Meat Can Cause Fatty Liver

Anyone suffering from fatty liver should definitely check their diet. Sugar, for example, can lead to fatty liver, but so can meat, a study found. You don’t feel a fatty liver at first. Over time, however, this can lead to liver dysfunction, including liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Diabetes also develops much faster in the presence of a fatty liver. Overweight people in particular should significantly limit their meat consumption for the sake of their liver.

Meat – and not fructose – is the cause of fatty liver

Fatty liver is common in people who consume large amounts of alcoholic beverages on a regular basis. However, since fatty liver is now also not uncommon without any alcohol consumption (in around 1 billion people worldwide), this form of fatty liver has been given its own name: non-alcoholic fatty liver.

This pathological condition of the liver is abbreviated to NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease). NAFLD is currently recognized as one of the health problems that seem to be spreading the fastest on the planet, along with obesity. The high consumption of meat is said to be involved in this development and thus in the development of fatty liver – as a large epidemiological study (The Rotterdam Study) shows, which was presented in April 2017 at the International Liver Congress™ in Amsterdam. In this study, the Dutch researchers also discovered that fructose consumption is not as harmful as previously thought.

The non-alcoholic fatty liver – the consequences

NAFLD is diagnosed when the fat content of the liver is 5 percent or more. Although non-alcoholic fatty liver is initially painless, it can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, or “just” liver dysfunction.

Since the liver fulfills many tasks in the organism – detoxification, bile formation, vitamin storage, regulation of blood sugar and blood fat levels, and much more. – Functional disorders of the liver are associated with significant impairments of well-being.

For example, digestive problems, diabetes, or serious cardiovascular diseases (e.g. arteriosclerosis) can appear. The problem can progress to life-threatening liver failure requiring a liver transplant. All of this sounds worrying, but most of the time it isn’t. Then:

Fatty liver is curable

In many cases, NAFLD can be converted back to a healthy liver within a few weeks or months with changes in diet and lifestyle.

Those affected are often recommended to simply reduce the existing excess weight. Aside from the fact that reversing obesity isn’t easy for everyone, there’s a current debate in the scientific community as to whether weight loss is actually enough to cure fatty liver. Because more and more research shows that it is not necessarily the number of calories in meals that leads to fatty liver, but rather the type of diet.

A healthy lifestyle is the basis of any fatty liver therapy. Unfortunately, so far there have been no specific nutritional recommendations that could have been given to fatty liver patients,” says Dr. Louise Alferink from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam/Netherlands and lead author of the study described below.

The more meat – the more likely a fatty liver

A total of 3,440 people are taking part in the Rotterdam Study (which is still ongoing). 1,040 are of normal weight (BMI below 25 kg/m2), 2,400 are overweight (BMI above 25 kg/m2). Fatty liver was diagnosed in 35 percent by ultrasound. It was found that people who consumed a lot of animal protein sources (meat & co) were more likely to develop fatty liver than people who only ate little meat.

It was checked whether high protein consumption in general could increase the risk of fatty liver. But that was not the case. The risk only increased if the proteins consumed were of animal origin.

dr Alferink explains: “The results of our study show that the consumption of animal protein is closely associated with the development of fatty liver – especially if those affected are also overweight. This finding is consistent with the recently presented hypothesis that a Western diet with A high proportion of animal proteins and heavily processed foods can lead to disturbances in the healthy balance in the organism. There are disturbances in the glucose metabolism, in the acid-base balance, and apparently also in the liver metabolism.”

Healthy sources of fructose are good for the liver

Another interesting finding from our study is that fructose (fruit sugar), which is strongly discouraged in current NAFLD therapy guidelines, does not appear to have any particularly harmful effects on the liver,” said Dr. Alferink.
She goes on to explain that, on the contrary, healthy foods rich in fructose, such as fruit and vegetables, which not only consist of fructose but also contain many vital substances and antioxidants, have a very positive effect on liver health. Unhealthy foods rich in fructose, such as lemonades, sweets, or isolated sweeteners in general should of course be avoided as far as possible.

If you have fatty liver, it is better to eat little or no meat!

“This large population-based study shows that animal protein sources such as meat in particular increase the likelihood of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,” says Professor Philip Newsome of the Center for Liver Research & Professor of Experimental Hepatology at the University of Birmingham in the UK. Doctors and nutritionists should therefore definitely take this factor into account when giving nutritional advice to those affected.

Fatty liver – the right diet

Even with a fatty liver, the diet should therefore meet the usual criteria of a healthy, wholesome diet rich in vital substances, which can be used for almost any disease, but of course also preventively. These criteria are as follows:

• Eat lots of fruit, salads, and vegetables
• Significantly reduce the amount of meat and other animal protein sources
• Preferably choose vegetable protein sources
• eat low-fat; if fat is eaten, then only healthy fats, e.g. B. an extra virgin olive oil, as this can protect the liver
• avoid sugar and products sweetened with sugar; We present healthy sweeteners here: The nine healthiest sweeteners
• Avoid ready-made products, instead, prepare meals from fresh ingredients that are as seasonal as possible
• Avoid soft drinks and bought fruit juices, instead use water. Occasionally, diluted freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices may be drunk
• Replace extract flours with whole grain products
• Of course no alcohol!

Fatty liver – holistic measures

Apart from a healthy diet, there are other holistic measures that could be helpful in the case of fatty liver or can help to regenerate the liver.

• Intestinal cleansing for the liver, because probiotics help break down fat accumulations in the liver
• Liver cleanse with e.g. Bitter substances, milk thistle, and curcumin, the active ingredient from the turmeric root
• Holistic detoxification relieves the liver, our largest detoxification organ.