Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino revealed that he has been dealing with liver disease since 2007.
Marino, who turned 64 on Monday, spoke to People about living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which formerly was referred to as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Per the Cleveland Clinic, MASH occurs when fat cells show up in the liver, which can cause chronic inflammation and eventually lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“The doctors right away said that can be reversible, it can be taken care of, but, mainly for me, they were saying, like, ‘You gotta work out. You got to lose weight,'” Marino said in the article published Monday.
Marino noted that a better diet and exercise has helped with his condition. His doctors suggested a Mediterranean diet and to “cut back on the wine and pizza and candy, ice cream, those kind of things, you know — you can’t eat those as much,” he said.
Marino held NFL records for completions (4,967), passing yards (61,361), and touchdowns passes (420) at the time of his retirement following the 1999 season.
An NFL MVP in 1984 and nine-time Pro Bowl selection with the Miami Dolphins, Marino was the first quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a season — doing so in 1984.
Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
