Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for NAFLD & NASH

How can my diet help prevent or treat NAFLD?

If you don’t have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD (also referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD), you may be able to prevent the condition by eating a healthy diet, limiting your portion sizes, and maintaining a healthy weight.

If you have NAFLD, your doctor may recommend gradually losing weight if you are overweight or have obesity.

Your doctor may suggest changes to your diet such as

• limiting your intake of fats, which are high in calories and increase your chance of developing obesity.
• replacing saturated fats and trans fats in your diet with unsaturated fats, especially omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce your chance of heart disease if you have NAFLD.
• eating more low-glycemic index foods—such as most fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods affect your blood glucose less than high-glycemic index foods, such as white bread, white rice, and potatoes.
• avoiding foods and drinks that contain large amounts of simple sugars, especially fructose. Fructose is found in sweetened soft drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea, and juices. Table sugar, called sucrose, is rapidly changed to glucose and fructose during digestion and is therefore a major source of fructose.

If you have NAFLD, you should minimize alcohol use, which can further damage your liver.