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After being a vegetarian for half a year, she became slender, but her mild fatty liver turned into moderate to severe? Surprisingly, being a vegetarian can also worsen fatty liver, which surprises many. So, how should one eat to improve fatty liver?
Healthy Times data
Lost 10 pounds in half a year of being a vegetarian
Developed moderate to severe fatty liver from being a vegetarian
In August 2024, according to Ningbo Evening News report, Ms. Liu (pseudonym), a 29-year-old woman from Ningbo, Zhejiang, was puzzled: “I have been a vegetarian for the past half year, mostly eating boiled vegetables. How did I end up with moderate to severe fatty liver?”
Half a year ago, Ms. Liu discovered she had mild fatty liver during a physical examination. At that time, she was 160 cm tall, weighed 116 pounds, had a generally normal body shape, but abdominal obesity.
After being diagnosed with fatty liver, Ms. Liu was determined to lose weight and remove the “hat” of fatty liver within half a year. Her idea was – she might have fatty liver because she ate too much meat normally, so why not just be a vegetarian. Thus, she started a diet of “boiled vegetables” supplemented with a little staple food for half a year, giving up meat and refined carbohydrates. Most of her meals consisted of boiled leafy vegetables with steamed mixed grains.
Over the past half year, Ms. Liu lost about 10 pounds, and her waist and abdomen became visibly flatter. Unexpectedly, the re-examination ultrasound indicated that her fatty liver had progressed to moderate to severe. Being a vegetarian for half a year, her fatty liver worsened!
Healthy Times data
Vegetarian Weight Loss
Why can being a vegetarian lead to worsening fatty liver?
Why does being a vegetarian lead to worsening fatty liver? Dr. Yang Naibin, an attending physician in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, explained in an interview with Ningbo Evening News that there are several main reasons:
First, the liver needs protein to break down and metabolize fat. In simple terms, protein is like a vehicle that can transport fat out of the liver. If protein intake is severely inadequate, fat inside the liver cannot be transported out, leading to fat accumulation in the liver, which can worsen fatty liver. Protein is also an important source for increasing skeletal muscle, and skeletal muscle is an important component to counteract insulin resistance and alleviate fatty liver. Therefore, it’s not surprising that a diet lacking in protein can worsen fatty liver.
Secondly, long-term consumption of boiled vegetables prevents the body from obtaining the required energy, leading to rapid breakdown of fats and the production of a large amount of fatty acids that enter the liver and remain there for a long time, easily causing fatty liver.
People often ask, “I’m not overweight, so how did I get fatty liver?”
In people’s minds, fatty liver is considered the “patent” of overweight individuals. However, as Dr. Yang Naibin pointed out, from his clinical experience, 20%-30% of fatty liver patients are not overweight, and some have normal weight or even lean body types.
The common reasons for lean individuals developing fatty liver are as follows:
1. “False lean people”
They may not have high body weight or body mass index, and limbs, trunk, or even the appearance may seem lean, but fat accumulates in the abdomen. This central obesity population has a high probability of developing fatty liver.
2. Patients with muscle deficiency
Common in elderly people and postmenopausal women.
3. Diabetes patients
Diabetes and fatty liver often mutually cause each other, and some diabetes patients have a lean body type and fatty liver.
4. Malnutrition-related fatty liver
This is particularly common in people who have been vegetarians for a long time with severely inadequate protein intake, as in the case of Ms. Liu.
5. Other factors
Some medications, hepatitis C virus genotype 3, alcohol, and other factors can also serve as triggers for fatty liver under specific circumstances.
Healthy Times data
Dr. Yang Naibin stated that for those with fatty liver caused by obesity, scientifically losing weight can help reverse fatty liver. However, unhealthy and unscientific weight loss, especially excessive dieting with severely inadequate protein intake, may worsen fatty liver.
The main principles of scientifically reducing weight through diet include: ensuring protein intake, increasing consumption of leafy vegetables, reducing oily and refined carbohydrate intake, abstaining from alcohol and soft drinks.
Ms. Liu’s “aggressive weight loss” is not scientific, as one of the most unscientific aspects is that she barely consumed any protein or fat over the past six months.
Reversing fatty liver
Remember these points in your diet
1. Eat until you are 70-80% full
Pay attention to controlling your diet, eating until you are 70-80% full to reduce calorie intake.
2. Increase dietary fiber
Consider increasing your intake of dietary fiber, such as whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, vegetables, potatoes, fruits, which are rich in fiber.
3. Choose high-quality protein
Once fatty liver is detected, many people begin to “quit meat.” Dr. Guo Peng, Chief Physician of the Liver Disease Department at Xiyuan Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, stated in a Healthy Times article that protein has a protective effect on liver cells, promoting the recovery and regeneration of damaged liver cells.
Therefore, you should increase your intake of foods containing high-quality protein like soy products, lean meat, fish, and shrimp, while avoiding excessive consumption of eggs and milk.
4. Eat less stimulating foods
Dr. Guo Peng advises to eat fewer spicy foods, such as onions, scallions, ginger, garlic, chili, coffee, and to avoid increasing appetite. Also, reduce consumption of meat soups, chicken soups, fish soups, to prevent weight gain. Cooking methods should mainly involve steaming, boiling, stewing, braising, and blanching.
Healthy Times data
5. Control fat intake
Dr. Guo Peng mentioned that those with fatty liver should limit the intake of fatty foods.
6. Choose low-sugar fruits
In a 2023 article in Public Health Magazine’s WeChat account by Dr. Cheng Shuquan, Chief Physician in the Department of Liver Diseases at the Third People’s Hospital of Guilin, Guanxi, low-sugar fruits generally refer to fruits with a sugar content of less than 10%, containing 20-40 kcal per 100 grams.
Individuals with fatty liver can eat about 250 grams of low-sugar fruits a day, such as lemons, grapefruits, cherries, snow lotus fruits, guavas, pears, apples, etc.
7. Regularly drink liver-lowering tea
Wu Wenbo, Chief Pharmacist at the Preparation Room of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, mentioned in a Healthy Times article that for people with fatty liver or obesity, eating hawthorn can help digest and reduce fat, making it an excellent liver-protecting food.
You can use dried hawthorn to brew tea. A common liver-protecting and fat-reducing tea recipe consists of 10 grams each of hawthorn and cassia seeds soaked in water for 20 minutes, boiled for 10 minutes, add 6 grams of white chrysanthemum, and simmer for 5 minutes before consuming.
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This article is a compilation from:
â‘ August 19, 2024, Ningbo Evening News, “How Is It Possible! Ningbo 29-Year-Old Woman Becomes Vegetarian for Half a Year, Goes to the Hospital, Shocked! Many People Were Mistaken…”
â‘¡ July 7, 2016, Healthy Times, “Fatty Liver is a Reversible Disease! 7 Dietary Considerations for Daily Life”
â‘¢ July 10, 2023, Public Health Magazine, “Have Fatty Liver, Is There A Special Way to Eat Fruits? Eating Healthy Like This is More Beneficial”
â‘£ September 2, 2016, Healthy Times, “Hawthorn is the Preferred Liver Protector”
Editor: Wang Zhen
Review: Lu Yang
