Non-alcoholic fatty liver is a disease that occurs when fat accumulates in the liver as a result of an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity, and whose frequency is increasing in Spain. If people with this disease do not receive adequate treatment it can progress and cause serious complications, such as liver inflammation or steatosis, or liver fibrosis, which can have a significant impact on health.
Now, a new study by Spanish researchers has found a connection between the Mediterranean diet, the gut microbiome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Specifically, the results have revealed significant changes in the gut microbiome in those participants who experienced more marked improvements in markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver. Specifically, participants with a lower suspicion of liver involvement had a higher amount of certain beneficial bacteria, compared to those with a higher degree of liver damage.
In addition, other types of changes in the intestinal microbiota were found associated with changes in biochemical markers. For example, those participants who experienced a significant improvement in biochemical indices related to liver metabolic health and a better response to the Mediterranean diet showed a reduction in bacteria related to inflammatory processes and an increase in bacteria involved in the production of fatty acids. short chain, which have multiple benefits, including maintaining intestinal health and reducing the risk of diseases.
Mediterranean diet to prevent and treat fatty liver
The research has been carried out by several teams from the PREDIMED-Plus study on the Mediterranean diet and the CIBER Red Biomedical Research Center to better understand the relationship between the Mediterranean diet, the intestinal microbiome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The study, led by the IBIMA group BIONAND Platform obesity, diabetes and their comorbidities: prevention and treatment and member of the Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition area of the CIBER (CIBEROBN) has been coordinated by Francisco Tinahones, director of the Clinical Unit of Endocrinology and Nutrition at the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital and scientific director of IBIMA and Isabel Moreno Indias.
“There is more and more evidence that places the intestinal microbiota as a key factor for metabolic health and more so in relation to diet”
In this work, a PREDIMED-Plus substudy in which its coordinator Jordi Salas Salvadó, CIBEROBN researcher at the Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) and professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, also participates, 297 participants from the Málaga and Reus nodes that were grouped into three groups based on how the biochemical markers related to non-alcoholic fatty liver changed during a year of intervention with the Mediterranean diet.
The findings have been published in Gut microbes and have once again highlighted the great importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and, in particular, the beneficial potential that following a balanced Mediterranean diet has for our health. In this case, it will help us prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver and a wide variety of associated diseases and health problems.
“There is more and more evidence that places the intestinal microbiota as a key factor for metabolic health and more so in relation to diet, so these studies are very necessary,” stated Dr. Isabel Moreno Indias. In turn, Drs. Ana María Gómez Pérez and Patricia Ruiz Limón, first signatories of the article, emphasize “the importance of increasing adherence to the Mediterranean diet as a key element in the fight against diseases related to obesity.”
For his part, Dr. Francisco Tinahones states that “non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most prevalent liver diseases and is directly related to lifestyle. It is an asymptomatic disease in its early stages, and the lack of non-invasive markers means that when it is diagnosed, it is in an advanced situation, so new biomarkers are necessary for its early detection, and the intestinal microbiota could help.”
In conclusion, this research led by the IBIMA Bionand Platform provides new data on the impact of the Mediterranean diet on metabolic health, in this case in relation to non-alcoholic fatty liver, and its possible connection with changes in the microbiome. These discoveries highlight the importance of following a balanced and healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, as a strategy to prevent and treat this disease and promote good liver health in the Spanish population.
Source: Center for Biomedical Research Network (CIBER)
