Any kind of fatty liver disease including ALD, NAFLD and NASH patients, should look at their diet. Maintaining a healthy diet is one of the first step for helping the liver to recover. Here is a few points of what you need to do for fatty liver diet.
- Lose Weight and exercise – most doctors often recommend weight loss as a first step as fatty liver disease treatment. The American Gastroenterological Association suggests weight loss of 10 percent or more for those with NASH. It notes research has shown losing weight was associated with fat regression in the liver. No blanket suggestion exists for everyone as far as daily caloric intake, and your daily calorie needs will depend on weight loss goals, maintaining desired weight and other factors. They also recommends a plan that will facilitate weight loss of about one to two pounds a week. Excess weight also will worsen other triggers of the condition, such as high triglycerides and diabetes.
- Yo Jyo Hen Shi Ko (YHK) – YHK should be one of the first diet treatment for those who are suffering from fatty liver disease. YHK is a clinically proven treatment method for NASH and other liver diseases. This natural compound can effectively enhance liver function. This health supplement is only available to purchase online for those who does not live in Japan.
- Less Carbohydrate Intake – Eating “bad” carbohydrates that quickly convert to glucose often contribute to fat deposits in the liver, notes a study published in the September 2007 edition of the “Journal of Obesity.” It found that mice fed “quick-burning” carbohydrates had twice the normal level of fat throughout their body, including the liver, than mice fed carbohydrates that break down more slowly. This is particularly important if you have diabetes, since your body’s capacity to normally control blood sugar is already compromised.Problematic carbohydrates include refined, white flours and foods and drinks rich in white table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Better choices include fiber-rich whole grains. Other good choices include beans and vegetables of all kinds. Watch your intake of starchy carbohydrates as well, such as potatoes, yams and corn.Carbohydrate intake also influences triglyceride levels, a main cause of fatty liver. Your body stores excess glucose as triglycerides.
- Fat Intake – Avoid deep fried, fatty, and processed foods. While the fat in foods does not directly influence the build up of fat in the liver, it contributes to the conditions that do cause fatty liver. Most doctors would advises to cut back on saturated fats, found in abundance in full-fat dairy and products made with it and meats—particularly red meat such as beef and pork. If you already have risk factors for heart disease, reduce intake to no more than 7 percent of your daily calories. Otherwise, recommendations call for 10 percent. Include more healthy fats in your diet, such as monounsaturated fats found in olive and canola oil, nuts and seeds. Fatty fish contain rich stores of omega-3 fatty acids, another beneficial fat.
- Stop Drinking Alcohol – As we mention in our Fatty Liver Treatment page, if alcohol is the reason for fatty liver, one should stop drinking alcohol at once. Alcohol not only made up of very high calories and should be forbidden forever, it also creates a heavy workload for the liver. Alcohol drinking leads to dysfunction of liver, and hence liver cannot metabolize other nutrients properly leading to fat accumulation. Start replacing alcohol with other beverages.
- Never try experimental treatments – While some studies suggest that experimental treatments such as taking vitamins C and E could combat fatty liver disease, others show contradictory findings. At this point, data are too limited to support the use of those vitamins in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Food that should be limited for fatty liver disease patients:
- White bread, rice, pasta
- Butter
- Most prepared breakfast cereals (usually contain high levels of sugar)
- Concentrated sugar & artificial sweeteners
- High-glycerin food
- High-cholesterol food
- Carbonated drinks (usually contain high levels of sugar)
- All Junk Food – Hamburger, Pizza, chips, etc
- Deep fried food, fast food
- Fruit juice (usually contain high levels of sugar)
- Avoid fatty sauces (i.e. margarine and mayonnaise)
Food that fatty liver disease patients should focus on:
- At least 2 Liters of water a day
- Beans and unprocessed grains
- Eat whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat products, oats, etc
- Increase Vegetables in the diet – broccoli is especially highly recommended as it can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming
- Fruit (1 piece of fruit per day, ideally an apple)
- Whole grain bread
- Slim milk instead of whole milk
- Food with high level of proteins
- Cinnamon
If you want to know more about alcoholic fatty liver disease, please go to Chashi, our fatty liver information network, for more details.
