Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a liver condition that affects people who drink little to no alcohol. In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), too much fat builds up in the liver. It is the most common form of liver disease in the world.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) most commonly occurs in people who are overweight or obese. It ranges in severity from hepatic steatosis, called fatty liver, to a more severe form of disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
It is not known why some people’s livers will develop fattiness, and other’s livers do not, but nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are linked to genetics, weight gain and obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and high blood lipid levels, hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), sleep apnea and hypopituitarism.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) causes the liver to swell and become damaged due to the fat deposits in the liver. If nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progresses, it may lead to serious liver scarring, called cirrhosis, and even liver cancer.
Symptoms of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) typically does not have symptoms. When it does, possible symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Malaise
- Pain or discomfort in the upper right abdomen
Symptoms of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
Possible symptoms of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis include:
- Shortness of breath
- Skin itching
- Spider-like blood vessels beneath the skin surface
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Abdominal swelling (ascites)
- Swelling of the legs
- Redness of palms
- Spleen enlargement
Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment are to prevent development of liver cirrhosis and reverse accumulation of fat in your liver.
There is no conventional treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
For this reason, you may choose to employ natural treatment to address your nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:
- Identifying specific treatment goals
- Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
- Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
- Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment
At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating high cholesterol may be to:
- Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, poor stress management) or general health (e.g., obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus) that may be contributing to raised blood cholesterol levels
- Support liver health using nutritional counseling, nutritional supplements and herbal (phyto) medicines
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Nutritional counseling
- Nutritional supplements
- Metabolic detoxification protocols
- Herbal (phyto) medicines
- Acupuncture
- Homeopathy
- Bowen Therapy
- Hydrotherapy
- Exercise prescription
- Relaxation (meditation) training
- Lifestyle medicine and counseling
Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.