MAFLD: Global Liver Health Impact.
MAFLD: A Common and Stealthy Liver Disease
Have you ever heard of Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, or MAFLD for short? It's a big deal these days. Believe it or not, it's now the most common type of long-term liver disease all over the world. About one in four people are affected—that's a lot of people!
The Challenges of Diagnosing and Treating MAFLD
Now, the tricky thing about MAFLD is that it doesn't usually cause major issues straight away. Most people with this disease don't end up with cirrhosis, which is a pretty serious condition where the liver gets scarred. But, because so many people have MAFLD, it still ends up causing a fair amount of cirrhosis.
The Gut-Liver Connection: A Complex Web in Metabolic Health
Here's the real kicker, though: MAFLD is super stealthy. It creeps up on you without any clear symptoms. And right now, we don't have a surefire, non-invasive way to test for it, nor do we have a specially designed treatment. Quite the conundrum, right?
Liver’s Role in Metabolic Regulation and Insulin Sensitivity
The fascinating part is that MAFLD seems to be influenced by what's going on in our gut, like the microorganisms (we call these guys the gut microbiota) and the health of the gut wall. These gut factors can interact with the liver both directly and indirectly, by releasing certain metabolic by-products. These by-products can affect not just the liver but the whole body.
Keeping Liver Healthy: Lifestyle Strategies for Managing MAFLD
The liver gives back in this relationship, too. It helps regulate our body's metabolism in several ways, like producing hormones and other substances, which can affect how our body responds to insulin—that's the hormone controlling our blood sugar levels.
The connection between our gut, liver, and the rest of our body is a complex web. What we do know, though, is that living a healthy lifestyle can go a long way in managing MAFLD and keeping our livers happy. After all, a healthy liver is a key part of a healthy body! Jason & Rita.
Barber, T.M.; Kabisch, S.; Pfeiffer, A.F.H.; Weickert, M.O. Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Insulin Resistance: A Review of Complex Interlinks. Metabolites 2023, 13, 757.
https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13060757
