Diet and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a short narrative review

Abstract

The growing importance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the biggest non-communicable liver disease, inherently leads to an increased attention to lifestyle and diet that are closely intertwined with NAFLD. Elements of the Western diet such as saturated fats and carbohydrates and thus soft drinks, red meat and ultra-processed foods are linked to NAFLD. Contrarily, diets rich in nuts, fruits, vegetables and unsaturated fats as seen in the Mediterranean diet are linked to less prevalent and less severe NAFLD. In the absence of approved medical therapy for NAFLD, therapy mostly focusses on lifestyle and diet. This short review tries to provide a succinct overview of the current knowledge on the influence of certain diets or individual nutrients on NAFLD and discusses different dietary approaches. It ends with a short list of recommendations that can be used in daily practice.