Ayurvedic Strategies for Managing Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Holistic Approach
Keywords:
Hepatotoxic drug, Lifestyle changes, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Samshodhana karmaAbstract
Metabolic disorders are now widespread even among seemingly healthy individuals. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of them, NAFLD is a spectrum of liver disorders characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, unrelated to alcohol consumption. It can progress from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, potentially leading to cirrhosis. NAFLD is closely linked to metabolic syndrome, obesity, and insulin resistance. NAFLD doesn’t directly align with any single Yakrit vikara (liver disorder) described in Ayurvedic classical texts. However, it may share characteristics with the conditions of Medoroga (obesity) and Yakrit Roga (liver disorders), where improper diet and lifestyle lead to an imbalance in the Doshas. This imbalance results in impaired digestion and the accumulation of Ama, contributing to fat deposition in the liver. Ayurvedic Management of NAFLD offers a comprehensive strategy by focusing on improving liver functions, reducing oxidative stress, and boosting metabolism. Treatment of NAFLD involves a combination of dietary modifications, lifestyle changes, Samshodhana karma, and Ayurvedic formulations.
Downloads
References
1. Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC, Perkins JA. Robbins and cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021. 2. Remya E. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-an Ayurvedic pragmatic approach with its management. Int J Ayurvedic Herbal Med. 2018;8(3):3230-6.
3. Younossi ZM, Koenig AB, Abdelatif D, Fazel Y, Henry L, Wymer M.
Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: Trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Hepatology. 2018;68(1):267-79.
4. Duseja A, Singh SP, Saraswat VA, Acharya SK, Chawla YK, Chowdhury S, Dhiman RK, Jayakumar RV, Madan K, Misra SP, Mishra H, Modi SK, Muruganathan A, Saboo B, Sahay R, Upadhyay R. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome-Position paper of the Indian National association for the study of the liver, endocrine society of India, Indian college of cardiology and Indian society of gastroenterology. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2015;5(1):51-68. doi:10.1016/j.jceh.2015.02.006
5. Guo X, Yin X, Liu Z, Wang J. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis and natural products for prevention and treatment. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(24):15489.
6. Chalasani N, Younossi Z, Lavine JE, Diehl AM, Brunt EM, Cusi K, Charlton M, Sanyal AJ. The diagnosis and management of non alcoholic fatty liver disease: Practice guideline by the American association for the study of liver diseases, American college of gastroenterology, and the American gastroenterological association. Hepatology. 2012;55(6):2005-23. doi:10.1002/hep.25762
7. Chandran A, Tiwari S. A scientific drug review on Punarnava Mandur. J Ayurveda Integr Med Sci. 2020;5(4):232-8.
8. Chandran A, Mahadevan L, Nisha MG, Pratap A. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - an Ayurvedic view. Int Ayurvedic Med J. 2021;9:2797-801.
9. Angulo P. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. N Engl J Med. 2002;346(16):1221-31.
10. Marchesini G, Bugianesi E, Forlani G, Cerrelli F, Lenzi M, Manini R, Natale S, Vanni E, Villanova N, Melchionda N, Rizzetto M. Nonalcoholic fatty liver, steatohepatitis, and the metabolic syndrome. Hepatology. 2003;37(4):917-23.
11. Romeo S, Kozlitina J, Xing C, Pertsemlidis A, Cox D, Pennacchio LA, Pennacchio LA, Boerwinkle E, Cohen JC, Hobbs HH. Genetic variation in PNPLA3 confers susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Nat Genet. 2008;40(12):1461-5.
12. Ryu S, Chang Y, Jung HS, Yun KE, Kwon MJ, Choi Y, Kim CW, Cho J, Suh BS, Cho YK, Chung EC, Shin H, Kim YS. Relationship of sitting time and physical activity with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol. 2014;61(6):1228-35.
13. Boursier J, Mueller O, Barret M, Machado M, Fizanne L, Araujo-Perez F, Guy CD, Seed PC, Rawls JF, David LA, Hunault G, Oberti F, Calès P, Diehl AM. The severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with gut dysbiosis and shift in the metabolic function of the gut microbiota. Hepatology. 2016;63(3): 764-75.
14. Buzzetti E, Pinzani M, Tsochatzis EA. The multiple-hit pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Metabolism. 2016;65(8):1038-48.
15. Day CP, James OF. Steatohepatitis: A tale of two “hits”? Gastroenterology. 1998;114(4):842-5.
16. Panda AK, Bhuyan GC, Rao K, Binita P, Otta S, Parhi KK. Role of meda (adipocyte) in yakrit vikara (liver diseases) - ayurveda prospective. J Ayurveda Integr Med Sci. 2020;2:141-7.
17. Dash VB, Sharma RK. Principles of ayurvedic medicine - modern interpretation of tridosha imbalance in metabolic and hepatic conditions; 2021.
18. Chalasani N, Younossi Z, Lavine JE, Diehl AM, Brunt EM, Cusi K, Rinella M, Harrison SA, Brunt EM, Sanyal AJ. The diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Practice guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatology. 2018;67(1):328-57.
19. Hernaez R, Lazo M, Bonekamp S, Kamel I, Brancati FL, Guallar E, Clark JM. Diagnostic accuracy and reliability of ultrasonography for the detection of fatty liver: A meta-analysis.
