Fatty liver disease, which is commonly referred to as fatty liver is a reversible liver condition that is caused by various factors like excessive intake of alcohol, obesity, diabetes and poor nutrition. Under normal circumstances the liver always contains some fat, but as soon as the amount exceeds ten percent, then we can talk about fatty liver. Before we start discussing the best fatty liver diet, let us take a deeper look at the disease; as already mentioned, the condition is reversible, as long as the underlying cause has been removed at an earlier stage. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital since fatty liver is seen as a predisposition for the development of more serious liver conditions since it might cause liver inflammation, which can lead to hardening and scarring of the liver.
Of course, a well-balanced fatty liver diet is the best possible way to treat the condition and when it is accompanied with regular exercise and alcohol abstinence, the treatment is successful in the majority of the cases. The main strong point of a good fatty liver diet is that it helps a person lose weight gradually - in most instances this means that a person that follows the diet will lose no more than one to two pounds per week.
Before adopting any kind of fatty liver diet, you should always consult with your doctor and with his or her help develop long-term eating plan. The diet should include all major food groups, but the amount of saturated fats, white bread, white rice, sugary pastries, fried food, candies, soft drinks, ice-cream and other high-glycemic index foods should be brought to a minimum. Red meat should be replaced with lean meat or fish and fresh vegetables and whole grains should be large part of your daily meals. It is generally better to have five or six daily meals rather than fewer and bigger ones; three out of the meals should be large enough and the ones in-between should be healthy snacks.
The fatty liver diet also works best when accompanied with regular exercise; regardless of the change in your diet, if your calories intake exceeds the calories that you burn, you won’t see any improvement. The most important part of your exercise should be the cardio, which can be cycling, jogging, fast walking and swimming; if at all possible and you are in good health, you might want to mix that with two to three times per week strength exercises.
You shouldn’t consider a fatty liver diet something that can be done for a certain period of time, after which you can go back to eating high-calories junk food; the fatty liver diet should be seen as your nutritional regime from now on. This requires some persistence and strong will, but the end result is well worth it.
And last, but not least - keep in mind that the abuse of alcohol is the liver’s worse enemy and it is best to be ceased immediately, before it leads to inflammation and liver cirrhosis.