Dietary approach in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a rapidly emerging chronic liver disorder and will increasingly be a critical global health problem. Diet is an important pathogenic factor of NAFLD and it is well documented that the increased prevalence of NAFLD during the last decades was associated with deep modification of dietary habits, especially increased intakes of fats and simple carbohydrates. As the disease stems from excess calorie intake and lack of physical activity, the correction of unhealthy lifestyles is the basis of any prevention and treatment strategy while drugs should remain a second-line of treatment. NAFLD patients should receive counselling for a low carbohydrate and low saturated fat diet, avoidance of fructose-enriched soft drinks and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. The use of functional foods in NAFLD has been poorly studied and up to day only few reports are encouraging and incite the promotion of functional food approach on NAFLD prevention on the basis of food and nutritional genomics.