Mediterranean diet shown to reduce biomarkers of inflammation in NAFLD patients

Greek researchers studied the effects of the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) on the clinical, biochemical and inflammatory profile of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients with simple steatosis. Their findings were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.

•  Diet is a modifiable key factor targeted in the prevention and management of NAFLD.
• To measure the effects of MedDiet on NAFLD, the researchers investigated potential associations of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) rs2293152 genotype to diet composition and NAFLD patients’ profile.
• They conducted a non-randomized, open-label, 24-week prospective intervention study involving 44 untreated NAFLD patients with non-significant fibrosis.
• These patients received nutritional counseling to increase their adherence to MedDiet, which was estimated with MedDietScore.
• The researchers then genotyped STAT3 rs2293152 single nucleotide polymorphism and performed clinical and inflammatory measurements.
• They reported that in all patients, MedDietScore increased and anthropometric indices improved.
• Compared with baseline, the MedDiet significantly ameliorated liver imaging results, liver fibrosis score, blood pressure, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), visfatin and oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels in the NAFLD patients.
• On the other hand, the researchers found no association between STAT3 polymorphism and diet composition.
• Comparisons of mean differences between G- and C-carriers at the end of the trial showed that only visfatin was significantly associated with the STAT3 genotype.
• Having the G-allele was linked to an increase in visfatin levels.
• STAT3 rs2293152 G-carriers experienced more beneficial changes at the end of the intervention compared with baseline.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that following the Mediterranean Diet ameliorates clinical, biochemical and inflammatory biomarkers in NAFLD patients.

Journal Reference:

Kaliora AC, Gioxari A, Kalafati IP, Diolintzi A, Kokkinos A, Dedoussis GV. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDITERRANEAN DIET IN NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE CLINICAL COURSE: AN INTERVENTION STUDY. Journal of Medicinal Food. 10 July 2019;22(7):729–740. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2018.0020