Whole-grain consumption and its effects on hepatic steatosis and liver enzymes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomised controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a considerable challenge to public health across the globe. Whole grain is highly recommended as an inseparable part of a healthy diet and has been proposed as an effective way to manage NAFLD. The objective in the present study was to evaluate the effects of whole-grain consumption on hepatic steatosis and liver enzymes as primary outcomes in patients with NAFLD. Over the 12 weeks of this open-label, randomised controlled clinical trial, 112 patients (mean age 43 (sd 8·7) years; BMI 32·2 (sd 4·3) kg/m2) were randomly assigned to two groups to receive dietary advice, either to obtain at least half of their cereal servings each day from whole-grain foods or from usual cereals. By the end of the study, the grades of NAFLD showed a significant decrease in the intervention group (P < 0·001). In addition, a significant reduction in serum concentration of alanine aminotransferase (P < 0·001), aspartate aminotransferase (P < 0·001), γ-glutamyltransferase (P = 0·009), systolic blood pressure (P = 0·004) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0·008) was observed in the intervention group compared with the control group. After adjusting, however, no significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of lipid profile, glycaemic status and anthropometric measurements. Overall, our study demonstrated that consumption of whole grains for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on hepatic steatosis and liver enzymes concentrations in patients with NAFLD.

Dietary Intake of Vegetables and Cooking Oil Was Associated With Drug-Induced Liver Injury During Tuberculosis Treatment: A Preliminary Cohort Study

“…Cohort studies suggested that a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables ( 18 ) and nuts ( 19 ) was associated with a lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk. Randomized controlled trial indicated that whole grain consumption alleviated NAFLD ( 20 ).…”

Association Between Dietary Fiber Intake and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adults

“…Several lifestyle and dietary factors, regarded as modifiable conditions, have been linked to NAFLD. Intakes of fried foods, refined grains, processed meat, and fructose-rich foods have been reported to increase the risk of NAFLD (13)(14)(15), whereas intakes of whole grains, legumes, probiotic dairy products, vegetables, and fruits have been shown to decrease the NAFLD risk (15)(16)(17)(18). Some studies have confirmed that high intake of dietary fiber, which is found predominantly in cereals, fruits, and vegetables, was associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperuricemia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25).…”

Complex Dietary Topologies in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Network Science Analysis

“…The core nodes in the first component comprised tubes, whole grain, ginger and garlic, fish, animal organs, meat, and processed meat. For example, a previous study showed that consumption of whole grains had beneficial effects on hepatic steatosis and liver enzymes concentrations among patients with NAFLD ( 40 ). Meanwhile, frequent consumption of raw garlic was also inversely associated with NAFLD among Chinese men ( 8 ).…”