Introduction: Many people believe that a completely vegetarian diet prevents fatty liver, which is actually a very unreasonable notion. A completely vegetarian diet is not conducive to fat metabolism; similarly, the belief that simply avoiding greasy food prevents fatty liver is also a misconception.
The incidence of fatty liver is trending younger
In recent years, with the improvement of living standards and the spread of unhealthy lifestyles and dietary habits, fatty liver (including simple fatty liver and alcoholic fatty liver) has become one of the most common liver diseases, ranking among the top in modern diseases. In the general population of Shanghai, the incidence of fatty liver is about 30%, while among white-collar workers, it has reached as high as 50%.
Statistics show that fatty liver can shorten the lifespan of patients over 50 by 4 years and that of patients under 50 by 10 years. In recent years, the incidence of fatty liver has shown a trend of becoming younger.
Fatty liver itself is not contagious and develops slowly with no obvious symptoms in the early stage. However, as the "silent killer," the harm of fatty liver is still significant. If not intervened early, fatty liver can develop into fatty hepatitis, leading to liver cell damage and hepatic fibrosis. After 20 to 40 years, 25% of patients will develop cirrhosis, and a few may even progress to liver cancer or liver failure, endangering their lives. Among these, alcoholic fatty liver caused by excessive drinking accounts for about 6% to 7% of all fatty liver cases. 70% to 95% of chronic alcoholics have varying degrees of fatty liver, and the proportion progressing to cirrhosis is significantly higher.
"It's no big deal" is a wrong perception that can seriously affect health
Currently, the vast majority of patients still consider fatty liver a "sub-health" condition, adopting an attitude of "it's no big deal" and even ignoring it. However, the fact is that fatty liver is a branch of the metabolic syndrome. Besides fat metabolism disorders, it can also affect disorders in glucose and purine metabolism, leading to metabolic disorders such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Fatty liver seriously affects human health. The harm includes not only direct damage to the liver; it can induce or aggravate hypertension and coronary heart disease; promote the formation of atherosclerosis; and reduce the body's immune function. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as daily dizziness, shortness of breath, lack of energy, decreased physical strength, fatigue, reduced sexual function, chest tightness, liver area pain, memory loss, irritability, and frequent unprovoked anger may appear, affecting family life and happiness index. Many patients with large bellies also damage their overall appearance.
Additives can also cause fatty liver
Currently known risk factors for fatty liver mainly include long-term intake of high-fat diets or large amounts of sugar, starch, and other carbohydrates, which lead to excessive fat synthesis in the liver and increased blood lipids; long-term drinking, causing alcohol poisoning, which reduces fat oxidation in the liver. Nearly 70% to 95% of chronic alcoholics develop fatty liver, and 20% to 30% will eventually develop cirrhosis.
Obesity and lack of exercise lead to excessive fat input into the liver. Viral hepatitis patients have a higher proportion of fatty liver than the general population due to damage to liver cells themselves. Hepatitis C can be complicated by fatty degeneration, and in patients with hepatitis C, the rate of fatty liver is over 50%.
In addition, certain drugs, food additives, and preservatives can also cause fatty liver. Some foods like jelly, instant noodles, sausages, and canned foods contain food colors and preservatives that are harmful to the human body, containing large amounts of benzoic acid and sodium benzoate. Regular consumption increases the burden on the liver's metabolic and detoxification functions, inducing fatty liver.
Thin people can also get fatty liver
Many people think that fatty liver is a "patent" for overweight people and that thin people cannot get it. This is actually a misconception.
Although obesity is one of the main causes of fatty liver, thin people can also develop it. Some thin people suffer from malnutrition due to long-term starvation, dieting, or intestinal diseases, leading to insufficient protein supply or poor absorption. This can reduce the synthesis of albumin in the body, promoting the breakdown and mobilization of fat from adipose tissue. A large amount of fatty acids is released from adipose tissue into the liver, ultimately leading to fat accumulation in the liver and forming malnutrition-related fatty liver. Clinically, it has been confirmed that many thin people have abnormal fat metabolism.
A completely vegetarian or low-oil diet does not prevent fatty liver
Many people believe that a completely vegetarian diet prevents fatty liver, which is very unreasonable. First, it can affect health due to insufficient protein intake; second, the fat metabolism process requires the participation of cholesterol, and a completely vegetarian diet is not conducive to fat metabolism. The belief that simply eating less greasy food prevents fatty liver is also a misconception.
The liver has multiple functions, including the synthesis, transport, and utilization of lipids. Not only animal and vegetable fats can be converted into triglycerides, but proteins and starch can also be converted into fat through biochemical reactions in the liver. Especially when these nutrients exceed metabolic needs, they are stored as fat, forming fatty liver. At the same time, drinking alcohol is also one of the triggers for fatty liver. Long-term drinkers can easily develop alcoholic fatty liver even if they only eat a vegetarian diet.
A healthy diet does not advocate a completely vegetarian diet. A balanced structure is the most important. Common simple fatty liver often has obesity as its root cause, long-term overconsumption of rich and greasy food is the fundamental problem, and lack of exercise is the trigger.
The diet for fatty liver patients should be light, but not completely vegetarian. It is necessary to eat some meat dishes in moderation, choosing low-fat and low-oil options. The most important thing is that the dietary structure must be reasonable. For alcoholic fatty liver, it is related to excessive drinking leading to impaired liver function. The main treatment is to quit drinking.