Obesity is spreading like wildfire, in adults and children, worldwide. It is not just the bane of advanced countries, many less developed countries in Africa, Asia, South America etc are seeing increasing occurrence - even alongside nutritional disorders due to starvation like kwashiorkor and marasmus ie disorders of protein energy malnutrition. But this is not really news, the real news is that there is one cause that has been overlooked - and it is so simple to remedy. It affects nearly twenty five percent of us, silently and increasingly - most of us are totally unaware we have it.This is because it can only be confirmed by taking a piece of the liver and looking at the liver tissue under the microscope - a liver biopsy.
So what is this cause? It is called non alcoholic fatty liver disease by medics - basically a fatty liver due to factors other than booze intake, another common cause of a fatty liver.A researcher Chris Masterjohn in an article published by the Weston A. Price Foundation calls non alcoholic fatty liver disease - NAFLD - "an epidemic of nutritional imbalance." According to Medscape Reference, a stunning eighty percent of obese people have a fatty liver. For avoidance of doubt, a fatty liver is not useful, in fact it can be deadly - markedly increased risk of type two diabetes, liver cancer and heart disease occurs with it. Livers are not meant to be laden with fat. But the good news is that this is a reversible condition, although the earlier the better, before irreversible damage occurs.
What then can you do? Two basic things - Alter your nutritional intake and increase your intake of the B vitamin choline. The reversing effect of choline on non alcoholic fatty liver disease has been known for over eighty years according to nutritional researcher Dr Spreen, but seems to have been lost in the shuffle. Chris Masterjohn writes about NAFLD: "It is likely caused by the overabundance of calorie-rich, nutrient-poor refined foods and the banishment of traditional sources of choline like liver and egg yolks from the modern diet"(Emphasis mine). For several years, due to a belief that cholesterol was a major harmful factor in heart disease, people were advised not to eat egg yolks, a rich source of choline, but get rid of them! To be honest, I never took to this advice - egg yolks are delicious. But even more than that, they are nutritious. In addition to reducing NAFLD risk, choline also checks the rise of homocysteine (the amino acid that promotes artery plaque build-up), facilitates memory storage, muscle control, and kidney function, prevents fatigue and insomnia, and helps maintain healthy cell membranes.
Apart from eggs and liver, choline is also found in wheat germ, cod, salmon, broccoli, bacon, shrimp, pistachios, Brussels sprouts, and flaxseed. The recommended adequate intake for choline is 425 mg per day for women and 550 mg per day for men. So as part of a healthy balanced nutritional intake increase your intake of choline containing foods, starting today. Also select vitamin and mineral supplements that are effective (see my blogs on selecting effective vitamin and mineral supplements) and contain adequate choline.
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Holistic Health Coach and Functional Health Expert
Sources:
"Effect of Vitamin E or Metformin for Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children and Adolescents" Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 305, No. 16, 4/27/11, jama.ama-assn.org
"A Silent Epidemic of Nutritional Imbalance" Chris Masterjohn, Weston A. Price Foundation, 4/1/11, westonaprice.org
Health Sciences Institute:Discover the real culprit behind the obesity epidemic (2011)
Medscape Reference: "Fatty Liver" Dawn Sears, MD et al accessed 08/07/2011.
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