Is there an ‘ideal’ diet for patients with NAFLD?
2021/07/26 by Nicola Pugliese, Maria Corina Plaz Torres, Salvatore Petta +3 · 64 citations
Medicine · #Cirrhosis #DASH diet #Dash #Diet and metabolism studies #Diet, Metabolism, and Disease #Disease #Fatty liver #Gastroenterology #Hepatocellular carcinoma #Intermittent fasting #Internal medicine #Ketogenic diet #Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment #Medicine #Mediterranean diet #Metabolic syndrome #Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease #Obesity #Steatohepatitis #Steatosis #Weight loss
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/eci.13659
published in European Journal of Clinical Investigation 52(3), e13659 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2021/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing epidemic that encompasses three distinct clinical phenotypes: uncomplicated fatty liver, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NASH-related cirrhosis with its complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma. To date, no pharmacological treatments have been approved and lifestyle modifications including reduced caloric intake targeting a 7%-10% weight loss from baseline assessment represent the standard approach. Mediterranean diet has been recommended as the best dietary pattern since it is easy to follow and, independently of caloric intake its nutritional components have beneficial metabolic effects that not only improve steatosis but also risk factors for cardiovascular events, the leading cause of morbidity/mortality in individuals with NAFLD. Other dietary patterns such as ketogenic diet and Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet can be used in patients with NAFLD. Recently, intermittent fasting diets have gained popularity among healthy individuals and have been proposed as a safe and effective treatment for the metabolic syndrome in experimental and in a few human studies. In this narrative review, we aim to summarize the evidence for the available dietary approaches for patients with NAFLD.
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