The Japanese diet can be the remedy for fatty liver disease complication

A new study published in MDPI journal has found a close association between Japanese diet and lower risk of advanced liver fibrosis in patients with non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

For the research, a total of 136 patients with non alcoholic fatty liver disease who were being treated at the Osaka Metropolitan University Hospital in Japan were studied.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to reveal that the Japanese diet pattern is associated with the severity of liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD," the study paper says.

Liver fibrosis is a condition in which there is excessive accumulation of extracellular proteins. In this condition the healthy tissues of the liver are scarred and do not function properly.

Damage to the liver causes fibrosis. Non alcoholic fatty liver is a common cause of fibrosis.

The common signs that indicate a damaged liver are: appetite loss, difficulty in thinking, fluid buildup in the lower limbs and sometimes on the stomach, jaundice which is characterized by yellowish appearance on the skin and eyes, and nausea.

People with liver fibrosis tend to lose lots of weight all of a sudden and suffer from extreme weakness and fatigue.

The Japanese diet used for the study comprised 12 components: rice, miso soup, pickles, soy products, green and yellow vegetables, fruits, seafood, mushrooms, seaweed, green tea, coffee, beef and pork.

"Among the Japanese diet components, a higher intake of soybeans and soybean foods, fish and shellfish, and seaweeds was associated with a lower risk of advanced fibrosis," the study found.

So, how is the Japanese diet which essentially comprises fish helps in recovering liver damage?

The Japanese diet pattern is a food pattern that consists mainly of fish and shellfish, and is rich in high-fiber foods, such as seaweeds and mushrooms, and fermented foods, such as pickles.

"Intervention with a Japanese diet pattern improved lipid metabolism in young adults," the researchers have said and have added that a Japanese diet pattern score has been associated with lower obesity rates and ischemic heart disease incidence in a global comparative study .

"Interestingly, we found that mJDI12 was also significantly associated with the intake of nutrients with antioxidant properties, such as vitamin C, β-carotene, and α-tocopherol. Oxidative stress is associated with the pathogenesis of NASH and intervention with antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin E, may have a hepatoprotective effect," the research paper adds. mJDI12 is the 12 component Japanese diet that was used for the study.

The study also talks about the cholesterol lowering effects of dietary fibre which forms an important component of fatty liver disease. It also says that Japanese foods can influence the intestinal microbiota with their fibre content which will be helpful in lowering the risk of liver fibrosis.

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease is a fat build up in the liver and is mostly seen in people who are obese or overweight.

Though initially it might seem mild, if left untreated it may start a chain of complications and worsen it over time.

Hence it is better to safeguard yourself from fatty liver disease by knowing the risk factors first.

You need to be more careful about fatty liver if you are obese, have type 2 diabetes, have polycystic ovary syndrome, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, are above 50 years of age and are a regular smoker.

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