The Association between Nuts Intake and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Risk: a Case-Control Study

Year Published: 2020

Omid Asbaghi, Hadi Emamat, Mahnaz Rezaei Kelishadi, and Azita Hekmatdoost

Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) disease is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. In this case-control study, 196 participants with NAFLD were recruited and dietary information from a food frequesncy questionnaire was collected. This data was compared to data from 803 participants who did not have NAFLD. Nuts in the food frequency questionnaire included almonds, peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios.

Key Findings: This study did not find an association between nut intake and NAFLD, but several factors likely contributed to this finding. First, nut intake was also positively associated with daily caloric intake; therefore the dietary patterns in which nuts were consumed in this Iranian population may not be generalizable to the global population. Authors also note that various forms of nuts (boiled, roasted raw, salted, and unsalted) should be examined for further clarification.