Fatty Liver Disease - What is it?

It is a condition where there is a build up of excess fat in the liver cells. It affects about 1 in every 10 people in Western countries.  There are two different types.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver and alcoholic fatty liver disease.  One is due to alcohol and the other is mainly due to metabolic processes from the food you eat and can also result from gut issues and not being able to break down and utilise the food you do eat.  It doesn't matter which one you have they both end up with the same end result.  Cirrhosis.  That is if you continue doing what you are currently doing without making any changes. 

The liver is quite possibly the most important organ in the whole body, it is the largest internal organ.  It is responsible for many major metabolic and digestive functions such as removing toxins from the body and processing food nutrients.

Blood from the digestive system filters through the liver before it goes anywhere else.  An easy way to understand it’s importance is if you are consuming additives, preservatives, ingredients that are unrecognisable to the body as actual food, inhaling toxins from the environment, then your body sends all of this to the liver for processing.  Whatever can be used by the body to function will be used and the rest is eliminated from the body. It is when overloads occur over a period of time that we start to see signs and symptoms.

Originally fatty liver disease was considered a harmless condition, as the liver will always have some amounts of fat deposits. However, with the changes to our lifestyle and food choices it is now becoming serious, people are getting it at a younger age and it can lead to serious irreversible conditions such as cirrhosis, as well as an increase in Gall Bladders being removed. 

This condition occurs as the body tries to correct the problem and lower the inflammation.  As it does this it causes scarring or fibrosis and if the inflammation occurs and changes are not made then the fibrosis will spread and take up more of the liver tissue.

Another way to try and understand what is going on is to think about it like a petrol filter.  If the filter gets filled with gunk then the engine doesn't run as effectively and starts to get jerky etc.  This is like the liver getting clogged with junk and the processes such as detox and conversion of hormones (thyroid) etc get jerky and not as effective.  You will struggle to eliminate toxins and hormones (eg oestrogen dominance, slow metabolism).

Just like you need to clean the filter for the car engine you also need to clean out your body's filter. Your liver. It's just like a regular car service.

The diagnosis of fatty liver is often by chance as it is not something that you can see from the outside.  It usually comes up on an ultrasound after seeing a gastroenterologist and a biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnose fatty liver disease.

In clinic I see abdominal weightgain as an indication of fatty liver as well as using blood test results to see if you are headed in this direction. Abdominal weightgain is also strongly linked to high cortisol. Making changes to diet can help but you really need a treatment plan to help you catch up and then food will be enough.  I often explain it as this: to catch up using only food you would need to eat about 5 kilos of green veggies everyday instead of only 5 serves of veggies which is all you need to maintain.  This is where I come in.  I can help you catch up and get you on your way to doing it by yourself. 

Changes are seen so quickly that it helps keep you motivated.

Some of the differences of booking a consultation with me when it comes to your fatty liver:

As a Naturopath I have the privilege of spending more time with you and I am always asking questions during consultations that relate to the liver and how well it is detoxing.  I focus my questions to see whether the detox pathways are a bit sluggish or whether I am seeing signs of fatty liver. Such as do you get headaches when you smell perfumes? Or Do you have skin issues?  Do you have heavy periods? Do you struggle to lose weight?

In addition to this I will look at your most recent blood test results and work out a ratio that indicates the early signs of fatty liver.  The best part is that we can find out if the body is heading towards Fatty Liver Disease rather than waiting until your blood test results are outside of reference range and you are already there. Because when it is discovered in the pre fatty liver stage it can be easier to reverse.  Such amazing results have been seen in patients liver blood tests. 

I specialise in metabolic inflammation and I see many patients with a sluggish metabolism and weight gain, fatty liver is one of the first areas I work on.  Patients usually say that it doesn’t matter how hard they try nothing works that usually because no one has got to the root of the problem before.

Hi my name is Melissa Callaghan - I am a Bachelor qualified and accredited Naturopath and Nutritionist who specialises in reducing metabolic inflammation as well as improving gut health and balancing hormones.

In my many years working in clinic with my patients I believed that even though everyone had different illnesses there must be one thing that everyone has in common. Our society was just getting sicker and sicker. The most common conditions people go to hospital for are heart conditions, diabetes, obesity, and mental health. I questioned why this was getting worse and worse and occurring in younger age groups more and more.

