The Study
Reducing Liver Fat by Low Carbohydrate Caloric Restriction Targets Hepatic Glucose Production in Non-Diabetic Obese Adults with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
This study is like taking before-and-after pictures of 8 people on a diet. It shows what happened to them, but we can't be sure the diet caused the changes because there was no comparison group. It's like seeing clouds and rain but not knowing if the clouds caused the rain.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Eating very few carbs and calories for 8 weeks made obese people with fatty liver lose liver fat and improve how their liver handles sugar.
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 530 / 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 are big improvements for liver health and metabolism in a short time.
- 2Liver fat down 67%, body weight down 7%, belly fat down 34%, blood fats down 40%.
- 3Liver sugar control improved 22%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Year
2014
Authors
Haoyong Yu, W. Jia, Zengkui Guo
Related Content
Claims (6)
For overweight people with a fatty liver condition, following a very low-carb, low-calorie diet for 8 weeks can cut down the fat in their liver by about two-thirds.
For overweight people with a fatty liver condition not caused by alcohol, eating fewer carbs and calories might lower some fat levels in their blood, but it doesn't seem to change other cholesterol or sugar levels much, according to a small study.
For overweight people with fatty liver disease not caused by alcohol, eating fewer carbs and calories helps their liver handle sugar better by 22%, based on a small test group.
In overweight adults with fatty liver disease, the more fat there is in the liver, the more sugar the liver tends to make, and this link is pretty strong even when considering other factors like body size.
When overweight people with fatty liver disease eat fewer carbs and calories, they lose weight and belly fat, but their body's ability to handle sugar doesn't really change.
Eating fewer carbs might make your liver produce more sugar, and some scientists think this could put extra strain on your liver.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.