Can the Mediterranean diet alleviate fatty liver disease?
Fatty liver is a common problem associated with the obesity epidemic. Fatty liver can cause chronic fatigue, weakness, nausea, water retention, jaundice and liver failure. The problem has been linked to obesity, a lack of choline in the diet, excessive alcohol consumption and overtraining. High levels of fructose increase blood lipid levels (triglycerides), which can flood the liver with fat and cause fatty liver.
There is no effective treatment. Changes in diet could alter the course of the disease.
Elena Papamiltiadous and colleagues from La Trobe University in Australia, presented a proposal for a clinical trial that would measure the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the risk of type 2 diabetes. They have registered the study as a clinical trial in New Zealand and plan to start this study soon.
There are ways to prevent risk and support health.
(BMC Gastroenterology, 16: 14, 2016)