Diabetes and Your Liver

Diabetes when it becomes complicated, can affect almost all organs and other parts of the body. That is why, diabetes is associated with many problems of most organs, including the liver. Studies have found that people with diabetes are twice to develop liver problems too.

Diabetes increases the risk of liver disease. Blood sugar that is not controlled well, obesity and high cholesterol can level up the risk of fatty liver disease, that can result to liver scarring or nonalcoholic cirrhosis. The worse is (although quite rare), some medications to correct liver problems like drugs that can lower cholesterol levels, can cause damage of the liver.

The best ways to prevent liver disease are maintaining safe levels of blood sugars and healthy weight, reducing high cholesterol and avoiding alcohol consumption. This is especially true for people with diabetes. The doctor may also require regular liver function check-ups if you are taking drugs that may affect the liver. Openly talk to your doctor if you are a person with diabetes on how you can avoid risk of liver problems since one of the biggest concerns is that liver problems associated with diabetes usually goes undetected until it becomes worse.

Effects of diabetes to liver

Aside from causing fatty liver disease, liver scarring or nonalcoholic cirrhosis, diabetes (especially one that resulting from metabolic syndrome), can also cause nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH in turn can result to liver cancer.

Acute liver failure, a fast decay of the liver is also associated with diabetes. A medicine used to control the symptoms of diabetes, can cause abnormal liver enzymes to exist in the blood. Hyperinsulinemia, can cause Hepatocellar Carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer which is directly associated with diabetes.

The liver

Glucose is carried from the intestines to the liver and uses it for fuel, or stores it as glycogen. The liver is where insulin is metabolized and it produces protein, glycogen, cholesterol and triglycerides and triggers the formation of lipoproteins (LDL), which carries cholesterol to the arteries. For diabetics, more glucose output by the liver results to high blood glucose.

Diabetes can be caused by liver problems, and liver disease can be caused by diabetes as well. Non-alcoholic problems in the liver may be caused by protein deficiency, diabetes, HIV infection, toxic chemicals exposure and intake of some drugs. Those who have both diabetes and hepatitis C infection are proned to complications.