A collection of fats in the liver cells is called the fatty liver. This condition is also called steatosis hepatitis or steatorrhoeic hepatosis.

Fatty liver by itself though abnormal is a relatively harmless condition. The liver is the largest organ in the human body. It plays many roles in keeping the biochemical balance intact. You should know some normal functions of the liver to understand how the disease affects i

Under normal conditions, your liver creates optimal nutrition for all the 50 trillion odd cells in your body. Different roles played by the liver are:

• Production of bile - which is necessary for proper digestion. Bile salts emulsify the fats and improve digestion. Also, when fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K are dissolved in the bile, they are absorbed better. A good measure of toxic substances is produced in the body daily. Many of these are only fat-soluble. These are dissolved in bile and finally emptied into the intestines to be thrown out as fecal matter. The liver thus helps in elimination of toxic byproducts from the body by producing bile.
• Production of many clotting factors and proteins from amino acids which are important for every process of healing, repair and cell growth.
• It is the largest storehouse of many vitamins (A, D, K + B12), iron and minerals. The liver also converts all the B-Complex vitamins into their active forms. Every nutrient, be it vitamins, minerals or amino acids, are converted into their biologically active forms by the liver. Nutrients in foods and supplements are never in their active, absorbable forms. The liver makes them active thus, making them available for body functions.
• The liver has huge stores of energy. It produces glucose from the different sugars in our diet and stores it in the form of glycogens.
• It buffers any major fluctuations in glucose levels by converting glycogens to glucose when glucose levels are low and vice versa when glucose levels are high.
• It is vital for the removal of old, worn-out red blood cells from circulation.
• The thyroid hormone T4 is converted into its more potent form T3 within the liver
• Detoxification of the body is a major function. Chemicals, industrial pollutants, metabolic wastes from junk foods, drugs, insecticide residues, alcohol, etc. are some of the dangerous toxins eliminated through our liver.What is Fatty Liver?

What are some common causes of Nash?

• Metabolic syndromes
      Apart from alcohol, there are many conditions that cause an imbalance in the body's metabolic capacity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressures (hypertension)
• High blood cholesterols
• Pregnancy
• Glycogen storage disease
• Congenital disorders like Wolman's disease
• Congenital diseases like Wilson's disease which affects copper levels
• Weber-Christian disease affecting nutrient absorption.
• Galactosemia - a disorder which affects the way milk is metabolized in the body.
• Infections like tuberculosis and malaria.
• Nutritional causes     
  • Severe malnutrition 
  • Obesity   
  • Sudden rapid weight loss
  • Surgeries performed to reduce obesity - gastric bypass surgery, jejunoileal bypass, etc.
  • Drugs   
  • Corticosteroids    
  • Valproic acids (used in epileptic patients) 
  • Medications for heart conditions like irregular heartbeats and high blood pressures e.g. amiodarone; diltiazem.
  • Sedatives 
  • Tamoxifen - used in treating breast cancer.  
  • Methotrexate   
  • Anti-retroviral drugs (indinavir)  
  • An overdose of Vitamin A.
• In extreme cases, amiodarone and methotrexate can cause cirrhosis. 
• Other           
• toxins from foodstuffs like      
• rancid peanuts - aflatoxins are extremely toxic       
• mushroom poisonings     
• phosphorus from the environment