[Effect of moderate-carbohydrate and low-calorie diet on metabolic risk factors, liver enzymes and sonographic findings in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD]]

At present, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome is the most common chronic liver disease. Although there is no cure for it yet, it is considered a priority among approaches for lifestyle modifications. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of moderate-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet in patients with NAFLD. A total of 19 overweight or obese subjects with NAFLD were studied for 6 weeks in a randomized controlled clinical trial. A low-calorie moderate-carbohydrate diet [55% energy from carbohydrate] was designed based on dietary habits, age, gender, height and weight of patients. At beginning and end of the study, biochemical parameters including fasting glucose, liver enzymes, insulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein [HDL-C] and low-density lipoprotein [LDL-C] cholesterol were assessed and height, weight and blood pressure were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. The average age was 38.94 +/- 8.56 years and body mass index [BMI] was 29.44 +/- 2.88 kg/m2. After six weeks of dietary intervention, weight, fasting glucose levels and enzyme aspartate amino transferase [AST] decreased significantly and HDL cholesterol increased. Hepatic ultrasound findings also showed a relative improvement in 6 patients, and one patient who had a complete remission, statistical significance borderline [p=0.055]. The findings of the present study suggest the role of carbohydrate in low-calorie diets, which significantly improved metabolic status of the liver in NAFLD patients, in more than one third of the subjects over a period of 6 weeks

Association between modifiable lifestyle factors and inflammatory markers in patients with metabolic syndrome

There is accumulating evidence suggesting that inflammation is the bridging link between cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Recent studies have shown a relationship between inflammatory markers and modifiable lifestyle factors including fitness, diet, exercise and smoking. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 195 patients with metabolic syndrome. Data on nutritional intake, physical activity level and smoking habits were collected through a questionnaire. Weight and body composition were determined and C-reactive protein and interluekin-6 concentrations were measured. C-reactive protein level had a significant association with body mass index [r = 0.18], adiposity [r = 0.23], smoking [r = 0.20], carbohydrate intake [r = 0.19] and saturated fatty acid [r = 0.20]. Interluekin-6 concentration was significantly correlated with dietary carbohydrate [r = 0.15], saturated fatty acid [r = 0.15] and glycaemic load [r = 0.15]. No association was observed between physical activity level and inflammatory markers