Medical nutrition therapy in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease--a review of literature.
OBJECTIVE
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease worldwide, with a prevalence of 20%-40% in Western populations. The purpose of this article is to review data related to lifestyle changes in patients with NAFLD.


METHODS
We searched a public domain database (PubMed) with the following categories: disease (NAFLD, fatty liver, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH]) and intervention (lifestyle intervention, diet, nutrition) with each possible combination through 25 September 2014, for relevant articles. Review of articles was restricted to those published in English. We selected the studies involving adult patients only.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no consensus as to what diet or lifestyle approach is the best for NAFLD patients. However, patients with NAFLD may benefit from a moderate- to low-carbohydrate (40%-45% of total calories) diet, coupled with increased dietary MUFA and n-3 PUFAs, reduced SFAs. More CRT are needed to clarify the specific effects of different diets and dietary components on the health of NAFLD patients.


BACKGROUND
NAFL = Non-alcoholic fatty liver, NAFLD = non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NASH = non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, HCC = hepatocarcinoma, BEE = basal energy expenditure, CRT = A small clinical randomized trial showed that short-term carbohydrate restriction is more efficacious in reducing intrahepatic triglyceride, IHT = intrahepatic triglyceride, VLCD = Very low calorie diets, AST = aspartate aminotransferases, SFAs = saturated fatty acids.
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
E
E
Rusu
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
G
G
Enache
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
M
M
Jinga
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
R
R
Dragut
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
R
R
Nan
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
H
H
Popescu
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
C
C
Parpala
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
C
C
Homentcovschi
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
M
M
Nitescu
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
M
M
Stoian
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
A
A
Costache
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
M
M
Posea
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
F
F
Rusu
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
V
V
Jinga
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
D
D
Mischianu
"Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
G
G
Radulian
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002149:Energy Intake; D006801:Humans; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000178:diet therapy*; D044623:Nutrition Therapy
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins
caloric restriction; diet; lifestyle changes; management; steatohepatitis