2024-01-05 00:45:57
Non-alcoholic fatty liver is an increasingly common disease in countries like Spain, where it affects a large number of people. It occurs when fat accumulates in the liver due to unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. The worrying thing about this disease is that, if not properly addressed, it can progress to more serious problems, such as liver inflammation or steatosis, or liver fibrosis. These complications can have a significant negative impact on health, making it essential to seek effective treatments.
In this new study, Jordi Salas Salvadó, from the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, and from the Networked Biomedical Research Center for the Physiopathology of Obesity, participate, among others. and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), in Spain.
297 participants from the Malaga and Reus nodes have been evaluated and 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 authors of the study have carried out pioneering work to better understand the relationship between the Mediterranean diet, the intestinal microbiome and the disease known as non-alcoholic fatty liver. The study, led by the IBIMA group BIONAND Platform obesity, diabetes and their comorbidities: prevention and treatment and member of the CIBEROBN area, has been coordinated by Francisco Tinahones, director of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Clinical Unit of the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital and scientific director of IBIMA, and Isabel Moreno Indias.
Isabel Moreno Indias and Francisco J Tinahones have coordinated the study from IBIMA-BIONAND. (Photos: IBIMA-BIONAND)
The results revealed significant changes in the gut microbiome in those participants who experienced more marked improvements in nonalcoholic fatty liver markers. Specifically, participants with a lower suspicion of liver involvement showed higher abundances 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.
Discoveries of this type once again highlight the great relevance of adopting 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 Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver and a wide range 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,” declares Dr. Isabel Moreno Indias. In turn, doctors Ana María Gómez Pérez and Patricia Ruiz Limón, first signatories of the study, highlight “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.”
The study is titled “Gut microbiota in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a PREDIMED-Plus trial sub analysis.” And it has been published in the academic journal Gut Microbes. (Source: CIBEROBN)
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