Holistic healing for fatty liver disease: one woman's diagnosis of fatty liver disease gives her a new mission--a healthier lifestyle and probably a longer life.(PERSONAL CARE: HEALTH EXPLORER)

Maria Martinez knew something was wrong when the tenderness in her abdomen wouldn't go away. "The longer the pain persisted, the more I feared seeing a doctor," she said. "I'm no medical expert, but I knew the only important organ in the right upper quadrant is your liver--and I figured anything that goes wrong with your liver is bad news."

The Diagnosis: Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Finally, after two years of discomfort and denial, Maria made an appointment to see a liver specialist--and while the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was distressing, she decided that if she had to choose a liver disease, fatty liver would be the least objectionable.

It's estimated that more than 30 million adults in the US have fatty liver disease, including up to 75 percent of obese people and 50 percent of diabetics. Most of those afflicted with NAFLD aren't aware of it. The disease happens in every demographic group, though the primary targets are overweight women in their middle years.

A simple fatty liver is harmless and reversible, and need not progress to more dangerous outcomes. If it continues untreated, though, it can become nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, in which the liver becomes inflamed and scarred.

At that point, it can cause cirrhosis or liver cancer and ultimately liver failure.

"I started feeling depressed, especially after reading about fat in the liver," recalls Maria. "We fatten our livers the same way we fatten a goose to make pate: They make foie gras by tying the goose's feet to prevent it from exercising, then they force-feed it corn until the liver is soft and spongy. Lots of carbs and no exercise. That's what makes it a delicacy. Isn't that disgusting?"