Cirrhosis refers to severe, structure-distorting liver scarring. The presence or absence of specific complications distinguish the 4 cirrhosis stages.

At least 20 percent of adults in America have fatty liver disease, according to a January 2011 report from the “Harvard Health Letter.” Contrary to popular belief, fatty liver disease does not just affect alcoholics. Common risk factors for fatty liver disease include diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.

Alcohol abuse has many serious effects on a person's health, but the liver often bears the brunt of the damage. The liver is responsible for filtering alcohol and other toxins from the bloodstream. In people who consume excessive amounts of alcohol, the liver can be damaged because of the heavy workload.

Fatty liver is usually associated with alcohol abuse, but even people who don't drink can develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD. NAFLD includes asymptomatic steatosis, meaning simple fatty liver, which can progress to steatohepatitis, meaning inflamed fatty liver.

If you or a loved one is dealing with esophageal varices, the goal of your diet should be to provide nutrition for health and healing while preventing any additional complications. Esophageal varices are swollen veins in the esophagus that are at risk of rupturing.

A number of medical conditions, medications and lifestyle choices can lead to elevated liver enzymes. Heavy drinking, hepatitis and obesity are very common causes. You might also suffer from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a heavy accumulation of fat in the liver.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves severe restriction of calories, distorted body image and varied adverse effects on the body. Serious health consequences from anorexia include heart arrhythmia, osteoporosis, anemia, neurological and gastrointestinal problems and liver damage.

Detoxifying the liver is an important way to help maintain the health of the body. Though there are several liver detoxes available, one that has become popular over the past several years is the olive oil and Epsom salts cleanse.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body is unable to produce and use insulin properly. A key function of insulin is to help convert glucose to energy; thus, diabetics have higher than normal levels of glucose in the blood. In 2007, over 23 million Americans -- 7.8 percent of the U.S. population -- had diabetes.

Contrary to popular belief, fatigue is not the same as sleepiness, MayoClinic.com notes. Fatigue is often accompanied by a desire to sleep, as well as a lack of motivation to do anything else. Fatigue can be a symptom of several health conditions including liver disease.

Alcohol is a toxin that in large quantities can affect your health. If your liver becomes cirrhotic, or scarred, your body’s ability to break down and absorb fats as well as fat-soluble vitamins is damaged.

Liver makes an excellent meal when placed over a delicate bed of onions, but sometimes you simply don’t have time to defrost the meat before preparing it. Although pan defrosting your liver will reduce the tenderness somewhat, you will still end up with tender meat if you do it properly.