Case Study: Fatty liver disease in a teenager
Dear Dr Cabot,
My son who is 17 years old has a fatty liver and is 50 pounds overweight. We have a family history of type 2 diabetes, and I am worried that he is heading in that direction.
He craves carbohydrates like bread, pasta, cookies, ice-cream, cakes, soda and candy. He seems to be always hungry and tired. I had no idea that he could have a fatty liver at this young age but the doctor found it on an ultrasound scan. The doctor also surprised me when he told us that he sees fatty livers in children as young as 6 years of age! There were streaks of fatty infiltration through my son’s liver, which the doctor pointed out to us on the ultrasound scan. His liver enzymes were slightly raised.
The doctor told us that he must lose weight and start to exercise, but it is very difficult because he is always tired and hungry. What do you suggest?
Thank you
Sally
Dear Sally,
Your son has the condition called “NASH”, which stands for “Non-Alcoholic- Steatorrhoeic Hepatosis”. Due to modern day diet and lifestyle factors this condition has become very common. It once only occurred in middle aged people but is now common in teenagers and children. Some of these children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which severely reduces their lifespan and quality of life. It is true that your son must lose weight and start to exercise, but there are a number of ways to achieve this more easily. They are –- Improve the liver’s ability to burn fat
- Follow the way of eating on page 34 in my book on Syndrome X
- Avoid all industrial seed oils that are high in oxidized omega 6 fats.
- Avoid refined sugars as found in cakes and cookies
- Drink raw vegetable juices every day – see juice recipes in my raw juices book.
- Take a good liver tonic in the form of a powder or capsules everyday.
- The natural plant extract berberine helps to improve insulin function. In this way it helps to normalize blood sugar and greatly reduce hunger and cravings. It makes sticking to a healthy diet much easier.
- Ensure that he eats first class protein with every meal (3 times daily) – such as pastured red meat, free range chicken, eggs, seafood, or whey protein powder.
- Make sure that this is combined with cooked vegetables and raw vegetable salad. Dressings may consist of cold pressed oils, balsamic vinegar or citrus juices. It is best to minimize the ingestion of carbohydrates, especially those containing refined flour and sugar such as many breads and breakfast cereals.
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If it’s faulty or wrongly described, we’ll replace it.
It is not possible to tell what was showing on the MRI, and if not Fatty Liver it may be an Hemangioma.
Calories are not created equal, concentrate on protein, good fats and low starch vegetables and reduce carbohydrates to a minimum.
To improve liver health Dr Cabot prescribes
Livatone Plus – 1 to 2 capsules twice daily.
Collagen Food – ½ teaspoon in water twice daily.
Fatty liver can be reversed with a liver friendly diet and supplements that support liver function and repair liver cells.
We recommend you obtain a copy of Dr Cabot’s wonderful book ‘Fatty Liver – You Can Reverse It’ as it provides a complete eating plan with recipes.
Eat less carbohydrate – including sugar, grains and other starchy foods, because the liver converts any excess carbohydrate into fat. Don't drink too much alcohol.
Eat more vegetables, protein and healthy fats.
Drink raw vegetable juices 250 to 300mls 2 to 3 times a week. Dr Cabot’s book ‘Raw Juices can save your life’ has recipes for many different health conditions. Try the ‘Liver Cleanse’ or ‘Liver Tonic’ juices in the book.
To boost liver health and your vitality, Dr Cabot prescribes,
Selenomune Designer Energy - 1 capsule daily for 4 months and then 1 capsule on alternate days, to increase your selenium levels to strengthen the immune system and the detoxification pathways of the liver.
MSM + Vitamin C – ½ to 1 teaspoon twice daily in vegetable juice or water to reduce oxidation, inflammation and boost liver health.
You can order the above supplements and Dr Cabot’s books athttps://shop.liverdoctor.com/
Kind Regards,
Jessah Robinson
Nutritionist for Liverdoctor.com
Whey protein is an excellent way to get adequate protein, and our Synd-X Protein Powder is extremely low-carb and high protein.
It is available here:http://shop.liverdoctor.com/synd-x-protein-powder-400g.html
There is an excellent eating plan to reverse fatty liver in Dr Cabot's book 'Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It'.
Kind Regards,
Jessah Robinson
Nutrition Consultant for Liverdoctor.com