Green tea and physical exercise are effective against fatty liver

Fatty liver disease will affect more than 100 million people in a decade. This is a prediction linked to the growing number of people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, conditions that favor its appearance, along with excessive alcohol consumption.

fatty liver can progress to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis which can be deadly. That’s why scientists are searching for effective treatments in hopes of saving millions of lives.

A team from Pennsylvania State University, led by Dr. Joshua Lambert, has been investigating with his team the effects that green tea extract and exercise have in mice.

They had previously discovered that the combination of exercise and desteinated green tea extract could improve cardiovascular health and drastically reduce body mass of mice fed a high-fat diet.

Now, they have verified that it also helps to mitigate fatty liver of non-alcoholic origin. The research has been published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

How was the study developed?

For the study, the researchers They separated the mice into three groups and a control group. The first group was fed a high-fat diet and green tea extract and exercised by running on a treadmill. The second group was fed a high-fat diet and green tea extract, but did not exercise. The third group ate a high-fat diet without green tea extract and exercised. The mice were maintained on their assigned diet and training routines for a period of 16 weeks.

What were your results?

The group that had been fed a high-fat diet, green tea extract, and exercised, had 75% less lipid deposits in their livers than the control group mice.

The group fed a high-fat diet and green tea extract who did not exercise had 50% less fat in their livers. Finally, the group fed a high-fat diet without green tea extract that exercised also had 50% less fat in their livers.

The researchers then measured the protein and fat content in the mice’s feces and found that the group that consumed green tea extract and exercised had higher levels of fecal protein and lipids. which meant that they were not absorbing all the fat from their diet, some of it passed through his digestive system and came out with the feces.

Dr Lambert explains that “by examining the livers of these mice after the end of the study and analyzing their feces, we saw that the mice that consumed green tea extract and exercised actually they were processing nutrients differently: their bodies handled food differently.

How does green tea work?

The research team believes that polyphenols in green tea interact with digestive enzymes secreted in the small intestine and partially inhibit the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in food. So if a mouse doesn’t digest the fat in its diet, that fat and the calories associated with it pass through the mouse’s digestive system, and a certain amount ends up being removed with their feces.

The fact that in mice treated with green tea extract and exercise increased the expression of genes related to the formation of new mitochondria, the cellular organs that are responsible for transforming glucose into energy, may be significant.

Can the result be extrapolated to humans?

The combination of green tea and exercise could have health benefits for people but we do not yet have clinical data with people. Dr. Lambert advises caution in people who decide to experiment with these health measures on their own. However, he adds that “it would be wise for people to do more physical activity, and will replace high-calorie drinks with desteinated green tea“.