Experts already recommend this diet because of
its numerous health benefits.
The liver is an essential organ for keeping the
body healthy, and the foods you eat can either help or hinder its performance.
Choosing meals substantial in dietary fibre and vitamins C and E, for example,
can help maintain the liver healthy, whereas consuming much alcohol or eating
foods high in saturated fat can be harmful to it.
According to new research, sticking to the
Mediterranean diet may aid in the treatment of fatty liver disease, a common
liver illness. Researchers examined a sample of over 1,400 participants aged 65
and up, examining their liver fat content and adherence to the Mediterranean
diet in the study published this month in the journal Nutrients.
They discovered that sticking to this diet
results in reduced liver fat levels but that eating more red and processed meat
and drinking more alcohol also resulted in higher liver fat content. Sticking
to white meat and plant-based proteins, as well as reducing alcohol
consumption, may benefit your liver.
According to the National Institute of Diabetesand Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which is part of the National
Institutes of Health, fatty liver disease (also known as hepatic steatosis) is
often "a silent condition with few or no symptoms." The fatty liver
disease might cause abdominal pain and exhaustion if you have symptoms. Heart
disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes are among the health problems
people with this illness are more likely to develop.
Beans, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds,
and whole grains are all nutrient-dense foods found in the Mediterranean diet.
According to the American Heart Association, it also involves getting fat from
olive oil, eating dairy, eggs, and poultry in moderation, and eating very
little red meat, if any at all.
For lead author, Rodolfo Sardone MsBE, AuD, MPH,
first author Luisa Lampignano stated that higher adherence to the Mediterranean
diet reduced the risk of fatty liver. "However, we found that participants
who consumed more red meat and alcohol had a higher chance of developing fatty
liver, even when they followed the Mediterranean diet carefully."
More longitudinal (long-term) studies and
randomized trials, according to Lampignano, are needed to confirm these
findings.
"Lasting lifestyle changes rarely happen fast," says Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN, director of nutrition at Oldways. "Take it one step at a time, replacing olive oil for butter or margarine in cooking, or incorporating more whole grains, for example," says the author, "allowing the delicious flavors of Mediterranean food guide you."