Why do leafy vegetables protect the health of the liver?

Liver disease or fatty liver is a condition in which fat accumulates in the liver and between 30 and 40% of American adults live with the disease.

According to "medicalnewstoday", it is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease in Western countries, and experts attribute this cause to a number of factors, including obesity , overweight and metabolic risks.

To date, there is no approved treatment so that more serious cases, such as hepatitis and hepatic cirrhosis, may develop.

Many experts recommend changing eating habits into healthy foods, doing physical activities to reduce liver fat and losing weight.

New research is paving the way for a new treatment. Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have published a study that suggests that inorganic nitrates – natural compounds in leafy vegetables – can reduce the accumulation of fat in the liver.

Matisse Karlstrom, author and lead author of the study, and his colleagues studied the effects of adding dietary nitrates to the Western diet, which is rich in fats and sugars in mice.

The mice were divided into three groups, each feeding a different diet. "When we gave the mice dietary supplements containing nitrates in the Western diet, high in fat and sugar, we found that the proportion of fat in the liver was much lower than that which did not take nitrates" said Dr. Carlstrom.

Rats that took nitrate had lower blood pressure and better insulin sensitivity than those who did not take nitrates.

As is known, the consumption of fruits and vegetables has a positive effect on cardiovascular function.

Dr. Karlstrom points out that the medical community still does not know exactly which compounds make leafy vegetables very healthy, "because no one has yet focused on nitrates, which we believe are the key."

The researchers stress the importance of further studies needed to determine the compounds responsible for these health characteristics and to ensure that nitrates play a vital role in liver health and metabolism. Researchers advise users to consume more leafy vegetables.

Include "celery, spinach, lettuce, watercress" on high concentrations of inorganic nitrates.

"For preventive effects, you need to eat about 200 grams a day," says Dr. Carlstrom.