(14-10-14) Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: need for a balanced nutritional source.

Veena J1, Muragundla A1, Sidgiddi S2, Subramaniam S2.
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Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
(NASH) are an increasingly common chronic liver disease closely associated with
diabetes and obesity that have reached epidemic proportions. Reports on the
prevalence of NAFLD have suggested that 27-34 % of the general population in
the USA and 40-90 % of the obese population worldwide have this disease.
Increasing urbanisation rate and associated inappropriate lifestyle changes are
not only the risk factors of diabetes, but also unmask genetic predisposition
in various populations for the metabolic syndrome and its manifestations
including NAFLD and NASH. Lifestyle modifications and balanced nutrition are
among the foremost management strategies along with ursodeoxycholic acid,
metformin, vitamin E and pentoxifylline. Although weight reduction associated
with current therapeutic strategies has shown some promise, maintaining it in
the long run is largely unsuccessful. With the safety of pharmacotherapy still
being uncertain and can be started only after confirmation, other reasonable
interventions such as nutrition hold promise in preventing disease progression.
The role of dietary components including branched-chain amino acids,
methionine, choline and folic acid is currently being evaluated in various
clinical trials. Nutritional approaches sought to overcome the limitations of
pharmacotherapy also include evaluating the effects of natural ingredients,
such as silymarin and spirulina, on liver disease. Understanding the specific
interaction between nutrients and dietary needs in NAFLD and maintaining this
balance through either a diet or a nutritional product thus becomes extremely
important in providing a more realistic and feasible alternative to treat
NAFLD. A planned complete nutritional combination addressing specific needs and
helping to prevent the progression of NAFLD is the need of the hour to avert
people from ending up with complications.

Source: Br J Nutr. 2014 Oct 2:1-15. [Epub ahead of print]

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