So I made it my mission to try and get to the bottom of this and I spent years searching for answers. I knew there were contributing factors to people getting sick such as toxins and that these needed to be removed to prevent further sickness but not everyone was exposed to the same toxins. Yet the same illnesses kept filling our medical system. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, mental health issues and obesity. I've worked in all these areas for years there must be something in common. I asked myself.

Then it hit me, everyone eats. It must be in the food. I began a journey of discovery and found that it was the ingredients in our food creating metabolic inflammation at a cellular level in our bodies. This was blocking pathways so no wonder we couldn't function properly. 

It all began to make sense. If I can create a program that helps people see food from a different perspective then I may be able to help reverse and prevent all of the conditions that people came to my clinic with and combine this with my natural medicine formulas to catch you up and help you feel better quicker.  

Conditions like:

- Metabolic syndrome
- Central adiposity
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Inflammation
- Type 2 diabetes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Fibromyalgia
- Migraines
- IBS
- REFLUX (so common)
- Brain fog
- Hormonal imbalances
- Adrenal fatigue
- Chronic pain
- Endometriosis
- PCOS
- Fibroids

Honestly the list goes on. There are so many conditions connected to metabolic inflammation.

I began spending endless hours researching through all of the scientific evidence to find research papers to back up my findings. From here I began to create a program.  One program that would help EVERYONE.

I put together all of the similar components that I was already doing with each of my patients that followed the same path and I put them all together for everyone to follow.

I then began to add in the recipes and focused on creating meals that were delicious, quick and easy to prepare and that the whole family would love.

There was one last thing that I needed.  Over the years I had researched many many other programs and have seen many people try these programs only to bounce right back to where they started or worse after they finished.

I vowed to myself that the most important component (other than regaining health) was for everyone to be able to sustain the new lifestyle. I created a program that is completely flexible. You can go intense when you need to and not so intense when you don’t.

You can change your habits and stop the cravings, binging, and emotional eating. This a big part of what I do. I help you to understand your relationship with food and turn it into a positive one so you will never feel guilty about eating ever again. When you can see the subconsious programming and the habits that got you to where you are and learn skills to change these it becomes easier to sustain a happier, healthier life.

After getting the ball rolling I begin to use this program in clinic with my patients and within weeks and months I was seeing huge success.  Blood test markers were correcting themselves. People were no longer borderline diabetic, blood pressures where going down, cholesterol was going down, Drs had to reduce and remove medications. Reflux was non-existent and fat and kilos began to melt away. Most of all health began to increase.

I knew I was on the right path.

In my clinic I have been putting my patients through this program that I have called it "Toxins Be Gone 8 week Wholistic Detox program". The program incorporates an 8 week detox from inflammatory foods as well as working on changing the habits that lead you to choosing inflammatory foods in the first place (usually emotional eating).  As well as the education of how certain foods and toxins impact your body, the program works on removing toxins that are preventing the mind and the body from working effectively, helping to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease and help to reverse conditions you already have like high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Sometimes making changes can be difficult which is why a major component is working on the subconscious choices and reprogramming your habits and mindset.

My in clinic program is currently being transformed into the 8 week online course that will guide you step by step on your journey to transforming your health quickly. Where others have let you down before and you feel like no program will ever work, this program fills in the gaps that those programs have lacked to set you up for success.

To stay in touch about the program launch join my Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/508871043066486/

Improvements are seen so quickly which helps keep you motivated. There's also a beneficial side effect of eating for health = weightloss. Most patients lose 6-8 kilos in the first 8 weeks.

If you are ready to take back your health, then book in to see me today. I see patients from all over thanks to technology and I can help you too. 

Who am I?

I am a Bachelor qualified Naturopath who specialises in improving metabolic processes in the body and reducing metabolic inflammation. Major areas for improvement include gut health, thyroid, kidney, liver, weight loss and mental health. Conditions such as fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, irritable bowel conditions, depression & anxiety. I help my patients by giving them symptomatic relief while working on repairing the underlying causes of metabolic stress and waste accumulation. 

Melissa Callaghan BHSc, BTeach
Naturopath, Nutritionist, Health & Wellness Coach

To book an appointment click here 

 

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Perimenopause
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