The liver is found in our abdominal cavity’s upper right area; this cone-shaped organ sits on top of our intestines, stomach, and right kidney, but underneath our diaphragm. It’s a dark reddish-brown and weighs about three pounds once we’ve reached adulthood. At any given time, about 13% of our blood is flowing through our liver’s two main lobes.
The liver’s main function is to excrete bile, which aids in digestion, as well as regulate the levels of most chemicals found in our blood. However, experts have now discovered over 500 essential functions the liver takes care of, including the production of cholesterol, the regulation of blood clotting, and the conversion of extra glucose into glycogen for storage purposes.
Fatty Liver Disease is one of the many afflictions that may befall your liver. The disease has two main subtypes: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD). The former condition is very common, affecting approximately 25% of the world’s population. Rates of NAFLD are continuing to rise along with rates of type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity.
According to Harvard, up to 20% of American Adults may have “some degree of fatty liver disease.” Harvard, too, concedes that diabetes and obesity are the culprits, as fatty liver affects 70-90% of individuals who have obesity and diabetes. Insulin resistance may not only develop if you have diabetes; it can also develop if you’re obese. And if you’re insulin resistant, your fat, muscle, and liver cells respond to insulin in an abnormal way, causing a buildup of insulin and sugar in your blood. This may ultimately lead to a rise in the amount of free fatty acids in your blood, and Fatty Liver Disease develops when these free fat molecules build up inside your liver cells.
The primary treatment for most cases of Fatty Liver Disease involves weight loss via diet and exercise. And in several instances, individuals who have lost weight have also seen a reduction in liver fat.
The Ezra abdominal, torso, and full-body scans may identify Fatty Liver Disease if you have it. If you’d like to learn more about our scans and payment options, you may do so here.
