The effect of a fruit-rich diet on liver biomarkers, insulin resistance, and lipid profile in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized clinical trial
Farkhondeh Alami, Mohammad Alizadeh, Kamran Shateri
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite confirmed dietary approaches to improve the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), the effect of fruits on NAFLD is not clear. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a fruit rich diet (FRD) on liver steatosis, liver enzymes, Insulin resistance, and lipid profile in patients with NAFLD. METHODS: Eighty adults with NAFLD participated in this randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to the FRD group with consumption of at least 4 servings of fruits daily or the control group with fruits consumption of less than 2 servings/day. The grade of steatosis, serum levels of liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), glucose, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured at the baseline and at the end of the study. RESULTS: < .001) compared to the control group. Adjusting for BMI and calorie intake did not change the results. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicated that consumption of fruits more than 4 servings/day exacerbates steatosis, dyslipidemia, and glycemic control in NAFLD patients. Further studies are needed to identify the underlying mechanisms of the effects of fruits on NAFLD. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered at Iranian randomized clinical trial website with IRCT registration no. IRCT20201010048982N1on October 15, 2020.