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Non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis, called Nash in English, is a pathology of the liver linked to an excess of fats in the diet. A study has just shown that eating in fast-food type restaurants is associated with an increased risk of developing this pathology.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a disease of the liver linked to excessive consumption of fat in the diet. It is a general term that includes liver pathologies in people who do not drink alcohol (which remains the first cause of liver problems).
In the case of Nash, it is the fats which, by accumulating, can cause cirrhosis. This can lead to liver cancer or liver failure.
A high-calorie diet and too fatty liver
Scientists at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, have investigated the impact of fast food – and its high-calorie fried foods – on the liver. The study involved 4,000 obese or diabetic people.
Among these 4,000 volunteers, 52% consumed fast food. And in this group, they were 29% to consume at least 20% or more of their daily calories.
Results: The authors found that those volunteers who ate fast food daily had very high levels of fat in their liver, compared to those who ate less or not at all of this type of food.
Small amounts can harm too
Physiologically, a healthy liver contains a small amount of fat – about 5%.
The study, the conclusions of which are published in the medical journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatologydemonstrates that one meal a day of fast food will harm an individual’s liver health, by rapidly increasing the amount of fat present.
“Even a Moderate Increase in Fat Can Lead to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease“explains Dr. Ani Kardashian hepatologist at Keck Medicine and lead author of the study in a press release.
The liver plays a key role in the body
The authors estimate that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects up to 25% of people in the United States. However, the liver plays a key role in maintaining the health of our body, by filtering the blood and producing certain nutrients essential to our proper functioning.
To avoid this pathology and keep your liver in shape, it is recommended to choose a healthy diet, avoid alcohol, maintain a healthy weight and exercise several times a week.