Seafood, red meat, poultry and processed meats cannot trigger the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, eating three or more servings of fatty fish per week was associated with a higher risk of developing this disease. These results were reached by researchers from Sun Yat-sen Zhongshan University in China. results published at BMC Public Health.
1,862 people with an average age of 60.9 participated in the research. Of these, 37.22% suffered from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in which fat-like substances called lipids accumulate in liver cells (hepatocytes). The disease is characterized by the potential to progress to cirrhosis.
Scientists collected information about the participants’ eating habits. Specifically, the researchers tried to find out how much meat (pork, lamb and beef), fish (mackerel, snakehead, eel, sardines and salmon) and seafood the volunteers consumed. Volunteers filled out questionnaires recording the type and amount of animal products eaten in the past seven days. Participants underwent anthropometric assessments and blood tests to assess glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels.
Researchers found no significant association between the development of NAFLD and eating seafood, red meat, poultry, processed meats, or other (lean) fish. However, those who ate three or more servings of red fish a week had a higher risk of developing this disease than those who ate no fish. Additional adjustment for metabolic factors revealed a significant association between increased fatty fish consumption and increased risk of NAFLD.
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