A fatty liver used to be a condition that only afflicted people who drank to excess.

But that’s not the case anymore. Now we have NAFLD, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

As many as 90 million Americans have NAFLD, but most don’t even realize it.

That’s a serious cause for concern, since a fatty liver is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart attacks, and cancer.

What causes fatty liver?

Ever hear of foie gras? It’s a delicacy made from fatty goose or duck liver.

To get these birds’ livers fatty, they’re force-fed a diet of sugar and corn starch. It’s a revolting practice.

Human livers react the same way when fed excessive amounts of sugar. It results in a process called lipogenesis, which causes the liver to produce fat.

Even fructose can have this effect. In fact, fructose actually amps it up – specifically the fructose in high-fructose corn syrup.

Since high-fructose corn syrup is added to nearly every packaged, processed food and beverage on the market, it’s no wonder fatty liver is so prevalent.

How do I know if I have a fatty liver?

There are blood tests that can detect it, but an ultrasound is your best bet.

In terms of symptoms, if you eat a lot of sugar and flour, if you have a little belly fat, or if you crave carbs, starch, and sugar, you may have a fatty liver.

What can I do to reverse my fatty liver?

Cutting out sugar and grains and eating lots of veggies and healthy dietary fat, the way we do on the Code Red Lifestyle, doesn’t trigger lipogenesis.

That means you stop damaging your liver, and the healing process can begin.

How much healing you’ll experience varies based on the person, and how fatty your liver actually is.

But don’t lose hope. When you give the body what it needs, and stop pummeling it with foods that poison it, its capacity for repair is truly remarkable.