Latest / hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic / Fatty Liver Can Be Silent: What to Check and What Actually Helps | Dr. Taz
Transcript
- [00:00:00] This episode is sponsored by Hol+ a holistic health platform built around [00:00:05] education, personalization, and integrative care. Hol+ blends [00:00:10] holistic, integrative, and functional medicine clinics with learning resources like blogs, [00:00:15] YouTube videos, and of course this podcast, so you're not just treated, you're informed.[00:00:20] The platform also includes holistic health quizzes and a curated wellness shop, helping you [00:00:25] make choices that support your body at the root level. Hol+ is [00:00:30] holistic healthcare designed for real life. Visit us at holplus.co [00:00:35] to learn more about the platform. Again, that's [00:00:40] holplus.co Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is excess fat stored [00:00:45] in liver cells, affecting an estimated one in four adults, and it's often [00:00:50] silent until it's advanced. It's driven primarily by insulin resistance [00:00:55] rather than dietary fat. Reversal centers on reducing refined [00:01:00] carbohydrates and fructose intake, building muscle, and correcting that insulin [00:01:05] sensitivity. One in four adults has fat in their liver right [00:01:10] now, and most of them have no idea because it doesn't hurt. It shows up as [00:01:15] fatigue, stubborn belly weight, and slightly off liver enzymes that no one ever [00:01:20] follows up on. Conventionally, in Western medicine, we say mild enzyme [00:01:25] elevations are often observed rather than investigated. We'll check it [00:01:30] next year or next time, and often they're forgotten. The advice [00:01:35] usually stops at losing weight and drinking less, which is true, but not [00:01:40] always the most actionable. There's not really a standard medication for this, so the [00:01:45] conversation tends to end very quickly. And honestly, a lot of [00:01:50] fatty liver is found by accident on a scan ordered for something else.[00:01:55] In functional and holistic medicine, fatty liver is a metabolic [00:02:00] condition. I wanna make sure you remember that. A metabolic condition, not a [00:02:05] liver condition. Insulin resistance is the driver, not dietary [00:02:10] fat. This single point changes the entire approach. For any of you [00:02:15] with, like, PCOS, for example, polycystic ovarian syndrome, you are more prone to [00:02:20] insulin resistance. We'll see it in our patients that are in their teens and 20s. [00:02:25] It can be present with normal enzymes in people who are not [00:02:30] overweight. But here's the good news. It's genuinely reversible, [00:02:35] especially when it's caught early. Here are some of the things that many people [00:02:40] miss when they're thinking about fatty liver. They are chronically tired. A [00:02:45] congested liver, we get this straight from Chinese medicine 5,000 years ago, is less [00:02:50] efficient at energy metabolism. The weight around the middle that won't [00:02:55] shift is another common sign and symptom. Visceral and liver fat [00:03:00] accumulate together, and we'll actually check this in practice. Slightly elevated liver [00:03:05] enzymes are the finding most often noticed, but often the least pursued. And that [00:03:10] dull ache under the right ribs, that's the distension of the liver capsule. It's [00:03:15] easy to dismiss it, but I would say it's maybe a slightly later sign of [00:03:20] fatty liver. Those triglycerides going up and that HDL going [00:03:25] down, that's a pattern that's easy to miss, but that's a metabolic signature that [00:03:30] usually goes together signaling fatty liver. And then your afternoon [00:03:35] crashes and your sugar cravings, the same insulin resistance that is driving [00:03:40] the liver changes. In a root cause framework, a functional medicine framework, we wanna know [00:03:45] why the fat's there to begin with. Why is it accumulating? What's happening? Is [00:03:50] it insulin resistance, which is usually the central mechanism? Is [00:03:55] it fructose and refined carbohydrates that are metabolized directly by the liver and [00:04:00] then quickly stored as fat? Low muscle mass, muscle is where glucose [00:04:05] is meant to go, can trigger fatty liver The gut and the liver [00:04:10] share a direct circulation, so any time the gut is off, it increases your chances [00:04:15] for fatty liver. Chronic stress and poor sleep both make insulin [00:04:20] sensitivity worse, and of course, alcohol and certain medications will put more [00:04:25] load on the liver, impacting the liver's ability to metabolize toxins, but [00:04:30] also its chances of having fatty liver. So what do you do, and how do you [00:04:35] prevent this? Well, again, the day-to-day matters just as much as the big [00:04:40] strategic heroic moves. Cut liquid sugar and refined [00:04:45] carbohydrates first. That's the fastest lever available. I often try to get our [00:04:50] patients to go under about four alcoholic drinks per week and keep that sugar, [00:04:55] including the refined carbohydrates, under about three teaspoons per day. Build [00:05:00] muscle. Muscle really helps, as we've seen, prevent fatty liver. [00:05:05] Resistance training two to three times a week changes where glucose goes. [00:05:10] We wanna prioritize protein and fiber, stabilizing your blood sugar and helping [00:05:15] to reduce the load upstream. Walking after meals is such a hack, guys. [00:05:20] We have seen such tremendous changes in practice. Even 10 minutes [00:05:25] improves blood glucose control in a meaningful way. And of course, asking [00:05:30] for the right test, a fasting insulin, a hemoglobin A1C, a triglyceride to [00:05:35] HDL ratio, and a liver ultrasound if indicated. Don't ignore [00:05:40] mildly abnormal enzymes. Ask what's being done and what you should do [00:05:45] about them. Fatty liver is one of the most reversible things I see, but only if somebody [00:05:50] tells you it's actually there. Have you ever been told your liver enzymes were [00:05:55] slightly high, and what did you do about them? Or maybe they're high right now and you don't know where [00:06:00] to begin. To get a proper look at your own liver and metabolic markers, schedule [00:06:05] a consultation with a holplus provider who can dig into your personal health journey, [00:06:10] connect the dots, and change your story. Go to [00:06:15] holplus.co/appointments.