Liver Protection Green leafy vegetables like spinach or rocket protect us from fatty liver

Salad can prevent a fatty liver

Overweight, alcohol, medications and diabetes can lead to fatty liver disease. Almost every third adult in Germany has a so-called fatty liver. This is the main risk factor for the development of dangerous cirrhosis or liver cancer. There is currently no recognized treatment. However, a Swedish research team recently found that lettuce and green leafy vegetables can protect against fatty liver disease.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found in a recent study that inorganic nitrate from green leafy vegetables reduces the accumulation of fat in the liver. This represents an important discovery in that there is currently no treatment for fatty liver. The research results were recently presented in the journal "PNAS".

Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and rocket are good nitrate suppliers. Nitrate is said to protect the liver against obesity, according to a recent study. (Image: lecic / fotolia.com)

Fatty liver - the silent suffering

Our liver suffers silently but with dramatic consequences. The fatty liver is an extremely common complaint. Almost every third adult in the industrialized countries is affected, according to the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD). Often the disease remains undetected. A feeling of pressure in the right upper abdomen, chronic tiredness and difficulty concentrating may indicate a fatty liver. If the liver is fatigued, severe sequelae such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, heart attack or stroke are at risk.

Nitrate lowers the fat content in the liver

A greater proportion of green leafy vegetables in the diet can reduce the risk of liver steatosis or fatty liver. The Swedish research team comes to this conclusion in its studies on mice. "When we gave dietary nitrate to mice that had previously been fed on high-fat and high-sugar diets, we noticed a significantly lower fat content in the liver," reports Professor Mattias Carlström from Karolinska Institutet in a press release on the study results. These findings were confirmed by the researchers in two different cell culture studies on human liver cells.

Can salad contribute to the prevention of type 2 diabetes?

In addition to a lower risk of fatty liver, the team also observed a reduction in blood pressure and improved blood sugar regulation in mice with type 2 diabetes. The healing effects of leafy green vegetables are linked to the reduction of oxidative stress. This occurs when more and more free radicals form in the body. These are highly reactive molecules that bind to and damage all sorts of body cells. "We believe that these diseases are linked by similar mechanisms in which oxidative stress affects the signaling of nitric oxide," Dr. Carlström.

Green leafy vegetables reduce oxidative stress

"We are now demonstrating an alternative route to nitric oxide production, where more nitrate in our diet can be converted to nitric oxide in our body," explains the professor. So far, nobody in research has focused on nitrate. However, according to the Swedish research team, this is the key to liver health. The team now wants to conduct a clinical trial to clearly prove that nitrate can protect against fatty liver disease.

200 grams of green leafy vegetables daily

The Swedish researchers explain that more studies are needed to unambiguously confirm the role of nitrate. Nevertheless, they now advise to take more green leafy vegetables. Salad, spinach and arugula in particular are particularly rich in nitrates. "With about 200 grams of high-nitrate leafy vegetables per day, the observed protective effects can be achieved," says Carlström. He regrets that too many people today are not eating enough vegetables. (Vb)