Vitamin E Found To Be Important in Preventing Fatty Liver Disease
A higher intake of alpha-tocopherol in early childhood is associated with a lower chance of elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in adolescence, according to a study published in the journal Hepatology. Jennifer A. Wu Baidal, M.D., professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and her colleagues found this relationship by observing 528 children over 10 years.
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The study included children 3 years old at the time of the start of the observations. Each kept a food diary and had regular blood tests.
The researchers found that low alpha-tocopherol intake in early childhood led to an elevated body mass index (BMI) and the formation of a predisposition to liver disease in 22 % of cases. The higher the intake of vitamin E, either with food or as a supplement, the lower the ALT level was in the study participants at the onset of puberty. The factors were found to be correlated in 95 % of the cases. The timing of dietary adjustments also mattered: the earlier the alpha-tocopherol deficiency was eliminated, the better the ALT scores were later.
"Our results suggest that modifiable risk factors, particularly vitamin E intake, should be considered in future interventions to determine approaches to the prevention of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease," the authors wrote.
Sources: https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hep.29629
11 November 2021