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Sugary and starchy foods such as toast and potatoes may cause damage to your liver, a study claims.
According to Southport, Merseyside medical expert Dr. David Unwin, these foods can cause a problem since they are rapidly converted into glucose. The liver serves as the body’s glucose storage.
GGT, a blood test for a protein called gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, is a measure of an individual’s liver health. If the levels are high, your liver may be under pressure and is usually a sign that you are taking too much alcohol. However, some of Dr. Unwin’s patients who drink very little or nothing at all also had raised GGT levels and developed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
In a study Dr. Unwin conducted, 69 patients who had very high levels of GGT were subjected to a low-carb diet for 13 months.
To cut out all added sugar and decrease starchy carbs, the participants ate mainly green vegetables, lower-sugar fruits (such as blueberries), as well as nuts, fish, eggs, and meat. The amount of healthy fats from butter and olive oil were also increased in their diets.
Their findings revealed that the participants’ GGT readings declined by an average of 47%.
“That makes sense because the liver is the first destination of new glucose supplies,” Dr. Unwin explained.
Aside from GGT levels, improvement in other key health markers such as blood sugar and weight were also observed.
The research, which was supported by The British Liver Trust, suggests that low-carb diets could treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and help prevent premature deaths from liver disease.
