Diet in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study

Aim: The aim of this study was evaluating the role of diet in induction and management of NonAlcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).

Place and Duration of Study: The study was performed in Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran for one year.

Methodology: Dietary intakes of 24 patients with biopsy proven NAFLD referring to Taleghani Gastroenterology Clinic (Tehran, Iran) were analyzed by a detailed food frequency questionnaire. Dietary intervention including a proper dietary intake and advice on increasing individual activities was applied for them, and the effect of it was assessed after 6 months.

Results: we did not find any significant differences between patients with NAFLD and healthy control population in the case of blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol, but weight, height, BMI, waist, waist/hip ratio, and triglycerides, were significantly higher in patients than controls. The carbohydrate intake in patients was significantly more than controls while the protein consumption was significantly lower in patients than controls. We did not find any significant difference in the other dietary intakes. All anthropometric, biochemical, and histopathologic characteristics of the patients decreased after six months dietary intervention, however none of these differences were statistically significant.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that dietary intake in patients with NAFLD is different from normal population, and a 6-month dietary and life-style consultation might result in improvement in clinical and para-clinical features of NAFLD.