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Inflammatory Diets Increase Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Diets high in pro-inflammatory foods like red and processed meat increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to new research from the UK Biobank cohort. Results from this group of 171,000 participants found that those whose diet was moderate or very pro-inflammatory were significantly more likely to develop NAFLD than those with anti-inflammatory diets.1 Whole food, plant-based diets are high in anti-inflammatory foods, including berries and fruit, tea, mushrooms, and cruciferous and other vegetables.
These findings are consistent with the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which also found that adherence to a healthful plant-based diet was protective against NAFLD.2
References
- Petermann-Rocha F, Wirth MD, Boonpor J. Associations between an inflammatory diet index and severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a prospective study of 171,544 UK Biobank participants. BMC Med. 2023;21(1):123. doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02793-y
- Mazidi M, Kengne AP. Higher adherence to plant-based diets are associated with lower likelihood of fatty liver. Clin Nutr. 2019;38(4):1672-1677. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.6444Akhtar
