Treatment of fatty liver grade 1

How dangerous is fatty liver grade 1?

Fatty liver is the accumulation of fat in the liver that exceeds 5% of the total weight of the liver. In Europe, the prevalence of this disease is about 30%, in Asia it is 20-25%. In Vietnam, according to statistics of the Ministry of Health in 2019, the rate of people infected with steatosis is close to 30% of the population.

The leading cause of fatty liver is excessive alcohol consumption. Next is the obese, overweight, diabetic, dyslipidemic, or due to prolonged use of drugs. Fatty liver is divided into 3 levels.

Fatty liver grade 1: Fat percentage accounts for 5 – 10% of the total weight of the liver. The signs are usually very mild or even absent. Without treatment, the disease can quickly progress to grade 2.

Fatty liver grade 2: The percentage of fat accounts for 10-25% of the weight of the liver, the fat has spread to the liver tissues.

Fatty liver grade 3: This is the most dangerous stage, very difficult to treat and recover. The liver can get cirrhosis, inflammation and liver cancer.

Fatty liver grade 1 has not yet seriously affected liver function, the least dangerous compared to other levels. However, if not treated early and effectively, the disease will gradually progress to hepatitis, cirrhosis, and finally liver cancer, which is life-threatening.

Symptoms of fatty liver grade 1

According to Dr. Cao Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Department of Gastroenterology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, in the early stages, most patients are not aware that the liver is having problems because there are no symptoms. Patients sometimes feel tired, full of stomach. This symptom is quite general, easy to confuse with other diseases, so it is often overlooked.

Patients can also accidentally discover grade 1 fatty liver during routine physical examination, blood test or ultrasound. On the ultrasound image, it can be seen that there is a slight increase in the diffuse echo of the parenchyma, the level of sound absorption is not significant, the diaphragm and the border of the veins in the liver can still be identified.

“The signs of fatty liver are often subtle. Therefore, we advise people to check their health to detect, instead of waiting until there are obvious symptoms to go to the doctor,” said Doctor Tuan.

Specifically, if you are in a risk group such as drinking a lot of alcohol, being overweight or obese, having diabetes, and having dyslipidemia: Periodic liver function tests, liver enzyme tests or ultrasound should be performed to detect the disease. plan treatment.

For people not in the risk group: Building a scientific lifestyle and periodic health check-ups.

Is it easy or difficult to treat grade 1 fatty liver?

Fatty liver in general so far has no specific treatment. However, people with grade 1 fatty liver need to determine the cause of the disease, combine lifestyle and diet adjustments. From there, it is possible to restore liver function, prevent dangerous complications.

Specifically, people with grade 1 fatty liver need to maintain:

– Practice sports: at least 30 minutes/day and the frequency from 3-5 times/week. This helps maintain a healthy weight and reduce the amount of fat in the liver.

– Increase the intake of green vegetables and fruits to supplement vitamins, especially vitamins A and E. Vegetables help strengthen the function, cool the liver, avoid accumulation of extra fat in the liver.

– Limiting the intake of organs, beef is a type of animal protein rich in cholesterol, which increases the risk of fat accumulation and puts a burden on the liver. You can choose to eat protein from fish or chicken.

– Limit fried foods, stir-fry, use vegetable oil to process food because vegetable oil will contain less cholesterol.

– People who have fatty liver grade 1 must absolutely give up alcohol, have regular check-ups and follow the instructions of the treating doctor.