Fruit and Nuts Fight Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Eating fruit and nuts can help protect against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) - but a popular fibre supplement can make the condition worse, research by Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.

About one in every three Australians has NAFLD which can lead to serious problems such as liver failure or liver cancer.

Caused by factors such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, it’s become the most prevalent liver disease globally, affecting 38 per cent of the population.

And there is no way to treat it.

Scientists at ECU have been investigating dietary preventions and found that a certain compound found in some fruits and nuts, could stop and potentially reverse the damage caused by NAFLD.

“We found that ellagic acid (EA), which is found in a variety of foods such as pomegranates, berries, grapes and walnuts, helped to protect the liver from disease,” ECU Associate Professor Lois Balmer said.

“Ellagic acid is a natural antioxidant known for its potential anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties and holds great promise in treating various chronic diseases.”

The study, which was conducted on mice, also warns that a commonly used fibre supplement readily available at pharmacies, health stores and online, could make NAFLD worse if taken on its own without EA.

Inulin is a type of soluble fibre often used as a prebiotic to improve gut health, but the research showed it led to an unexpected increase in body weight and blood glucose levels and worsened the liver damage, possibly because of the imbalance of microbes in the gut associated with NASH.

“This research reinforces the idea that diet matters - not just what we eat, but how different nutrients interact in the body,” Associate Professor Balmer said.

The paper Ellagic Acid Reduces Inulin's Adverse Effects: A Combined Approach to Enhance Therapeutic Potential in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis was published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.