Oily fish, coffee and walnuts: Dietary treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 1 Mechanisms of action and potential health benefits of foods

Food	Active components	Metabolic benefits	Hepatic benefits
Oily fish/fish oil	Omega-3 PUFAs (EPA, DHA)	↑ Insulin sensitivity	↓ LFTs
		↑ Adiponectin/PPARγ	↑ Fatty acid oxidation
		↓ Inflammation	↓ Hepatic steatosis
		↓ Serum lipids
		↓ Blood pressure
Coffee	Caffeine	↓ BMI	↓ LFTs
	Diterpenes	↑ Insulin sensitivity	↓ Development of NAFLD
	Polyphenols (chlorogenic acid)	↓ Development of T2DM	↓ Development of HCC
		↓ Development of CVD	↓ Severity of NASH
Nuts	MUFAs and PUFAs	↓ Serum lipids	↓ LFTs
	Vitamin E	↓ Blood pressure	↓ Development of NAFLD
	Phytochemicals (phenolic acid)	↓ Development of T2DM	↓ Oxidative stress
		↓ Cardiovascular mortality
		↓ All cause mortality
Tea	Polyphenols (catechins such as ECGC), Caffeine	↓ BMI	↓ LFTs
	Flavonol glycosides	↑ Insulin sensitivity	↓ Hepatic steatosis
Red wine	Phenols (resveratrol)	↓ Serum lipids	↓ Oxidative stress
		↑ Insulin sensitivity
		↓ Cardiovascular mortality
Avocado	MUFAs and PUFAs	↑ Adiponectin/PPARγ	↓ LFTs
	Phytosterols (β-sitosterol)	↑ Satiety and ↓ Body weight	↓ Oxidative stress
	Phytochemicals (carotene, lutein, phenolics)	↓ Inflammation	↓ Hepatic steatosis
	Fiber	↓ Blood glucose
		↓ Serum lipids
Olive oil	MUFAs (oleic acid)	↓ BMI	↓ LFTs
		↑ Insulin sensitivity	↓ Oxidative stress
		↓ Serum lipids	↓ Hepatic steatosis

BMI: Body mass index; CVD: Cardiovascular disease; DHA: Docosahexaenoic acids; ECGC: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate; EPA: Eicosapentaenoic acid; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; LFT: Liver function test; MUFA: Monounsaturated fatty acid; n-3: Omega-3; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; PPARγ: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma; PUFA: Polyunsaturated fatty acid; T2DM: Type 2 diabetes mellitus.