Maitreyi Raman - Healing Fatty Liver Disease: A Complete Health and Diet Guide Including 100 Recipes

Good management of NAFLD can best be facilitated through a multidisciplinary, holistic approach in conjunction with a registered dietitian, gastroenterologist/hepatologist, exercise therapist, and psychologist.

Surprisingly, the most common liver disease seen in the developed world is not viral hepatitis or cirrhosis of the liver but rather fatty liver disease, specifically nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Even though there are many types of liver disease, NAFLD is perhaps the least recognized! Most people discover they have fatty liver disease during tests for other common conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes. When discovered, fatty liver disease might have progressed to hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis cannot be reversed and results in death unless a donor liver can be found and transplanted successfully.

This disconnection between the most common cause of liver disease and its underwhelming recognition is difficult to fathom. The lack of understanding is clearly dangerous, but it is not easy to overcome, because few obvious symptoms accompany this condition. In fact, in the early phases of this disease, there are almost no symptoms. The symptoms that may be present with NAFLD are often nonspecific (meaning that they can be seen with other conditions) and may be dismissed as not sufficiently relevant or clinically meaningful to warrant further investigations. Once the common symptoms typically associated with liver disease are present, it usually signifies that the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Prognosis is guarded.

Diagnosis is typically determined by tests conducted by a gastroenterologist (digestive-system specialist) or hepatologist (liver specialist). Many health-care professionals are learning how to manage this condition with lifestyle changes, behavioral modification, medications, and dietary therapy, but there are still some physicians who may not be entirely familiar with this condition. Good management of NAFLD can best be facilitated through a multidisciplinary, holistic approach in conjunction with a registered dietitian, gastroenterologist/hepatologist, exercise therapist, and psychologist. We have assembled such a group to contribute to this book. A multidisciplinary approach offers the greatest chance of long-term success. Management strategies include alcohol abstinence, prescription medications, nutritional supplements, physical exercise, and dietary therapy, which is the focus of this book. The diet program recommended in this book includes therapeutic food choices, convenient menu plans, and recipes that help manage and, in most cases, reverse fatty liver disease.

Despite the high prevalence of NAFLD, very few books have been written on this topic. I found this odd because numerous patients in my clinical practice persistently request a good resource of information for understanding and managing their condition. This book will provide you with the best information available today about your liver disease and the factors that predispose you toward NAFLD, management strategies targeted at achieving weight loss and obtaining better control over diabetes, and a complete dietary guide that includes a series of recipes to assist you on this journey. These strategies are evidence-based and are founded on the most recent research published in the best-known medical journals. The recipes have been tested in our kitchen, and each recipe includes a nutritional analysis to assist you in making sure your meals are well-balanced among the food groups.

Meaningful gains can be made with this book as a practical guide to get your liver into better shape and to avoid the dreaded complications of advanced liver disease, notably cirrhosis of the liver. By implementing these suggested strategies early, you can reverse any detrimental changes in the liver that are already present. If you suspect you may have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, please dont delay. See your doctor and consider adopting the management strategies we describe in