Suffering for years from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Sandra Dupont had to radically change her lifestyle to treat herself. Today on the right track, she tells us about her daily life with this “fatty liver disease”.
- “Five years ago, I started to feel pain in my stomach, so intense that it woke me up at night,” recalls Sandra Dupont. Head to the gastroenterologist, who diagnoses him with “fatty liver”, in other words non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- The announcement is a “wake-up call”: “I decided to consult a dietician and I started seriously exercising.” Today, no more junk food and its fat-sugar-salt triptych, make way for homemade. “The biggest sacrifice in my eyes is stopping sugar.” Like all addictions, it is a “daily struggle”.
- Today, his efforts paid off: his liver had “lost 4 centimeters of fat” in three years. Not to mention the other benefits on his skin, his shape, his digestion… “I have clearly gained in quality of life.”
“Five years ago, I started feeling pain in my stomach, so intense that it woke me up at night.”, recalls Sandra Dupont, now 50 years old. Head to the gastroenterologist: the blood test shows nothing special, but on the doctor’s suspicions, Sandra is prescribed a Fibroscan, an examination which measures the degree of elasticity of the liver, and therefore any possible lesions. of the organ. Although she had already been suffering from irritable bowel syndrome for several years, the new diagnosis came: “We realize that I have a fatty liver.” In other words, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a pathology that develops when the liver accumulates too much fat, hence its nickname “fatty liver disease”. A diagnosis which notably explains why this mother of three children has not been able to lose weight since her early menopause, at age 43: “It was like I was still four months pregnant!”
“I consulted a dietician and started exercising seriously”
For Sandra, first “relieved” to have finally put the finger on the disease, then obviously “worry” for the rest, the verdict is one “awareness”. “I decided to consult a dietician and started exercising seriously”with three sessions per week in a gym, a lot of running and cycling to work. “The illness alerted me to the need to take care of myself, which I didn’t do before: I rarely went to the doctor, I didn’t exercise, I didn’t eat healthily, a lot of processed foods on the plate.” The fault in particular of a Parisian life “very active”: “I had to run everywhere, with my family life and my job I simply didn’t have the time!”
Today, no more junk food and its fat-sugar-salt triptych, make way for homemade. “I no longer eat processed foods at all, I cook fresh produce and low GI recipes [faible index glycémique] and I try to consume as little sugar as possible. A rigorous diet, adopted by the whole family, which requires certain logistics: “It’s an effort to anticipate the races, especially since I’m a vegetarian, so I have to be careful not to lack proteins, vitamins, etc. I make my menus for the week, I know what I need. “I need it and I’m not deviating from it. It requires organization.”
Complicated certainly, but essential because, because of her irritable bowel syndrome which causes swelling, constipation or even diarrhea, Sandra’s body does not hesitate to notify her of the slightest deviation. “As soon as my intestine cannot tolerate a food, processed or too sweet for example, it immediately sounds the alarm. At least it’s radical! My stomach is my thermometer.”
Like all addictions, avoiding sugar is a “daily battle”
“The biggest sacrifice in my eyes is stopping sugar”, recognizes the mother. Accustomed “Since [sa] sweet childhood”, she had in fact “the habit of eating very, very sweet” : packets of biscuits with your children for snacks, industrial dishes full of refined sugars for meals, sweets… “Very little alcohol and no soda” on the other hand, while fatty liver disease is also nicknamed “soda disease”.
Saying no to sugar is, like all addictions, a “everyday struggle”according to Sandra, still regularly prey to “little sugar cravings”. “Sometimes it only takes a momentary tiredness or bad news at work for me to turn to sugar. Now, it’s a mainly psychological addiction, so a question of will, but it’s difficult to achieve to reason with yourself all the time.” Even more so when temptations are everywhere in the supermarket.
Not to mention that sugar calls for sugar: “It’s enough to take a sweet break one day to want sugar again two or three days later. It’s only when I manage not to take it for two or three weeks that the craving disappears, “There’s something that clicks.” Meanwhile, to deceive her senses and satisfy her desire for sugar, Sandra finds a few stratagems, such as two clementines for the four-hour shift. “But OK…”, she whispers. Understand: it’s not the same…
The good news is that we are gradually getting out of the habit of sugar. The resident of Nouvelle-Aquitaine is well placed to say so. By eating less, certain foods low in sugar ultimately appear sweeter than before, and therefore more tasty on the palate. “Today, for example, I only eat dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa, and that suits me. Before, I would have rather eaten a whole bar of milk chocolate… Eventually, it will be necessary that I completely ban sugar from my diet. I’m going to get there!”
“My liver has lost 4 cm of fat in three years”
Fortunately, efforts always pay off – “I’m living proof of it, and that’s what boosts me!”, rejoices Sandra. Not only did his non-alcoholic fatty liver disease not develop into NASH, an aggravated form of the disease, but his last ultrasound revealed that his liver had “lost 4 centimeters of fat” for three years. “I have good hope of completely curing my steatosis in the coming years!” All without any drug treatment, simply focusing on nutrition and physical activity.
And, bonus points, this new lifestyle has not only had effects on the disease: “Today I have better skin, I no longer have pimples or acne. On the body level, I no longer feel bloated, heavy like after a big meal. I also notice that I am less tired than before… I have clearly gained in quality of life.” Health benefits duly noticed by her entire family, and which “are pushing to continue in the long term”…
“Because this fatty liver disease is also the cancer of tomorrow. My gastroenterologist said: ‘If you do nothing and the disease progresses, it’s cirrhosis of the liver, or even cancer.’ And people who eat very poorly are at risk, you need to know that.” Sandra therefore advises everyone to consult their doctor in case of signs, and to find out about the websites of associations specializing in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: “Today there are more and more books, shows, social networks dedicated to knowing how to take care of yourself, to be independent. The information is there, people are starting to understand the extent to which industry is poisoning us. Eating well is an education, it can be learned. Having experienced it myself, I know it is difficult, but life is so precious.”
