What should you know about reversing NAFLD?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease means excess fat has built up in liver cells. Improvement usually focuses on reducing liver fat, supporting blood sugar and cholesterol control, and preventing inflammation or scarring from progressing. Alcohol use, obesity and type 2 diabetes can affect liver health, so your clinician may review these alongside medicines, diet, activity and sleep.

You may feel well even when fatty liver changes are present. A liver function test can provide useful information, while an abdominal ultrasound may show fat or other liver changes. Results are interpreted with your history and examination rather than in isolation.

Choose sustainable changes: build regular movement into the week, replace highly processed foods with balanced meals, and reduce sugary drinks and excess saturated fat. If weight reduction is appropriate for you, gradual progress is more realistic than crash dieting. Nutrition counselling or a weight management programme can help tailor choices to your health, culture and routine.

Keep appointments for blood tests and any imaging your clinician recommends. Do not stop prescribed medicines or start supplements marketed for liver cleansing without discussing them first.

Arrange medical review if you have persistent upper-right abdominal discomfort, unusual tiredness, or known liver test changes. Seek urgent help for yellowing of the skin or eyes, vomiting blood, black stools, new confusion, severe abdominal swelling, or rapidly worsening illness.

Ask which liver tests are needed, whether ultrasound is appropriate, and whether diabetes, cholesterol, alcohol or medicines may be affecting your result. Ask for one or two realistic changes to begin and how progress will be monitored.