Sleep apnoea worsens fatty liver disease

By naturopath Margaret Jasinska

Recent research has shown that obstructive sleep apnoea and low night time oxygen can lead to the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults as well as children. Sleep apnoea can cause a mild fatty liver to progress to a more severe form of the condition more rapidly.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) describes the accumulation of fat in liver cells in people who drink little or no alcohol. It’s the fastest growing liver disease worldwide in adults and children. It is thought to affect up to 30 percent of the general population and almost 10 percent of all children, and 38 percent of obese children.

This runs alongside the growing incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in adults and children. A more aggressive, inflammatory form of fatty liver called NASH can eventually progress to cirrhosis, with development of liver cancer in adults.

Researchers found that patients with the most severe fatty liver experienced more serious sleep disordered breathing and significantly higher apnoea scores compared to those with less severe fatty liver. Patients with sleep apnoea also had more severe liver scarring than those without apnoea.

According to lead researcher Dr. Sundaram, “These data show that sleep-disordered breathing is an important trigger of oxidative stress that promotes progression of paediatric NAFLD to NASH. We showed that obese adolescents with NAFLD who have apnoea and low night time oxygen have significant scar tissue in their livers, and that NAFLD patients affected by apnoea and low night time oxygen have a greater imbalance between the production of free radicals and their body’s ability to counteract their harmful effects than subjects without apnoea and low oxygen.”

Sleep apnoea is a major stress on the body because it deprives the brain of oxygen throughout the night. It is extremely common in people with a fatty liver and those who carry excess fat on their torso and upper body. These people usually have a fatty tongue. Their tongue grows too large and obstructs the airway when they lay down to sleep. Other factors can cause sleep apnoea such as mucus congestion of the upper respiratory tract and a narrow upper palate. An increasing number of children are developing a narrow upper palate and this can cause breathing difficulties and misaligned teeth.

Internal fat accumulation is usually a result of insulin and leptin resistance. These people’s bodies are not able to use carbohydrate efficiently for energy. They turn it into fat. Insulin resistance causes inability to access stored body fat, so these people typically feel tired and suffer with a lot of hunger and cravings.

My recommendations for sleep apnoea and fatty liver:

Reduce sugar, carbohydrate and alcohol

These foods are what create insulin resistance as well as a fatty liver in the first place.  Carbohydrate-rich foods include sugar, flour, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and grains.  The liver is very proficient at converting these foods into fat.

Base your diet on protein, vegetables and natural fats

These foods will keep you feeling full and will keep your blood sugar level stable throughout the day.  This is very important in order to prevent hypoglycaemia, sugar cravings, foggy head and fatigue. It will also reduce the need to snack. Snacking disrupts insulin and leptin signalling and keeps your body in fat storage mode all day.

When eating protein-rich foods like fish, poultry or red meat, please eat a palm and a half-sized portion. Please include good fats in your diet, like olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and oily fish such as salmon, as well as traditional animal fats and the fat on red meat.  People who don’t eat enough protein and fat usually crave sugar and carbohydrate. For more information see the book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It.

Avoid industrial seed oils

This means avoiding omega 6 rich vegetable oil. Fried foods and packaged foods like chips, crackers and biscuits are usually full of the wrong fats, as are dressings and marinades. A lot of foods marketed as being healthy contain sunflower oil. There is nothing healthy about it. The fragile omega 6 fats become damaged, oxidised and contain cancer-causing aldehydes. These fats are a health disaster.

Increase the amount of muscle on your body

Exercise is wonderful for your health, but some of our patients are dealing with chronic pain, poor mobility, significant fatigue or sleep problems. That can make exercising a real challenge. You don’t have to spend an hour at the gym. Doing some movement is better than doing none at all. A 10-minute stroll around the block is good. If your knees or hips are a problem, sitting in a chair and lifting hand weights is great. Perhaps you could lie on the floor and do some Pilates exercises for your abdominals and legs. When you exercise, your muscles suck glucose out of your bloodstream for their own metabolism. That’s great for type 2 diabetics, people with insulin resistance and anyone wanting to lose weight.

Ultimate Muscle Food powder is a combination of branched chain amino acids, glutamine and HMB (hydroxymethylbutyrate). These are all ingredients that support increased muscle mass, particularly in older individuals.

Reference: 

https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(16)30141-6/abstract

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