People with fatty liver disease struggle a lot, and scientists try to find ways on how to help them.
A new study shows that resistant starch can help their bodies function better.
Let's find out more about the research and how it works.
More about the starch
Resistant starch is like a special kind of fiber that doesn't get digested in your stomach but instead goes to your large intestine and helps your gut work better.
Now, researchers did a test with people who have a liver problem called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
They found that eating resistant starch every day can change the bacteria in your gut and make your liver healthier.
Right now, there isn't a medicine to treat NAFLD, so doctors usually suggest eating better and exercising to make it better.
More about the experiment
The researchers wanted to see if resistant starch could help with NAFLD because earlier studies showed that people with this liver issue have messed-up gut bacteria.
So, they got 200 people with NAFLD to join their study. Half of them ate resistant starch, and the other half ate regular starch for four months.
After the four months, the people who had the resistant starch had much lower fat levels in their liver compared to the others.
They also had healthier liver enzymes and fewer things that make their liver swollen and sick.
Even if they didn't lose weight, the resistant starch still helped their liver.
Why it's important
So, this study shows that adding resistant starch to your diet can be a good way to make your liver healthier if you have NAFLD.
It's an easy and affordable way to help your liver, and you don't need to do hard exercises or lose weight to get these benefits.
