Key Takeaways
- Fatty liver and diabetes share a two-way metabolic link: when the liver accumulates excess fat, it responds less effectively to insulin. Consequently, rising glucose and insulin levels can drive further liver fat production, further impeding the liver’s functions.
- MASLD may develop without obvious symptoms, so people with type 2 diabetes or other metabolic risks have higher risk of having impaired liver function.
- Adding herbal supplements alongside lifestyle changes such as reducing sweetened drinks, increasing physical activity, and managing portions may help reduce metabolic strain on the liver.
This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Individual outcomes vary. Livarton is not intended to treat, diagnose, or reverse any medical condition. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health decisions.
Introduction
Imagine going for your annual health screening. You expect your cholesterol or blood pressure to be slightly higher than normal, but nothing else out of the ordinary. However, when the results come out, they show elevated blood glucose and abnormal liver enzyme levels. Your doctor then recommends an abdominal ultrasound, which detects fat in your liver. Then your doctor informs you that you have fatty liver and may even be contracting pre-diabetes.
It may feel as if two separate health problems have appeared at once. In reality, they are part of the same metabolic picture.
The relationship between fatty liver and diabetes is particularly prevalent in Malaysia. Our staples of rice, noodles, and sweetened drinks are loaded with sugar and carbohydrates. Add long hours of sitting at work, late dinners, limited exercise, and poor sleep, and the body gradually becomes less efficient at managing glucose and fat.
This does not mean that one plate of nasi lemak or an occasional teh tarik causes liver problems. Genetics, body composition, existing medical conditions, medication, and long-term eating patterns also matter. The more useful question is whether your everyday habits are creating more metabolic stress than your body can comfortably manage.
Understanding the diabetes and liver health connection can help you take a more holistic approach, instead of merely monitoring your blood sugar levels while overlooking what may be the actual underlying cause.
How Is The Liver and Blood Sugar Connected?
You probably know that one of your liver’s many functions is processing your daily dietary intake, including food and drinks, medicines, and the supplements you consume. Less familiar is another of its roles: helping to manage the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. When blood sugar is elevated, insulin is released to regulate the levels.
After a meal, the liver stores excess glucose that the body does not immediately need. Between meals, it releases glucose to maintain a steady energy supply for you to go through the day. Problems can develop when the liver repeatedly handles more glucose and fat than the body can use efficiently. Excess fat may accumulate in liver cells, and the liver may respond less effectively to insulin.
Normally, insulin will tell the liver to slow down or stop releasing glucose into the bloodstream, especially when glucose levels are already elevated. Excess fat will cause the liver to ignore this signal, causing it to keeps pumping glucose into the bloodstream even when blood sugar levels are already high. When left unfixed, this continuous state of elevated blood sugar may gradually result in a condition known as diabetes.
This is why diabetes and liver health should be considered together rather than as completely separate concerns.
The Role of Insulin and How It Works
After you eat carbohydrates, the body breaks them down into glucose. Once glucose is produced, insulin is secreted by the pancreas to move glucose from the bloodstream into cells for energy. It also signals the liver to slow down or stop glucose release after a meal.
However, the Malaysian lifestyle of frequent snacking and consuming carbohydrate-rich meals or sugary drinks can cause blood glucose levels to rise repeatedly throughout the day. In response, insulin is released to help the body use glucose for energy and store what is not immediately needed.
While this is a normal process, consistently having more glucose storage than the body needs may contribute to excess fat accumulation in the body and liver. Over time, these metabolic changes can interfere with how effectively cells respond to insulin, leading to a condition known as insulin resistance.
When insulin resistance develops, the pancreas works harder to compensate, and the liver may keep releasing glucose even when it is not needed. This feedback loop is what links fatty liver and diabetes so closely.
The Destructive Cycle Between Fat Tissues, Liver, and Insulin
What makes insulin resistance dangerous is that it triggers a destructive feedback loop between fat tissue, the liver, and the pancreas. When cells are unable to respond effectively to insulin to regulate glucose levels, the body’s normal metabolic checks and balances fail, turning a simple hormone imbalance into a continuous cycle of fat accumulation and worsening dysfunction.
This creates a continuous, self-amplifying metabolic cycle:
- Excess glucose and fatty acids reach the liver.
- The liver produces or stores more fat.
- Accumulated fat interferes with normal insulin signalling.
- The sugar levels in the blood remain elevated due to increased insulin resistance.
- Higher glucose and insulin levels lead to further liver fat production.
A familiar example is someone who says, “I stopped eating after 9 pm, so why is my glucose still high when I wake up?” One possible reason is that the liver releases glucose overnight to maintain the body’s energy supply. In people with insulin resistance, the liver may not respond as effectively to insulin’s signals to reduce glucose production.
Meanwhile, the pancreas may produce additional insulin to compensate. This can contribute to persistently elevated blood glucose throughout the night, particularly when the body’s ability to regulate glucose is already impaired.
