10 Signs You Have a Fatty Liver

Hepatic steatosis, commonly known as fatty liver disease, occurs when fat deposits build up excessively within the liver.

This particular condition can lead to liver inflammation and swelling, contributing to various health issues such as the formation of abdominal fat, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, or gallbladder inflammation. 

After a certain time, the liver may develop fibrosis, identified by the formation of scar tissue inside the organ.

Statistically, more than a quarter of adults worldwide suffer from fatty liver disease, often attributed to poor dietary choices.

What Causes Fatty Liver? 

Excessive consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils such as margarine, cottonseed oil, corn oil, soy, or canola oil is one of the primary contributors to fatty liver. Such consumption triggers inflammation within liver cells and disrupts their normal fat digestion processes; additionally, indulging in sugary food products that release free fatty acids may also obstruct liver functions and contribute to developing fatty liver. 

Alcoholism can also contribute to fatty liver, as its consumption triggers specific genes that instruct the liver to store more fat rather than use it for energy. High fructose corn syrup – found in over 80% of packaged foods, including soda drinks, sauces, and fast foods – quickly converts to fat in the liver, leading to this condition. Furthermore, certain medications, drugs, and viruses can harm livers, leading to fat accumulation; Over time, this condition often goes undetected due to it not showing up on standard liver enzyme blood tests until significant damage has already taken place.

Here are the Signs To Know If you are Suffering From Fatty Liver Disease

1. Belly fat

If your belly resembles that of a pot or you carry extra fat around the middle, chances are high that you have a fatty liver. Once it fills up with fat deposits, it spreads across both inside and under your skin before returning back out again into your stomach as an accumulation.

Fat accumulation around your organs, blood pressure increase, and possible heart attacks are all possible due to fat build-up in your belly. Even if it doesn’t protrude like a pot belly does, there could still be dangerous accumulation.

2. Right Shoulder Pain

If you experience pain or stiffness in the right shoulder, neck, jaw, or under your shoulder blade, it could be due to a fatty liver. Your liver produces bile as part of its digestion of food like meat or olive oil; when too much fat accumulates on its surface, it thickens and gets stuck, making your liver and gallbladder swell and become inflamed, causing increased pressure on phrenic nerves on both sides and leading to pain in muscles of upper back and neck areas.

3. Rib Pain

If you experience discomfort on the right side of your rib cage, it could be caused by thickened bile in either your liver or gallbladder. This thickened bile (known as “bile sludge”) contains high concentrations of cholesterol that accumulate when you have either a fatty liver or an inflamed gallbladder, leading to irritation or pressure on cartilage in your ribs resulting in significant discomfort and possibly leading to costochondritis (wherein stiff rib joints become stiff and painful). Sitting for extended periods could aggravate this issue even further, leading to stiff and sore joints as bile accumulates as more cholesterol accumulates over time, ultimately leading to costochondritis (whereby stiff joints become stiff and painful over time).

4. Spider Veins

Individuals with liver damage often experience elevated levels of estrogen since the liver cannot effectively remove the surplus hormones. Increased estrogen can weaken the veins throughout your body, leading to the development of small spider veins on your skin. Typically, these veins have a red dot at the center with reddish extensions emanating from it.

5. Swollen Right Foot (Edema)

When your right foot and ankle appear more swollen than its counterpart on either side, this could be an indicator of liver damage – an issue often associated with such unequal swellings known as edema, caused by fluid accumulation within tissues. Pitting edema, which can be identified by pressing on an area with swelling and leaving an indentation lasting several seconds when pressing it with your finger, is one of the hallmark symptoms of fluid retention in your body. Your liver plays an essential role in managing blood circulation throughout your system. If your liver isn’t working as it should, this can cause poor circulation to form and result in fluid accumulation in your lower extremities, particularly your right foot and ankle. This swelling is often an indicator that something has gone amiss with managing blood flow or managing fluid balance in your body.

6. Itchy Hands/Feet (cholestatic pruritus)

As your liver accumulates excess fat, this may result in blockages or backups in its ability to produce and release bile, an essential fluid created by your liver that aids or helps in digestion. When this bile cannot move properly, it may seep out and collect under your skin, causing symptoms like itching or breakouts. Bile accumulation under the skin leads to the release of histamines into the bloodstream, chemicals generated by your immune system in response to allergens or irritants, which play a crucial role in initiating allergic reactions. Due to increased histamine levels, you may experience itching sensations on the soles and palms of your feet or hands as a result of increased histamine production. This itchiness could be indicative of liver dysfunction due to the accumulation of bile under your skin surface.

7. Low Thyroid (Hypothyroidism)

Hypothyroidism, which is specified by an underactive thyroid, has often been linked with liver damage. Your liver plays an integral part in activating and converting T4 to T3, accounting for roughly 80% of this conversion process; If your liver suffers from fatty liver or cirrhosis, this conversion may become impaired, resulting in slow thyroid activity and disruptions to metabolism; In such instances impaired liver function disrupts this normal conversion, leading to thyroid issues and metabolic complications.

8. Lethargy (Fatigue)

As fatigue can arise from multiple sources, one primary contributor to lethargy is a fatty liver. When your liver becomes overloaded with excess fat and fails to produce adequate amounts of bile, absorption of essential fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, E, D K, and carotenoids from plants becomes difficult and results in reduced antioxidant levels within your body resulting in feelings of weakness, fatigue and general lethargy.

9. Unexplained weight loss/gain

Fatty liver disease has the ability to cause sudden changes to body weight, manifested either by unexplained weight loss or gain. This condition disrupts metabolic functions and, therefore, leads to fluctuations in weight; so if you notice shifts that can’t be attributed to any known source, they could be indicative of fatty liver disease affecting your metabolism and leading to unexpected fluctuations.

10. Dark Colored Urine and Stools

Another notable sign of Fatty liver disease is that when it’s in an advanced stage, there may occur some notable alterations in urine and stool colors. Darkening of urine could signal elevated levels of bilirubin produced during red blood cell breakdown; pale or clay-colored stools could signal potential complications related to liver function; these changes serve as indicators of overall liver health that warrant further medical consideration.

If you experience some of the above symptoms, it’s wise to see your physician(Hepatologist) immediately and request an ultrasound examination. This easy test uses sound waves to capture images of your liver and its blood vessel network, helping detect any accumulations of fat deposits.