Fatty liver?
macchiatto
Posts: 2,890 Member
I've eaten keto/LCHF since Nov. 2015. Yesterday I found out I have a "mild fatty liver." (I had a liver u/s after some abnormal blood work.)
Who else here has a fatty liver and what have you learned about fatty liver and low carb and/or ketogenic diets? Mainstream reading seems to emphasize a more plant-based diet for it. I've started googling but I'm often impressed by the level of knowledge in this group.
If you could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.
Who else here has a fatty liver and what have you learned about fatty liver and low carb and/or ketogenic diets? Mainstream reading seems to emphasize a more plant-based diet for it. I've started googling but I'm often impressed by the level of knowledge in this group.
If you could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. 1
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My late husband had fatty liver disease, taking milk thistle lowered his liver enzymes. He also started eating more broccoli in his diet... Just fyi he died in car crash, not from liver disease.
Fast forward... My fiance had fatty liver disease when I met him, told him about milk thistle, he said "why the hell not," and now his liver enzymes are at normal levels.
And last but not least, my dog was diagnosed with Cushing's and of course... Fatty liver. You guessed it... Started giving the dog milk thistle...a lot cheaper than the vet's $300 a month meds for the dog. Of course, liver enzymes back within normal range by her next appointment.
Because there's no side effects, my daughter and I started taking before bed just for liver support for over ten years now.3 -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163782/
Section 3:1 is milk thistle, Section 3:2 is Vitamin E
Often taken together.2 -
I think choline helps the liver as well. It's found in liver and egg yolks. I've had a fatty liver for years as far as I know but my liver enzymes have been fine.1
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Slightly elevated ALT levels during a check-up blood panel is how fatty liver is almost always discovered.
The other way a fatty liver would be diagnosed would be if the liver shows up enlarged in an MRI. But usually MRIs aren't done unless patient's complaining about pain. And fatty liver usually starts with no symptoms.
Late husband had a biopsy done after ALT levels kept rising.
But within a couple of years of eating a little better, losing a little weight, and taking a supplement for his liver, he had no signs of ever having a fatty liver.
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They told me I had a fatty liver from a MRI when I had a kidney stone about 5 years ago. I bought some milk thistle seeds and powder years ago but never took them. I think it’s about time.3
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I listen to 2 Keto Dudes podcast. I believe one of them had a fatty liver and it got better and they talk about it. Not sure what episode. Hopes this helps!2
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I was told that I had NAFLD, and my ALT levels were always high and out of range. After a year of keto, they were normal. Subsequent blood draws have all been on the low end of the normal range.3
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That's interesting, and unfortunate. In the reading I've done about keto, I thought eating low amounts of carbs was supposed to help avoid or reduce fatty liver. Yet you say you've been doing keto for a few years. So, I don't know.1
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That's interesting, and unfortunate. In the reading I've done about keto, I thought eating low amounts of carbs was supposed to help avoid or reduce fatty liver. Yet you say you've been doing keto for a few years. So, I don't know.
The low carbs or the weight loss or something brought my ALT down. Whatever it was, I was happy to see it. I never processed this with my doctor, but I have a checkup tomorrow morning and will try to remember to bring it up. I predict he will say it is the weight loss. I claim it was the keto that brought them down, but since that is how I lost the weight, it may be the same thing in some ways.
I have been keto since 2016, and I am sticking with the diet in maintenance. I just increased calories a little.
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@TheDevastator
That sucks!!! I suffer from kidney stones. After a couple of trips to the ER, I now know the pain well enough now to recognize it and skip the ER.
All they do is dope me up on morphine and wait for me to pass it.
Now if I feel kidney stones, every 5 hours, I take 800 mg ibuprofen with 500 mg acetaminophen, drink a couple of tsps of apple cider vinegar, lots of water, and wait it out at home.
And at the end of the day, I take a milk thistle after the OTC meds, keep my liver from getting overloaded.
I think milk thistle is great stuff!! It's worth a try.1 -
Kidney stones are terrible, I feel for you. I actually read that baking soda can pass acidic kidney stones so I tried it and it was gone. No pain after that, No pain meds besides the hospital iv. I take potassium citrate, chelated magnesium, and vitamin c now to help stop kidney stones.1
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TheDevastator wrote: »Kidney stones are terrible, I feel for you. I actually read that baking soda can pass acidic kidney stones so I tried it and it was gone. No pain after that, No pain meds besides the hospital iv. I take potassium citrate, chelated magnesium, and vitamin c now to help stop kidney stones.
@TheDevastator
LOL, that's why I started the Apple cider vinegar... Read that it dissolves kidney stones. I've started drinking it after I eat a crap load of cheese too... Try to prevent them. Mine are calcium. Someone on here told me to watch my spinach consumption...That it causes the calcium ones too.
Years ago, got hit with kidney stones and gallstones within a two month period.
But kidney stones are way worse for men, I hear. Probably the only positive aspect of female plumbing, lol.
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https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/how-to-eat-a-low-oxalate-diet/
Kidney stones and gallstones, aw hell, that's a nightmare.
Check this list for high oxalate foods. I wouldn't worry about all the foods on the list but mostly the top 6.2 -
TheDevastator wrote: »https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/how-to-eat-a-low-oxalate-diet/
Kidney stones and gallstones, aw hell, that's a nightmare.
Check this list for high oxalate foods. I wouldn't worry about all the foods on the list but mostly the top 6.
Thanks! Luckily the only things on the list I consume: spinach, cocoa powder, and Stevia!!0 -
So I had the conversation with my doctor about the liver enzymes being low normal these days after 30 years of being high and out of range. He attributes this to the weight loss. I asked him to explain how that my high levels first showed up when I was at the current weight 32 years ago. He said it was a mystery of science but that the weight loss was what brought it down. I said, "OK, thanks..."4
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Thanks for the responses!
I'm 5'7" and the most I've weighed (outside of pregnancy) was 161. I'd currently like to lose about 15 lbs but goal weight based on my body type is on the slim side (132) so I'll be interested to see if that's enough to affect my fatty liver.
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Milk Thistle!!2
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I also have a fatty liver for several years now. My liver blood results are also higher than normal. Just started my weight loss challenge 30 days ago and lost already 10 kg / 22 lb. I'll check with doctors the blood levels and liver u/s during the next couple of weeks... Will also look into this Milk Thistle thing. Thanks for the tips!2
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I have Chronic Liver Disease with Stage 4 fibrosis/stage 1 Cirrhosis will have to get myself some milk thistle to see if it helps2
