Modest wine consumption helps reduce fat in liver: Study

Researchers are challenging conventional thinking, with a study showing that modest wine consumption may be good for health as it helps to reduce quantity of fat in the liver.

Researchers are challenging conventional thinking, with a study showing that modest wine consumption may be good for health as it helps to reduce quantity of fat in the liver.

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The research at Spain's University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU studied the effect of reservatrol — a molecule of plant origin present in wine and several fruits — in rats with non-alcoholic hepatic esteatosis, an accumulation of fat in the liver when alcohol is not involved.

Elizabeth Hijona, the author of the research, said the results show that one should be careful with food habits, given that a simple change in the periods of fasting, combined with a diet rich in carbohydrates, can cause serious liver problems.

According to Hijona, the administration of natural antioxidants such as resveratrol — two glasses of wine a day, for example — helps to considerably reduce the accumulation of fat in the liver, the Science Daily online reported.

Resveratrol has antioxidant capacities and it is found in many fruits such as grape, walnuts, peanuts, etc. The aim of the study was to examine if resveratrol reduces ESNA in a model of esteatosis in rats.

The research also showed that the administration of resveratrol reduces the number of Kupffer cells in the liver — the presence of these cells is associated with the progression of ESNA — and so can inhibit the development of other injuries to the liver, such as fibrosis, the report said.