The Role of Carbohydrate Related Factors in Pathogenesis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Review

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is among the most common causes of chronic liver disease worldwide and its prevalence is increasing nowadays. This review article discusses the role of carbohydrate in NAFLD. We reviewed 57 papers out of which 48 randomized controlled trials and review articles with good quality were collected. The key words used for the search were: “Carbohydrate”, “Fructose”, “Weight”, “Low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet”, in combination with “NAFLD” for searching in “Pubmed”, ”Science direct” and “Google Scholar” databases. We limited our search to studies published in English. The available data provided adequate scientific evidence which pointed toward the considerable potential effects between high intake of carbohydrates, fructose, high glycemic index foods and low dietary fiber and incidence of the NAFLD. This review provided sufficient evidence that higher consumption of carbohydrates and fructose sources may exacerbate NAFLD which leads to more accumulation of fat in the liver; while higher intake of fiber and low GI carbohydrate tends to ameliorate NAFLD.