Fatty liver disease can simply be described as building up fat in the liver, making it hard to function. Three are two types of fatty liver disease as Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Alcoholic Fatty Liver is preventable. It gets better when drinking stops, if kept on drinking it can become more serious.  It can lead to developing conditions like enlarged liver, Alcoholic Hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis. Enlarged liver causes pain and discomfort in the abdomen. Alcoholic hepatitis results in swelling in the liver,jaundice,vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain. 

Alcoholic cirrhosis is a condition in which he scar tissues are building up in the liver which causes same symptoms as hepatitis and further results in bleeding in the body, enlarged spleen, high blood pressure in the liver, swelling of the belly due to large amount of the fluid builds up, confusion, behavior changes and finally liver failure which is fetal. 

The main cause of alcoholic fatty liver disease is too much alcohol consumption. Drinking a large amount of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver. The liver breaks down most of the alcohol making it able to be removed from the body. But the process of breaking it down can generate harmful substances. These substances can damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken natural defenses of the body. 

Other related factors  are obesity, malnutrition, viral hepatitis, hereditary and age. 

There are two types of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease as well. Simple Fatty liver and Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis are those two types. In simple fatty liver disease fat is built up in the liver, with no inflammation and no damage to the liver cells. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is a more serious condition with inflammation in the liver which leads to damage to the cells. This condition gives rise to the occurrence of fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. 

The main causes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are, obesity, insulin resistant or type 2 diabetes, high triglycerides & low density cholesterol or “bad”  cholesterol, low levels of high density cholesterol or “good cholesterol”, underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, underactive pituitary or hypopituitarism, malnutrition and exposed to certain toxins and chemicals. 

There is a relationship between removal of gallbladder and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Some medicines also can cause occurence of fatty liver disease in nonalcoholics. 

No symptoms can be seen  whether it is alcoholic or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Tiredness and pain in the upper right area of the abdomen may be seen in some people.  Non alcoholic steatohepatitis conditions have some symptoms like swollen belly, bigger than normal breasts in men, enlarged blood vessels underneath the skin, red palms and jaundice. 

Ultrasound scans can detect whether a person has fatty liver disease or not but it cannot identify which type, the simple condition or the serious one. Liver function tests like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test  and aspartate aminotransferase test (AST) are done for the  diagnosis of  any problem in the liver. 

No western medicines are there to remove the fats in the liver. Some traditional and ayurvedic medicines are said to clean the fats in the liver. However, more scientific evidence is needed. Behavioral modifications like cutting down alcohol consumption, managing diabetes, reducing body weight, engaging in physical exercises more, reducing LDL and triglyceride levels in the body by eating healthy are recommended.