Consuming Berries or Berry Products May Help Prevent Development of Liver Disease

It is always great when a natural remedy is presented to combat the effects of a chronic disease.  It is even better when that remedy is tasty, readily available, and quite inexpensive.  A new study out of Finland, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found that a diet rich in berries may reduce an enzyme that is a well known marker for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome.  In fact, the consumption of berries may decrease the presence of the enzyme by at least twenty-three percent, according to the study.

The study examined the effects of consuming berries and various industrial berry products in a group of sixty-one women, with the average age of the women being forty-two years old.  All of the women were slightly overweight and randomly separated into two groups.  One group received some type of lifestyle intervention and were provided an average daily dose of 163 mg of northern berries every day.  The other group was only given lifestyle intervention and was not provided with any berries.  Thus, the only lifestyle difference between the two groups was the consumption of berries or berry products.  They were monitored for a twenty week period, as the researchers looked for risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome and liver disease.  They found that there was statistically significant difference between the enzyme levels in the berry group versus the non berry eaters.

The researchers believe that the twenty-three percent decrease in the enzyme may enhance the liver function, which may in turn reduce inflammation and even decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.  Since the only absolute cure for liver disease is to have a liver transplant, it is wonderful to hear that simply eating more berries may contribute to better overall liver health and may provide protective properties against the development of the disease.  Additionally, it is always better to prevent the disease, rather than trying to manage its debilitating symptoms later.  Further, because nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is most often associated with obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance, it is therefore a manifestation of metabolic syndrome.  If a person tries to prevent metabolic syndrome from occurring, or treats it immediately after its onset, it is much more likely that liver disease will be prevented.  So, you may want to think about adding berries to your diet.  They may not only protect that heart, but may also bolster the health of your liver as well.