Impact of a low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

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Author : Jie Chen, Yiqin Huang, Hua Xie, Huijing Bai, Guangwu Lin, Ying Dong, Dongmei Shi, Jiaofeng Wang, Qichen Zhang, Yuting Zhang, Jianqin Sun
Keyword : NAFLD, low-carbohydrate diet, metabolism, inflammation, hepatic fatty infiltration
DOI : 10.6133/apjcn.202009_29(3).0006
Issue : Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2020;29(3):483-490
PDF : Download

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To study the effects of a low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet and education on patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods and Study Design: We randomly divided 44 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease into two groups: low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet and education (inter- vention group), and education alone (control group). Liver and kidney function, fasting plasma glucose, insulin resistance index, body composition, and controlled attenuation parameter were detected before and after the in- tervention. Results: After 2 months, the body fat, body weight, abdominal circumference, and visceral fat area, fasting plasma glucose, insulin resistance index, and levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transam- inase, uric acid, and insulin of the intervention group were significantly lower than before (p<0.05). In the female intervention group, the insulin resistance index and levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, uric acid, triglycer- ide, fasting plasma glucose, and C-peptide were lower and the level of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was higher than in the female control group (p<0.05). In the male intervention group, the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, triglyceride, and fasting plasma glucose were lower and the level of serum high-density lipo- protein cholesterol was higher compared with the male control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: A low-carbohydrate and high-fiber diet and education can effectively reduce the body weight and body fat of patients with nonalco- holic fatty liver disease and improve metabolic indicators such as liver enzymes, blood glucose, blood lipid, and uric acid. Our female patients showed significantly better improvement in the indicators than our male patients.

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