38% Of Indians Suffer From Fatty Liver: 5 Warning Signs You Can Detect At Home Before It’s Too Late

Nearly 38% of Indians are living with fatty liver disease, often without knowing it. Know about the 5 early warning signs you can detect at home, causes, and prevention tips before it turns severe.

Fatty liver disease is silently becoming one of the most common health issues in India, and the fact figures are concerning. Recent research has also shown that severe fatty liver currently affects almost 38 per cent of the Indian population, including the accumulation of excessive fat in the liver cells. What is unfavourable is that the majority of people do not even realise they have it until it has already developed to another higher level.

What is Fatty Liver?

The liver is one of the most significant organs in our body. It helps in the digestion of food materials, purifying the toxins and digesting them. However, once the amount of fat collected inside liver cells exceeds the usual threshold (approximately over 5-10 per cent of liver weight), then the condition is referred to as fatty liver disease or hepatic steatosis.

There are two main types:

Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (AFLD): This is the disease that occurs due to excessive alcohol consumption.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): This develops in individuals who do not consume a lot of alcohol but have poor diets or lifestyles.

Why It’s a Silent Concern?

Fatty liver normally has a silent progression — that is, in its early phases, patients have no significant symptoms. However, in the long run, it may cause inflammation, scarring of the liver (fibrosis) or liver failure. The positive thing is that fatty liver can be reversed by early diagnosis and changes in lifestyle. Not everything is required to be medically tested to suspect it; there are certain signs that can be noticed at home.

5 Signs of Fatty Liver You Can Check at Home

Unusual Tiredness or Fatigue

In case you are always feeling sleepy even after a good sleep, then it may be that your liver is working too hard. The liver is involved in processing food into energy, and in case there is too much fat in the liver, then you might lack energy. One of the expected early symptoms of fatty liver is chronic fatigue.

Pain or Heaviness in the Upper Right Side of the Abdomen

Pain or fullness directly beneath the right ribs, which is dull, can be an indication of liver swelling in the liver as a result of the accumulation of fats. It is never really pain but rather a feeling of discomfort or even pressure, particularly after having eaten heavy or greasy food.

Unexplained Weight Gain, Especially Around the Belly

Assuming that you are adding belly fat even though you eat normally, it may be beyond a mere terrible diet. Fatty liver usually accompanies insulin resistance and leads to the easy accumulation of fats in your body, and this is particularly around the abdominal region.

Digestive Problems

The liver has a significant role to play in the digestion process. When out of functioning noisily, you can get bloated, nauseated, and lack appetite and can get more acid reflux. Intolerance to food that is fatty or fried is also perceived by some people.

Skin Changes

A fatty liver may impair your body’s ability to excrete toxins that may be displayed on your skin. Examine the neck or underarms (acanthosis nigricans) and look around the neck or underarms; the skin gets dark (jaundice), or the skin gets itchy.

Your liver works silently on your behalf on an everyday basis; it is time to give back by taking care of it.