The Study
An Integrated Understanding of the Rapid Metabolic Benefits of a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet on Hepatic Steatosis in Humans.
This study watched 10 people before and after eating a special low-carb diet for two weeks. It can tell us what changed in their bodies during that time, but it can't prove the diet caused those changes because there was no comparison group eating a normal diet.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When kids or grown-ups eat too much sugar and carbs, their liver can get fat and sick. This study shows that when people with fatty liver stop eating carbs for just two weeks, their liver gets healthier very quickly.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, these changes are meaningful—liver fat dropped fast, even before weight loss, showing that cutting carbs directly helps the liver heal.
- 2Liver fat went down by 44% in 14 days.
- 3The body made 80% less new fat.
- 4The body burned more fat for energy, shown by a 5x increase in a fat-burning signal.
- 5Gut bacteria that make vitamin B9 (folate) grew fast, and blood folate went up.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Cell metabolism
Year
2018
Authors
A. Mardinoğlu, Hao Wu, E. Bjornson, Cheng Zhang, A. Hakkarainen, Sari Räsänen, Sunjae Lee, R. Mancina, Mattias Bergentall, K. Pietiläinen, Sanni Söderlund, N. Matikainen, M. Ståhlman, Per-Olof Bergh, M. Adiels, B. Piening, M. Granér, N. Lundbom, K. Williams, S. Romeo, J. Nielsen, M. Snyder, M. Uhlén, G. Bergström, Rosie Perkins, H. Marschall, F. Bäckhed, M. Taskinen, J. Borén
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you're an obese adult with fatty liver disease, switching to a low-carb, higher-protein diet for just two weeks might quickly boost good gut bacteria that make folate—and your blood folate levels could go up in as little as one day.
If you're an obese adult with fatty liver, going on a low-carb diet for just two weeks—even without cutting calories—might slash your liver's fat production by nearly 80% and boost fat burning in your body by almost 5 times.
Eating fewer carbs and more protein for a week might help turn off fat-making genes and turn on fat-burning and metabolism genes in the livers of obese people with fatty liver disease.
If you're an obese adult with fatty liver disease, switching to a very low-carb, high-fat diet for just two weeks might cut your liver fat by nearly half—and you could see improvements in as little as one day.
Eating too many carbs and calories — especially from sugary or processed foods — is what mainly causes fatty liver, not eating fat. Cutting out carbs or going on a carnivore diet might help reverse it.
If you're an obese adult with fatty liver, how much folate is in your blood might help explain how much fat is in your liver — and it could account for nearly 1 in 5 cases, even after considering body weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.