Sober but still at risk

You may not feel it and there may be no symptoms at all. But deep inside your body, your liver could be quietly storing fat, even if you've never touched a drop of alcohol.

- DARSHITA JAIN

That's the unnerving reality of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition that's crawling into more lives than ever, silently and steadily.

What exactly do you mean by NAFLD? "It is a condition where fat builds up in your liver, for reasons other than alcohol," says Dr Narendra Teja Gogireddy, consultant surgical gastroenterologist at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, further adding, "This term is used for patients with chronic lifestyle diseases. In initial stages it is mild and reversible; however, it can cause liver damage over time and lead to serious conditions like cirrhosis or liver failure."