Eating too much meat increases the risk of liver disease

(Reuters) – A study suggests that people who consume too much animal protein are more likely to accumulate fats in their liver and increase their risk of developing liver disease, which depends on vegetables as a major source of protein.

The researchers focused on what is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is generally associated with obesity and certain eating habits. Although doctors recommend changes to the diet to treat this type of liver disease, research has not yet made it clear whether these changes could prevent it.

In this study, researchers examined food questionnaire and liver fat test data from an average of 3,882 people aged 70 years. The tests showed 1337 participants or 34% of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, including 132 people with a healthy weight and 1205 overweight people.

The analysis revealed that people who were overweight and eating as much animal protein were 54% more likely to develop fatty liver than those who ate less meat.

"This does not take into account risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, such as social factors, lifestyle and metabolic factors," said Dr. Sarwa Darwish Murad, liver disease specialist at the medical center. Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

"Perhaps the most important thing is that there is no link with the amount of calories," she said by e-mail. "We also explained that the diversity of diets is important."

The researchers reported in the Journal of Gastroenterology that participants without hepatic steatosis consumed on average 2052 calories per day compared to 1996 calories per day on average for people with fatty liver.

Most of the calories absorbed by the fatty liver come from proteins.

(Reuters)