Over the past few years, new research has emerged on liver disease, leading to updates in terminology and management strategies. Understanding these changes is essential for staying informed and taking proactive steps toward better liver health.

New Terminology in Liver Disease

Medical terminology has evolved to better reflect the link between liver disease and metabolic health. It’s important to know this so that when you are reading articles you know the terminology. Here are the key updates:

• Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD) – is the new terminology used when discussing liver disease. SLD is the umbrella term for all types of liver disease.

• Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) – Formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), this condition is characterized by excess fat in the liver and at least one cardiometabolic risk factor.
  
  Cardiometabolic risk factors include:

  • Obesity

  • High blood pressure (hypertension)

  • High blood glucose levels

  • High cholesterol and triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia)

  • Smoking

  • Poor diet and physical inactivity

  • Family history

• Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) – Previously called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), this is a more advanced stage involving liver inflammation and damage.

  • It develops when MASLD is accompanied by inflammation and liver cell injury. Over time, this ongoing inflammation can lead to scarring of the liver tissue, known as fibrosis.

  • As the disease progresses, fibrosis can worsen and become more widespread. When scarring becomes extensive and begins to interfere with liver function, this is considered an advanced stage of liver disease.

  • Left untreated, MASH can eventually lead to liver failure, liver cancer, or the need for a liver transplant.

What does the the Liver do? Your Body’s Powerhouse

Common questions that are asked by clients:

👉 What is the role of the liver?

The liver has many roles, including (3):

1. Carbohydrates.

   • The liver converts carbohydrates into glucose, also known as sugar, which provides the body with energy in-between meals.

   • Did you know that we only have enough glucose in the body to live 4 minutes without eating? If not for the liver’s constant efforts, we would need to eat every four minutes just to stay alive (1).

   • So how does the liver keep up? When blood glucose levels begin to drop—such as between meals, during fasting, or while exercising—the liver steps in by breaking down glycogen stores and releasing glucose into the bloodstream to keep the body fueled.

   • This process is essential for providing the entire body energy (1). The liver also does the reverse, it also takes extra sugar in the body and stores it as glycogen until it is needed later.

2. Fat. The liver does digest fat (or lipids) in the body. If the liver is not working properly then we would not digest fat properly resulting in fat building up. Fat building up on the liver will advance SLD.

3. Protein. The liver helps make protein.

4. The liver does store vitamins and minerals until they are needed by the body.

5. The liver also detoxifies alcohol and drugs. It breaks them down in order to get rid of them from the body as they are toxic in the body.

severely impaired, affecting metabolism, digestion, and overall well-being. Meaning, if we have liver failure, then the liver cannot do any of the above jobs (1, 2).

Below you can see an image showing the progression on SLD (5).