Fatty liver affects as many as 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Harvard Health Letter. Since 70 to 90 percent of obese patients develop fatty liver disease, Harvard experts categorize the condition as an obesity complication. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that demonstrates a positive impact on fatty liver in recent studies. Speak to your doctor or health care provider about vitamin E supplementation if you have fatty liver disease or if you are at risk of developing it.
Causes
Fatty liver occurs when fat cells accrue in the organ. The presence of the fat places the patient at risk for liver inflammation. Harvard researchers view insulin resistance as the main cause of fatty liver and hypothesize that both conditions stem from obesity. In obese, insulin-resistant individuals, the relationship between the muscles, the fat cells and the liver does not function normally. Patients lose the ability to respond to the digestive hormone insulin, so it builds up in their blood along with high levels of blood sugar and fats. Too much circulating insulin, blood sugar and fats leads to fatty liver as well as more serious complications such as diabetes and heart problems.
Antioxidants & Inflammation
The powerful antioxidant qualities of vitamin E protect the body from the damaging effects of oxidative stress and inflammation, two agents that tend to worsen the effects of fatty liver. According to a November 2007 study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, high doses of vitamin E significantly decreased the presence of inflammatory proteins -- specifically C-reactive protein. This research suggests that vitamin E may treat the inflammation associated with fatty liver.
Research
Vitamin E also demonstrates the ability to significantly enhance the effects of insulin-resistance drugs and improve fatty liver disease. According to a May 2011 review conducted by researchers from the University of Western Australia, vitamin E supplementation combined with antihyperglycemic drugs such as pioglitazone -- marketed as Actos in the U.S. -- minimized the abnormal retention of fat within the liver. This review appeared in the journal "Nature Reviews Endocrinology."
Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Left untreated, fatty liver progresses to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a serious liver inflammation that can induce cirrhosis. According to a 2010 study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine, vitamin E showed the ability to improve liver function tests regardless of weight loss. Researchers recruited non-diabetic patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and supplemented them with vitamin E for 96 weeks. The subjects' liver levels improved with vitamin E even though the number of fat cells they had did not change. Researchers ascribed this improvement to the antioxidant action of vitamin E. These results premiered at the 2010 American College of Gastroenterology's Annual Scientific Meeting.
References
- Harvard Health Letter; When the Liver Gets Fatty; January 2001
- National Institutes of Health; Office of Dietary Supplements; Vitamin E; June 2011
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Effect of High-Dose Alpha-Tocopherol Supplementation on Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease; S. Devaraj, et al.; November 2007
- "Nature Reviews. Endocrinology"; Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Diabetes Mellitus: Pathogenesis and Treatment; B.W. Smith, et al.; May 2011
- Eurekalert; Encouraging Findings Suggest New Avenues for Treating Liver Disease in Overweight Americans; October 2010
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