Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the new silent killer. Failing to get rid of liver fat ends in cirrhosis – death.
So… you’ve been told to lose weight… cut calories.
Haven’t we all tried to do that?
No need to cut calories, says a new Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology study. There’s a much simpler way to melt away liver fat.
The researchers compared two different diets over a period of 12 weeks. They enrolled 72 people diagnosed with NAFLD, splitting them into two groups.
One-half of the participants followed the intermittent calorie restriction (ICR) diet, where they reduced their calorie intake to about 600 calories on two non-consecutive days each week, eating normally the other five days.
The other half followed the standard of care diet, which involved consistently eating 20% fewer calories every day.
The study yielded the following results:
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1. 72.2% of those on the ICR diet saw at least a 30% reduction in liver fat compared to 44.4% of those on the standard-of-care diet.
2. Among those with obesity, 61.1% on the ICR diet achieved this reduction, compared to just 27.7% on the calorie-restricted diet.
3. While both groups lost weight, people with obesity in the ICR group lost slightly more (-5.5%) than those in the other group (-2.9%).
One key point to highlight is that while both diets reduced liver fat and body weight, the ICR approach was more effective for obese participants, a group particularly at risk of developing severe liver issues. For people who weren’t obese, both diets were similarly effective.
This is great news, as the ICR diet might be easier to stick to than traditional calorie-restricted diets. After all, you only need to cut back on calories two days a week, requiring self-discipline only on those days, instead of constantly dealing with hunger and deprivation of favorite foods.
An intermittent calorie restriction diet, also known as the 5:2 diet, alternates between periods of eating normally and restricting calories. This cycling between fasting and feasting may speed up your metabolism, reduce insulin resistance, and lower inflammation in your body—all factors that can worsen liver health.
Here’s the catch…
A 30% reduction in liver fat is not enough to heal NAFLD. And even the intermittent calorie restriction diet is too much for most people to follow.