KETO improves fatty liver Pilot study 2007

[Sproutlady]

link.springer.com/article/1...

[Serenity1948]

Doesn't the keto diet have excess intake of fatty foods ! My son & his wife were on it & told me the major foods were those that were fat or as being processed turned to fat which the liver does not like ? Everything I have read have recommended vegetables, some fruit, protein such as fish (salmon), chicken & turkey. Please respond as to where you get this information.

[Sproutlady in reply to Serenity1948]

Hi Serenity,

Yes, keto incorporates high fat, moderate protein, and very low carbs. The over consumption of carbs, in any form, releases insulin which is the driver of metabolic syndrome (MS). MS drives diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and, in my case, fatty liver. Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist who teaches via YouTube videos. He is among others who believe that severe carbohydrate restriction can reverse this condition.

I put weight loss at the top of my priority list. I couldn't lose weight if I was hungry all the time. I needed the fat in my diet to make me feel satiated. But, I only eat fats from organic sources. So far my weight has come down 10 percent , my blood pressure is decreasing naturally ( under 140/90) I am physically active at least 30 minutes a day but usually more.

I eat cruciferous veggies daily which accounts for my allowance of carbs. I am alone so I do struggle with giving up a glass of wine at night, but I will conquer that demon too.

Overall, I have been successful in achieving my initial goals. I instinctively know that eating a high fat diet is not in my best interests long term. But I started out very ill and very stubborn. I do not want to take pharmaceuticals.I insist on lifestyle changes to reverse my condition. It took many years to get ill and reversing it will take a long time too.

I cannot say what is best for anyone. I am willing to live with the results of my choices.

[Serenity1948 in reply to Sproutlady]

Thanks for your response. I can't remember if I told you.....I have STAGE 4 NASH. I have discovered by experiment that when I eat something & my liver acts up (swells up & gives me some discomfort) I definitely do not eat that again. This site is amazing & very helpful. Gives us some way to communicate with others suffering some type of liver disease. I guess you could say we are all members of a special club. I was never aware all that the Liver is responsible for. It fascinates me, therefore I have read & studied all I can to get educated. Thanks so much for responding & please keep in touch.

God BLESS!

Linda

[Sproutlady in reply to Serenity1948]

Linda, I definitely will keep in touch. I am new here and love communicating with everyone.

Have you noticed conflicting results when you read research studies?

Have you heard of metabolic syndrome?

[Serenity1948 in reply to Sproutlady]

Look it up on the internet. There is alot of info. on there

[nash2 Partner]

Hi Sprout

Any move to a low carb diet which minimizes sugar will improve liver health, so Keto fits that model. However, a question to consider is whether it forces the liver to work harder? Most of the ketones that the brain needs will be produced by the liver. Probably ok for a healthy person but might be a challenge for someone with liver damage. There is still debate about that and there are some other considerations about Keto that are being debated but that is one that I think should be kept in mind. Our approach is to ask the liver to work as little as possible so Keto wouldn't work for me if I had NASH. I might consider it if I just had NAFLD. Personal opinion of course since we are not doctors.

[Sproutlady in reply to nash2]

Thanks for your comments. I have been using clean keto and intermittent fasting as a way to lose weight. My plan for long term nutrition is low carb but not keto. It seems legumes, nuts, seeds and no dairy except eggs will be my next goal. I have lost about 25 pounds so far. Sugar in any form is not an option for me.

There is so much conflicting research out there it becomes discouraging. Doctors who I highly respect disagree on NAFLD treatment. One thing I believe in is metabolic syndrome causes all my symptoms and probably my fatty liver too.

[nash2 Partner in reply to Sproutlady]

Liver disease and metabolic syndrome are all part of the same biochemical processes. Medicine tends to think of them as separate disease processes but as the master chemist of the body the liver is inextricably a player in most of the bodies functions so you are absolutely correct to think of them together.

[Sproutlady in reply to nash2]

Thank you for your comment. So, do all or most of us on here suffer with the same constellation of illnesses ?

If so, how are they managed?

[nash2 Partner in reply to Sproutlady]

There is a fairly broad distribution of liver associated illness but most is tied to NASH/fibrosis just because of our name and they are the most common in our society. Quite a few folks read the posts but don't engage so it is hard to tell what brought them here. For most liver disease diet is a component of management so that is a lot of what comes up on the website. Many specific questions here are about diagnosis and how to understand what is going on.

[katqueen68]

I was recently told to stop keto diet as it is too much fat for my cirrhosis. All I did was reduce the amount of protein but veggies remain the same.