Exercise and Diet Can Help Control America’s Most Common Form of Liver Disease
When liver disease is mentioned, the first thing most people think of is alcoholism. However, the most common form of liver disease in the U.S. is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
It is characterized by belly fat, insulin resistance, and high levels of liver enzymes. A wide range of conditions can increase your risk of fatty liver disease, including high cholesterol levels, high triglycerides, gastric bypass surgery, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and Type 2 diabetes. Like liver disease brought on by alcoholism, NAFLD can lead to life-threatening conditions like liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.
New research showed that people suffering from NAFLD who exercised for at least 150 minutes a week over the course of three months cut their liver enzyme levels, shed some belly fat, improved their LDL cholesterol levels, and were less insulin resistant, even though they had not lost significant amounts of weight overall.
Several past studies have also found that you can substantially reduce your risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by:
- Eating a healthy plant-based diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and
- Maintaining a healthy weight by exercising regularly and cutting down on calorie-dense foods, like fatty and sugar-packed foods
People who come to the Pritikin Longevity Center with fatty liver disease often see major improvements, and in just two to three weeks, observes Dr. Jay Kenney, who has been on the faculty at Pritikin for 25 years.
SOURCE: Hepatology, July 2009.
