Omega -3 Fatty Acids Inhibit the Onset of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

By Kyle J. Norton

The liver is the largest internal organ found in the human which plays an essential role in filtering the blood from the digestive system before passing them to other parts of the body.

The liver also produces cholesterol, a waxy substance which aids digestion, builds cell membranes and produces vitamin D and steroid hormones.

Liver disease is a class of medical conditions characterized by the reducing partly or completely the function of the liver, including liver failure.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition of fatty liver diseases as a result of the accumulated of fat in the liver, not caused by abusive alcohol consumption.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is emerging as a widespread condition in the US, approximately 30% of the adult population are obese.

The disease is also manifested by steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis.

Obesity is associated linearly to the prevalent risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

In conventional medicine, treatments of NAFLD mainly focus on weight loss accompanied to pharmacologic therapy in control of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.

As of today, there is no effective pharmacologic therapy approved specifically and directly for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

The exact causes of NAFLD aren't well understood. Some researchers suggested that certain risk factors such as long-term use of certain medications(8), genetic preposition(8), insulin resistance(8), high cholesterol(8) and triglycerides(8) in the blood, polycystic ovary syndrome(8), metabolic syndrome(8), obesity(8), and type 2 diabetes(8) are associated with the onset of the disease.

Recent studies also found that people with obstructive sleep apnea(11), underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism(10), and underactive pituitary gland (hypopituitarism) (9) also at an increased risk of the NALFD.

Some researchers suggested that an unhealthy diet such as a high-fat diet may also have a strong implication on NAFLD(12)(13).

Omega-3 fatty acids are phytochemicals in the class of lipids, found abundantly in deepsea fisk, dark-green leafy vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, etc.

The three main components of Omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

On finding a potential phytochemical for the treatment of chronic liver diseases, researchers examined the efficacy of C20-22 ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on NAFLD in adults and children.

According to the results of the experiment, humans with NAFLD and NASH; and preclinical mouse models of NASH, showed a high abundance of hepatic saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) fat, but a low abundance of hepatic C20-22 ω3 PUFA.

In other words, the imbalance of such change has been found to induce hepatic lipotoxicity, inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis.

Furthermore, recent meta-analyses and clinical trials in the evaluation of the capacity of C20-22 ω3 PUFA suggested that dietary supplementation improves health outcomes in adults and children with preexisting NAFLD.

Additionally, diets supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22 : 6,ω3) alone or with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20 : 5,ω3) are tolerated and effective at lowering liver fat in NAFLD patients.

Based on the evidence, researchers said, "dietary supplementation with C20-22 ω3 PUFA should be considered as a viable and effective option to lower liver fat in obese adults and children with NAFLD".

Taken altogether, Omega-3 fatty acids may be considered a functional food for the prevention and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver,  pending the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Omega-3 fatty acids and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in adults and children: where do we stand? by Spooner MH1, Jump DB. (PubMed)
(2) Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)Treatment in Phytochemicals Perspective by Kyle J. Norton