Cholesterol and fatty liver
 

My wife and I got the same diagnosis today from our doctor. We both have fatty livers and high (total & LDL) cholesterol.

We both had good total/HDL ratios so the doctor was willing to let that slide with regards to heart health. (Whew! I didn't have to argue with her on the issue of statins.)

But she said that high (total & LDL) cholesterol can increase the infiltration of fat into the liver. Since our liver enzymes were normal and we are otherwise healthy, she didn't have any specific recommendations except to eat fewer carbs .

But here's the thing -- we have been on low carb for almost six years!

Does anyone have any insight into this?

Just curious, how was fatty liver diagnosed if your enzymes were normal? Not that I have any insight on livers, but did she seem concerned?

After all of Dave Feldman's new work on cholesterol as an energy system, http://cholesterolcode.com now I truly don’t pay much attention to the numbers at all.

What do you mean by eating "low carb"? "Modified" Atkins can mean anything. Is it possible you could lower carbs to stay at 20gm total? but would that make you "healthier"? Is it necessary?

First, the fatty liver was spotted on an ultrasound scan. The doctor was concerned, but willing to see how things progress.

We started with strict Adkins, but relaxed it a little as time went on. We no longer keep track of all the macros, but we are still quite low. I will cut out/down on sugar alcohols from now on.

The fats in the liver are apparently Triglycerides so other than sticking with the strictest rules of No sugar, No starch, no processed seed oils to drive them to very low levels, unsure how your diet could be much improved. But here is the general advice How to lower Trigs from an old thread, copied from Cholesterol Clarity book. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...232#post9092232

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases...es/syc-20354567

One thing you didn’t mention but doctor should have tested for, is one of the viral hepatitis. It can be a "silent" and you both have NAFLD. Any travel to countries with less than ideal food and water sanitation?

Or a high use of NSAIDS? (See link to follow)

Milk thistle is often mentioned as a natural liver detox herb but unlikely there has been any study proving benefit. Here are more liver tips from the "natural" medicine world, no guarantee of benefit but some other advice to consider: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/201...r-liver-enough/