The health of the liver depends primarily on nutrition. getting even better results compared to using the original diet.
What is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
NAFLD is one of the most common diseases in the world. This Scientists from Israel have proven that the Mediterranean diet reduces size of Fatty Liver. They modified this nutritional system, pathology affects 25-30% of the population in Europe and the United States. The disease is also called fatty liver disease. It is diagnosed if 5-10% of the organ mass is fat or fat accumulations contain more than 5% of liver cells.
The initial stage of the disease is called steatosis. Not in all, but in some patients, it can turn into steatohepatitis, then into fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis leads to cancer, and in itself is a deadly and incurable pathology.
NAFLD is not a local disease, but a systemic one. It damages more than just the liver. The presence of NAFLD indicates metabolic changes in the body. These patients usually have weight problems, bowel disease, increased cardiovascular risk, and often develop diabetes. Therefore, since 2020, the diagnosis of NAFLD has not been used in Europe. Instead, a new term was introduced: metabolically associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).
Whatever the name of the disease, the essence of this does not change: when a person eats poorly, moves little, has untreated chronic bowel diseases, there is more and more fat in his liver.
What is the mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is a type of food typical for the inhabitants of Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. It is considered beneficial for health. The term will enter into use in the 50s of the twentieth century. Studies show that this type of diet reduces the risk of NAFLD, even after adjusting for body weight. That is, two obese people, one of whom uses the Mediterranean diet, the risk of fatty degeneration of the liver, cardiovascular disease and cancer will still be lower.
Diet features:
- a high proportion of vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes;
- a lot of flour;
- the main source of fat is olive oil;
- a lot of dairy products, mainly cheese and yogurt;
- not very many fish and birds;
- moderate consumption of red wine;
- a minimum of red meat, eggs, sweets.
What diet is best for the liver
Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev tested the effects of various dietary choices on the risk of fatty liver disease. The results of their study are published in the authoritative medical journal Gut. The study, which lasted a year and a half, involved 294 people over 50 with abdominal obesity. They were divided into 3 groups:
- standard recommendations for healthy eating;
- mediterranean diet;
- modified green mediterranean diet.
All participants received gym memberships. The results were evaluated using MRI of the liver. The study was carried out before the start of the diet, and then again to evaluate the results. As a result, the “green” diet turned out to be the most effective, and the usual Mediterranean diet was in second place. Useful, but to a lesser extent, were the standard recommendations for healthy eating.
At the start of the study:
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is 62%
Recommendations for a healthy diet:
Decreased liver fat mass – 12%
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is 54.8%
Mediterranean Diet:
Decreased liver fat mass – 20%
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is 47.9%
“Green” Mediterranean Diet:
Decreased liver fat mass – 39%
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is 31.5%
Scientists have improved the Mediterranean diet, which has led to better results in the treatment of NAFLD. The changed food system contained more vegetables, less meat and fish. 3-4 cups of green tea per day, 28 grams of walnuts and 100 grams of green mankai cocktail were added to the diet. The researchers attribute the best results to increased consumption of polyphenols and restriction of animal products.
In fact, in real life, no one will weigh all these products. Therefore, another goal seems to be more mundane, but at the same time effective – weight loss by 10% from the original due to any physical activity. We focus on 30 minutes a day of aerobic or anaerobic exercise. In addition, it is important to use drugs from the ursosan group. Since it is they that activate cellular transport and remove the fat accumulated in them from the liver cells, even if a person does not diet and does not lose weight. This is due to the activation of protein kinases and membrane enzymes.
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