Grape seed extract may prevent and treat alcohol-induced fatty liver disease

Added 02.06.2009

Yet again grape seed extract / resveratrol is proving to be an extraordinary nutrient; the latest study has found that resveratrol can prevent and treat fatty liver due to diabetes, obesity or alcohol.

What is fatty liver disease?

The American Liver Foundation describes fatty liver as the accumulation of excess fat in the liver cells that could potentially cause liver damage and failure. Fatty liver can develop parallel to other health conditions such as diabetes and high triglycerides; however, alcohol abuse is also a major contributor to fatty liver.

Mortality has increased 450%.

In the UK there are over 15,000 deaths a year because of liver disease, more than 4,500 of which are due to alcohol abuse, says the British Liver Trust. In the past three decades, mortality from liver disease has increased by 450%.

Resveratrol prevents and treats fatty liver.

A study published last year in the American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology has found that resveratrol (a potent antioxidant found naturally in grapes and other fruits) can not only prevent but reverse alcohol-induced fatty liver in animal trials.

Two proteins in our body called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) play a vital role in the breakdown of fat in the liver. Over time, alcohol intake may hinder the activity of these proteins, which leads to a build up of fat in the liver. What is fascinating is that resveratrol was found to increase levels of AMPK and SIRT1 even with alcohol consumption. Adiponectin, a hormone which metabolises fat also increased.

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Dr. Bo Nielsen's comments:

Grape seed extract is a very fascinating nutritional supplement as new research is constantly being published around the world almost daily proving its disease preventive properties. If I had to bring one single supplement to a deserted island, I would certainly bring my grape seed extract supplements! Fatty liver, which might be fatal, is often considered something that exclusively develops in alcoholics; but more and more obese people as well as those with diabetes develop this unpleasant disease for which there is no traditional cure. If my colleagues would start recommending a quality grape seed supplement, in the right dosages, to their patients with fatty liver disease, I believe thousands of lives could be saved each year. Grape seed extract has no side effects.

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