Effect of moderate-carbohydrate and low-calorie diet on metabolic risk factors, liver enzymes and Sonographic findings in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Abstract

Introduction: At present, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome is the most common chronic liver disease. Although there is no cure for it yet, it is considered a priority among approaches for lifestyle modifications. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of moderate-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet in patients with NAFLD. Materials and Methods: A total of 19 overweight or obese subjects with NAFLD were studied for 6 weeks in a randomized controlled clinical trial. A low-calorie moderate-carbohydrate diet (55% energy from carbohydrate) was designed based on dietary habits, age, gender, height and weight of patients. At beginning and end of the study, biochemical parameters including fasting glucose, liver enzymes, insulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL-C) cholesterol were assessed and height, weight and blood pressure were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The average age was 38.94±8.56 years and body mass index (BMI) was 29.44±2.88 kg/m2. After six weeks of dietary intervention, weight, fasting glucose levels and enzyme aspartate amino transferase (AST) decreased significantly and HDL cholesterol increased. Hepatic ultrasound findings also showed a relative improvement in 6 patients, and one patient who had a complete remission, statistical significance borderline (p=0.055). Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest the role of carbohydrate in lowcalorie diets, which significantly improved metabolic status of the liver in NAFLD patients, in more than one third of the subjects over a period of 6 weeks.