Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects around 25% of the population in rich countries. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is characterized by fatty accumulation and inflammation of the liver, in patients who drink little or no alcohol. Approximately 65% of obese adults suffer from the disease, which is also strongly linked to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Uncontrolled fatty liver disease can lead to more serious complications such as cirrhosis or heart failure. hepatic. Few drugs are currently available to treat the disease.
Good compliance and amazing results
The study: the team of Chicago nutritionists here follows 80 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease over a three-month period, with a quarter of the participants alternating between a day of eating and a day of fasting (less than 500 calories) and practicing exercise at the rate of 5 days a week, another quarter practicing fasting alone or exercising alone, a last quarter none of these 2 measures. Experience shows that participants who follow this 2-day intermittent fasting program and exercise regularly significantly improve their health outcomes, with:
- increased insulin sensitivity and a dramatic decrease in liver fat, weight, and ALT (or alanine aminotransferase) enzymes, recognized markers of liver disease;
- the complete absence of serious safety events during the trial: the patients thus safely maintained the program over 3 months – and without medication.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Krista Varady, calls the results “astonishing”: “When we compare the results of our study groups, we find that patients who follow the 2-day fasting regimen and exercise 5 days a week achieve very positive results. People who only diet or exercise don’t get the same improvements. It is therefore the synergy of these 2 lifestyle measures that allows this reversal of hepatic steatosis”.
What type of intermittent fasting? It remains to be clarified which type of intermittent fasting can bring the best results in this group of patients, because the study only tested this type of fasting over 2 days. But this fasting rhythm, which is already giving good results, appears in any case to allow good patient compliance, because few participants dropped out of the study.
“These types of combined fasting and exercise interventions can be difficult for many patients to follow, but in this trial, we are getting very high buy-in from our participants.”