Fatty liver disease: The diet that boosts liver health to reduce your risk
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Fatty liver disease is an increasingly prevalent chronic condition that affects one in every three people in the UK. It is caused by the build-up of fat in the liver, which does not cause harm in the initial stages but can escalate to more serious liver damage such as cirrhosis and hepatitis. New research published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics has found that certain dietary practises could improve your liver health. The study examined the dietary habits of 4,000 adults between age 20 and 80 along with the amount of fat in their liver and several other markers of health.
Lower amounts of liver fat were found in people who practised an anti-inflammatory diet.
An anti-inflammatory diet prioritises fresh fruits and vegetables containing antioxidants, with oily fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.
An example of an anti-inflammatory diet is the Mediterranean diet, which includes fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Foods which are avoided in an anti-inflammatory diet are white and red meat, and highly processed or sugary foods.
Another popular anti-inflammatory diet is known as DASH, or “Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension”.
It was constructed by the National Institute of Health in the US, and is designed with the goal of helping people who suffer from high blood pressure.
High blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions are more common among people who have fatty liver disease, and many of the lifestyle measures for preventing them overlap.
An important part of the DASH diet is reducing the amount of sodium you consume, the component of salt which is associated with increased blood pressure.
The “pro-inflammatory” diet in the study produced the opposite effect, with the accumulation of fat in the liver and a measured increase in inflammation.
Inflammation and fattiness of the liver can lead to a wide variety of other health conditions.
Around five percent of the UK population have NASH, a type of hepatitis that can lead to cirrhosis, a gradually spreading failure of the liver.
If the damage to the liver exceeds its ability to heal then the only treatment remaining may be to wait for a transplant to become available, with current NHS waiting times of 135 days.
There are non-dietary factors that impact the health of your liver and can put you at greater risk of developing fatty liver disease, according to the NHS.
Common conditions that increase your risk include type-two diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Obesity is often linked to all of these conditions, as well as behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
Regular exercise is believed to help improve liver fat, even if it does not result in general weight loss.
Early-stage fatty liver disease does not have symptoms that allow it to be diagnosed, unless you have a test carried out screening for it.
There is no treatment for it outside of making healthy lifestyle choices that stop it from progressing to later stages.
Some treatments might focus on conditions associated with it, such as high cholesterol which can be treated with statins.
If you are concerned about the health of your liver, your GP may be able to give you advice.
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