Dietary Supplement Can Help Treat Fatty Liver, Study Suggests

Using rats as a model in the study, the University of Jyväskylä in Finland successfully prevented fatty liver disease by feeding them with a dietary supplement that is known to promote the good bacteria's growth in the gut. In a statement with Eureka Alert, the researcher found out the along with the increase of the bacteria in the gut, the liver fat content decreased. 

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According to Mayo Clinic, an estimate of 80 to 100 million Americans are affected by Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFL) or one-quarter of the American population. Eureka Alert added that fatty liver disease is a metabolic disease that can develop into cirrhosis or even hepatocellular carcinoma or hepatic cancer without treatment. 

In an earlier study conducted by the Academy of Finland, research fellow Sattu Pekkala and her team were able to treat mice's fatty liver by giving faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a kind of gut microbiota that is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. According to Pekkala, this type of health-beneficial gut microbes is not available in pharmacies for people to use. That is why the researcher aims to increase the natural abundance in the gut with prebiotic fiber. 

How was the study conducted?

Eureka Alert mentioned that the researchers found out that faecalibacterium prausnitzii could use prebiotic Xylo-oligosaccharides as food that cased its increase in growth. The positive result led the research team to perform a dietary intervention in the models (rats) alongside feeding them with a diet supplemented with XOS for 12 weeks, a dietary supplement found mostly in stores. Pekkala said in a statement that their study showed XOS increased the growth of the health beneficial bacterium while simultaneously decreasing the liver fat content of the rats. Pekkala added that human study ended in June, and the team hopes to produce more results next year. 

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What is prebiotics?

According to Eureka Alert, prebiotics is selectively fermented dietary components that cannot be digested in the gut. However, they serve as food for the good gut microbes like lactobacilli, giving beneficial effects. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) added that prebiotic's degradation produces short-chain fatty acids that are released into the bloodstream, affecting the gastrointestinal tracts and the distant organs. NCBI furthered that prebiotics is fascinating candidates in promoting human health condition as a replacement or association with probiotics. 

Can vitamins help with fatty liver?

According to WebMD, some studies suggest vitamin E helps with fatty liver disease. They also mentioned other research saying that taking vitamin E with Vitamin C and a cholesterol-lowering medicine can help the fatty liver. However, WebMD stressed that experts still do not know which one among the supplements is responsible or if the three are working together.

A study published in NCBI said that interactions between vitamins and micronutrients could affect obesity-associated features such as inflammatory status, insulin resistance, and lipid profile, which are all key factors in developing fatty liver diseases such as Non Alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD. 

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