Some people with fatty liver disease simply have excess fat in the liver.  Although not normal, it’s not serious if it doesn’t lead to inflammation or damage.  However, once there’s a buildup of fat, the liver becomes vulnerable to injury.  Others have what’s called nonalcoholic steatohepatisis (NASH).  NASH can lead to permanent liver damage and cirrhosis.

Both types of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are becoming more common.  Up to 20% of adults have either fatty liver or NASH.  And, more than 6 million children have one of these conditions.  The most common causes of fatty liver disease are obesity and diabetes mellitus.

So says the press release for Healing Fatty Liver Disease: A Complete Health & Diet Guide Including 100 Recipes.

I suspect that the majority of people with NAFLD don’t know they have it.  But anything that decreases your liver’s ability to function as it was designed to can potentially hamper your health, because the liver is what removes toxins and metabolic waste products from our bodies.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t just want to be “not sick”; I want to be in vibrant health!  Even someone without NAFLD can benefit from liver-friendly foods and a liver-friendly lifestyle!

Book Contents

The first section of the about talks about what fatty liver disease is.  It describes the anatomy of the liver and its normal function, as well as signs and symptoms of fatty liver disease.  It also discusses the diagnosis of NAFLD.  This includes a description of what a physical examination what involve, what blood tests are used, etc.  Finally, it discusses risk factors and causes.

The second section of the book addresses the management of fatty liver disease.  This covers a broad spectrum, from pharmaceutical drugs to exercise.  Diet, of course, is addressed, including a specific treatment of fats and chapters about chromium and vitamin D.  Unfortunately, the authors fall on the “limit saturated fat intake” end of the spectrum, along with so many other misinformed medical practitioners (and laypeople).  (The primary study “proving” that saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet raise blood cholesterol levels was grossly misrepresented.  I recommend taking a look at The Cholesterol Myths for an illustration – literally, an illustration – of how heinously the data were manipulated.)  Fortunately, they also point out all the ways that saturated fats are used by the body, and do not recommend cutting them out altogether.

This section does an excellent job, overall, of presenting a balanced approach, and of making beneficial lifestyle changes seem accessible.

The third section of the book is the recipe section.  This is probably the most useful to most readers, as it’s the “rubber-meets-the-road” portion.  This is what you can do to potentially help manage, reverse, and/or prevent fatty liver disease.  Recipe chapters include:

• Breakfasts
• Snacks, Sandwiches, and Pizza
• Soups
• Salads
• Meat and Poultry Main Dishes
• Fish and Seafood Main Dishes
• Vegetarian Main Dishes
• Side Dishes
• Desserts

Yes, even desserts!  There is a good amount of variety here, and these are “normal” foods.  The whole point is to be able to sustain a diet of a reasonable number of calories comprised of healthful foods.  (See – I told you anyone could benefit!)  For instance, try Spicy Brown Rice Jambalaya for dinner, followed by a dessert of Cinnamon Baked Pears.  Sounds delicious, right?

I’m especially interested in trying out some of the new(-to-me) fish recipes.

What part of the book sounds most appealing to you?

Disclosure: I was provided by Robert Rose with a copy of Healing Fatty Liver Disease, to facilitate my review.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. 

The information in this post is intended to be educational only, and not to diagnose or treat any illness.  Nothing here at the blog has been evaluated by the FDA.