Low-carb diet helps reduce liver fat in obese people
Reducing Liver Fat by Low Carbohydrate Caloric Restriction Targets Hepatic Glucose Production in Non-Diabetic Obese Adults with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Liver fat reduction directly improved hepatic glucose production without affecting peripheral glucose disposal.
It contradicts the common belief that low-carb diets uniformly impair glucose metabolism—here, the liver benefited while muscles were unaffected.
Practical Takeaways
Consider a short-term, supervised low-carb caloric restriction to kickstart liver fat loss if obese with NAFLD.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Liver fat reduction directly improved hepatic glucose production without affecting peripheral glucose disposal.
It contradicts the common belief that low-carb diets uniformly impair glucose metabolism—here, the liver benefited while muscles were unaffected.
Practical Takeaways
Consider a short-term, supervised low-carb caloric restriction to kickstart liver fat loss if obese with NAFLD.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Year
2014
Authors
Haoyong Yu, W. Jia, Zengkui Guo
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Claims (6)
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 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 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.