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Fatty Liver: What Are The Causes Of A Fatty Liver?

A fatty liver is the buildup of excess fat in the liver cells. The main cause for a fatty liver is obesity and eating habits. You may also cause a fatty liver with alcohol abuse.

Fatty liver is just what its name suggests: the build-up of excess fat in the liver cells. It is normal for your liver to contain some fat. But if fat accounts for more than 10% of your liver’s weight, then you have fatty liver and you may develop more serious complications.

Fatty liver may cause no damage, but sometimes the excess fat leads to inflammation of the liver.

This inflamed condition, called steatohepatitis, does cause liver damage. Sometimes, inflammation from a fatty liver is linked to alcohol abuse; this is known as alcoholic steatohepatitis.

One of the main causes of a fatty liver is obesity and an unhealthy diet. Fat accumulates in the liver because of a number of conditions. The most common is obesity. A fatty liver is also associated with diabetes mellitus, high blood triglycerides, and the heavy use of alcohol.

A fatty liver may also occur with certain illnesses such as tuberculosis and malnutrition or intestinal bypass surgery for obesity. So how do you know if you have a fatty liver? You may:
•    Be overweight, especially in the abdominal area
•    Find it very hard to lose weight
•    Have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood
•    Have diabetes type 2
•    Be very tired
•    Have problems with your immune system
•    Suffer from malnutrition
•    Have undergone a rapid weight loss
•    Have recently underwent gastric bypass surgery
•    Been exposed to toxins and chemicals, such as pesticides
•    Abuse alcohol

However, some people may develop a fatty liver even if they have none of these conditions.

Another main cause of fatty liver is alcoholism. In alcoholic fatty liver, over consumption of alcohol changes the way that the liver breaks down and stores fats. Often, people with chronic alcoholism also suffer from malnutrition by eating irregularly and not consuming a balanced diet.

Many heavy drinkers will progress from a fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis and finally to alcoholic cirrhosis, though the progression may vary from patient to patient. The risk of developing cirrhosis is particularly high for people who drink heavily and have another chronic liver disease

Finally, pregnancy can cause a rare, but serious form of a fatty liver. This can start late in your pregnancy and may be associated with jaundice and liver failure.

There is also the possibility of a drug overdose or an overexposure to toxic chemical poisonings which can cause a fatty liver or other liver problems.