Food Therapy: Green Tea, in Prevention and Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Green tea may be considered as a functional food in lower risk and treatment for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a respectable institute opinionated.

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease is a condition caused by over accumulated of fat in the liver.

Green tea, a precious drink processes numbers of health benefit known to almost everyone in Asia and Western world. However, as yin in nature herbal medicine,or food, long term injection of large amounts may obstruct the balance of yin-yang, induced "yin excessive syndrome" or "yang vacuity syndrome" including weaken immunity and painful case of GERD,... according to traditional Chinese medicine's Yin-Yang theory. Adding a slice of ginger will solve the adversion.

According to the University of Connecticut, Storrs, the efficacy of green tea for treatment of obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated to polyphenolic catechins in induction of hypolipidemic, thermogenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.

These chemical compound have also found to mitigate the occurrence and progression of NAFLD.

Dr. Masterjohn C, the lead author said, "(The phytochemical compounds) demonstrating the hepatoprotective properties of green tea and its catechins and the proposed mechanisms by which these targeted dietary agents protect against NAFLD"

Furthermore, in mice fed on a high-fat diet for 24 weeks., then injected with EGCG (10, 20 and 40 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), ip), for 4 weeks, researchers found that treated mice showed a significant improvement of high-fat diet in induced the body weight, grade 2 or 3 liver fatty degeneration (steatosis, lobular inflammation and ballooning), severe hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance..

The phytocheimcal EGCG, in dose-dependent also enhanced insulin clearance and upregulated IDE protein expression and enzyme activity in regulated levels of glucose in the liver of treated mice.

In fact EGCG not only promoted weigh loss but also attenuated symptoms of mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Promisingly, in the study of green tea polyphenols (GTP) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Zucker fatty (ZF) rats, researches also indicated that, GTP intervention not only decreased weight gain and significantly lowered visceral fat but also reduced fasting serum insulin, glucose and lipids levels, through ameliorated expression of hepatic TG accumulation and cytoplasmic lipid droplet as well as diminished hepatic lipogenesis and triglycerides out flux from liver.

Taking together, green tea has expressed a significant enhancement in reduced risk and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, through many aspects. But large amount intake regularly should be taken with care to prevent toxicity.