The epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one
of my favorite topics on this blog, due to the liver's role as
the body's metabolic "grand central station", as Dr. Philip Wood
puts it. The liver plays a critical part in the regulation of
sugar, insulin, and lipid levels in the blood. Many of the
routine blood tests administered in the doctor's office (blood
glucose, cholesterol, etc.) partially reflect liver function.
NAFLD is an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver that
impairs its function and can lead to severe liver inflammation
(NASH), and in a small percentage of people, liver cancer. An
estimated 20-30% of people in industrial nations suffer from
NAFLD, a shockingly high prevalence (1). I previously posted on
dietary factors I believe are involved in NAFLD. In rodents,
feeding a large amount of sugar or industrial seed oils (corn
oil, etc.) promotes NAFLD, whereas fats such as butter and
coconut oil do not (2). In human infants, enteric feeding with
industrial seed oils causes se