Fatty Liver Can Be Treated with Diet Change

When doctors can't find a cause for abnormal liver tests, they often diagnose fatty liver, which if not treated, can cause permanent liver damage, but it usually can be cured with dietary changes and weight loss.

If your liver tests are abnormal, your doctor will ask you if you drank alcohol recently or take drugs. If your liver test do not return to normal after you avoid alcohol and drugs, you need blood tests for infections of the liver and a sonogram to rule out gall bladder disease or a tumor. If the sonogram shows a fatty liver, the odds are overwhelming that your body makes too much insulin and that you can be cured with a diabetes drug called metformin (Glucophage) and a diet that restricts refined carbohydrates and high-fat foods.

This condition affects three percent of young children and a higher percentage of adults. If you change your diet and still have abnormal liver tests, you need a comprehensive evaluation to find the cause. Journal references