The US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that up to 70% of people with type 2 diabetes in the United States may also have NAFLD, although it often goes undetected. (1) While that figure reflects an American population, the overlap between the two conditions is not unique to any one country. Closer to home, a 2026 Malaysian study estimated a MAFLD prevalence of 28.2% among adults under the study’s criteria, suggesting the issue is just as relevant here. (4)
Four Practical Ways to Reduce Metabolic Strain
1. Monitor your dietary intake
Sweetened drinks can add considerable sugar without making you feel full. Start by ordering kopi or teh kurang manis, gradually move towards kosong, and choose water with weekday lunches. If you normally have two sweet drinks each day, reducing that to one is already a practical first step.
You do not necessarily have to stop eating rice, noodles or roti. What matters more is managing your food portions: try a slightly smaller serving of rice at the chap fan stall, or choose tosai with dhal over roti canai at the mamak.
Also, consider adding natural supplements into your daily routine. Not only do they fill up any nutritional gaps in your daily food intake, but these supplements can also help to support liver health and enhance the liver’s capacity to better manage daily stress.
2. Add movement into your schedule
Walk for 10 to 15 minutes after lunch, take the stairs, or walk while waiting for a child’s tuition class. Regular activity can improve metabolic health and reduce liver fat even before major weight loss occurs. (2)
3. Aim for gradual weight management
For people who are overweight or living with obesity, gradual weight reduction may decrease liver fat. Greater weight loss may also improve inflammation or fibrosis in selected patients. (2) Crash diets are difficult to maintain. A better question is whether you can continue the routine six months from now.
4. Give your body time to readjust its insulin sensitivity
By now, you should have heard to avoid having late-night suppers or eating hours before bedtime. The reason is to avoid going to sleep with a body full of insulin. Sleep is vital for your health because it gives your body time to rest and reset its insulin sensitivity. Therefore, by going to sleep with high insulin levels, you are causing your system to work overtime when it is supposed to be winding down.
Where Livarton Fits into a Liver Wellness Routine
Livarton by Herbitec is a plant-based herbal formulation traditionally used as a liver tonic, intended for adults who wish to maintain liver health as part of an everyday wellness routine. Livarton is formulated to support the liver’s natural capacity to repair damaged liver cells while having antioxidant properties to protect it against free radicals. It can also assist in reducing liver inflammation, lowering liver enzymes, and supporting overall metabolic health.
A practical way to understand its role is to imagine starting a healthier lifestyle by choosing less-sweet drinks, walking after dinner, and getting ample sleep. Adding Livarton as part of your wellness routine strengthens your liver, enabling you to enjoy the full benefits of this new and improved lifestyle!
The lifestyle steps in this article reduce the metabolic load on your liver. A plant-based herbal supplement like Livarton complements these lifestyle changes, further enhancing their benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can fatty liver and diabetes be improved?
Liver fat and metabolic markers may improve through sustainable weight management, physical activity, and better control of glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Both are chronic conditions that develop over years, and reversal is possible for some, but it takes time. Implementing lifestyle changes that reduce metabolic strain may help slow progression. A liver tonic like Livarton complements these efforts as part of a traditional liver wellness routine.
2. Can a slim person develop fatty liver?
Yes. Fatty liver is not a condition that only affects people who are overweight. Someone who is not visibly overweight may still carry excess fat around the abdominal organs or within the liver. For a broader look at how fatty liver disease develops and what it involves, read our article on fatty liver disease.
3. Do I need to stop eating rice and other carbohydrates?
Not necessarily. Portion size and the overall meal matter. A smaller portion of rice with vegetables and an appropriate protein source may be more realistic than removing a familiar staple completely.
4. If I fix my diet, will my liver fat and blood sugar both improve?
They may, because the two conditions share the same metabolic root. Reducing sweetened drinks, managing portions, and adding regular movement address the energy surplus that drives both liver fat accumulation and insulin resistance. The key is to ensure that your body’s systems are functioning optimally to reduce insulin resistance and regulate blood sugar levels effectively.
4. Can’t I just use insulin injections to lower blood sugar?
While taking insulin injections may increase insulin levels and help lower blood glucose, it does not directly address the underlying insulin resistance. As a result, the pancreas often produces more insulin to compensate for the body’s reduced sensitivity to it.
Managing diabetes and liver health is not about following a perfect diet or giving up every food you enjoy. It starts with understanding the liver’s function in managing blood sugar levels and improving its capacity to do so.
For individuals looking for added liver support, Livarton is a plant-based, science-backed formulation that is a great addition to your wellness routine to improve liver health.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2024). Making New Connections to Address the Silent Epidemic of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/
- European Association for the Study of the Liver, European Association for the Study of Diabetes and European Association for the Study of Obesity. (2024). Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Journal of Hepatology, 81(3), 492-542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2024.04.031
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diagnosis of NAFLD and NASH. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/
- Wan, K. S., Mat Rifin, H., Mohd Yusoff, M. F., Chan, W. K., Ratnam, K. K. Y., Ganapathy, S. S., Abd Hamid, H. A., Mohamad, M., Mohd Noor, N., Mustapha, F., & Ahmad, N. A. (2026). Prevalence and factors associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in a multiethnic Asian country. Scientific Reports, 16, 1922. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-31737-0