, metabolic disorders, hyperlipidemia, or hypertension are the culprit, then the disease is classified as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

AFL is generally considered easier to treat because of its singular cause. Often asymptomatic and benign in early stages, both types can become fatal in the form of cirrhosis, liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and total liver failure if left unchecked.

However, when caught early, simple changes in diet and exercise aimed at losing weight is often all that is needed to slow or even reverse the condition. Fat reduction and weight loss must be done gradually to keep the body from going into an internal state similar to starvation.

When this happens, the body makes up for the lost fat by rapidly producing fatty acids which worsens fatty liver. This is why drastic measures of weight loss such as gastric bypass surgery are not often recommended for FLD patients.

A diet plan for fatty liver should focus on reducing fat consumption to no more than 20-30% of the daily caloric intake. This means if you're eating a 1500 calorie diet, then no more than 450 of those calories should come from fats, especially saturated fats. Replace high fat foods with high fiber foods.

The main energy source for FLD patients should come from complex carbohydrates such as those found in brown rice and pasta. These should make up approximately 60-70% of the overall diet. In our example above, this means 900-1050 of the 1500 calorie diet should come from complex carbohydrates.

Avoid foods containing only simple carbohydrates. These are found in things like candy and other sweets. Simple carbohydrates break down quickly and are used too fast by the body. Once these carbohydrates are used up, the body starts feeling starved and fatty acid production starts to take place in the liver. As we mentioned earlier, this is an undesirable condition for fatty liver disease patients.

Next, now is the time to formulate the best diet plan for reducing a fatty liver: Fatty Liver Disease Diet

If you really want to improve your health and stop FLD from progressing to Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Cirrhosis, or worse, then learn how to reduce liver fat now by visiting: Diet For Fatty Liver