Consuming larger portions of green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing liver steatosis, or fatty liver. In a study published in PNAS researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show how a larger intake of inorganic nitrate, which occurs naturally in many types of vegetables, reduces accumulation of fat in the liver. There is currently no approved treatment for the disease, which can deteriorate into life-threatening conditions such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Liver steatosis, or fatty liver, is a common liver disease that affects approximately 25 percent of the population. The most important causes are overweight or high alcohol consumption.
"When we supplemented with dietary nitrate to mice fed with a high-fat and sugar Western diet, we noticed a significantly lower proportion of fat in the liver," says Mattias Carlström, Associate Professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet.
Their results were confirmed by using two different cell culture studies in human liver cells. Apart from a lower risk of steatosis, the researchers also observed reduction of blood pressure and improved insulin/glucose homeostasis in mice with type 2 diabetes.
The research group's focus is the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes through dietary changes and by other means. Previous studies have shown that dietary nitrate from vegetables enhances the efficiency of the mitochondria, the cell's power-plant, which can improve physical endurance. It has also been shown that a higher intake of fruit and vegetables has a beneficial effect on cardiovascular function and on diabetes.
