Category: BEAUTY

Hot flashes and sleep or mood changes are well-known, troublesome symptoms that may occur during perimenopause and menopause. Now, one survey suggests nearly 80% of midlife women use cannabis to ease certain symptoms, such as mood issues and trouble sleeping.

Mounting numbers of US states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use in recent years. This wave of acceptance runs alongside skepticism in some quarters concerning FDA-approved menopause treatment options, including hormone therapy. But a lack of long-term research data surrounding cannabis use has led one Harvard expert to question how safe it may be, even while acknowledging its likely effectiveness for certain menopause woes.

“More and more patients tell me every year that they’ve tried cannabis or CBD (cannabidiol, an active ingredient in cannabis), particularly for sleep or anxiety,” says Dr. Heather Hirsch, head of the Menopause and Midlife Clinic at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Adding to its appeal is that cannabis is now legal in so many places and works acutely for a couple of hours. You don’t need a doctor’s prescription. Socially, it may be easier to justify than using a medication. But why is there a movement toward saying okay to something that has unknown long-term effects, more than something that’s been studied and proven safe?” she asks.

Survey reports on who uses cannabis, why, and how

The new Harvard-led survey, published in the journal Menopause, looked at patterns of cannabis use in 131 women in perimenopause — the often years-long stretch before periods cease — along with 127 women who had passed through menopause. Participants were recruited through online postings on social media sites and an online recruitment platform. Nearly all survey respondents were white and most were middle-class, according to income reporting.

The vast majority (86%) were current cannabis users. Participants were split on whether they used cannabis for medical reasons, recreational purposes, or both. Nearly 79% endorsed it to alleviate menopause-related symptoms. Of those, 67% said cannabis helps with sleep disturbance, while 46% reported it helps improve mood and anxiety.

Perimenopausal women reported worse menopausal symptoms than their postmenopausal peers, as well as greater cannabis use to address their symptoms. More than 84% of participants reported smoking cannabis, while 78% consumed marijuana edibles, and nearly 53% used vaping oils.

One glaring limitation of the analysis is its self-selected group of participants, which lacked diversity and might skew results. But Dr. Hirsch wasn’t surprised by the high proportion reporting regular cannabis use. “I wouldn’t be surprised if those numbers reflect the broader population,” she says.

How might cannabis help menopause symptoms?

It makes sense that midlife women reported cannabis improves anxiety, mood, and sleep, Dr. Hirsch says. The drug likely helps all of these symptoms by “dimming the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making part of our brain.”

For many women, anxiety spikes during perimenopause, she notes. Common stressors during that time, such as aging parents or an emptying nest, add to the effects of dipping hormones. “It’s that feeling of, ‘I can’t turn my brain off.’ It’s really disturbing because they get in bed and can’t fall asleep, so they’re more tired, moody, and cranky the next day,” she explains. Dimming the prefrontal cortex enables people to calm down.

Hot flashes, often cited as the most common menopause symptom, did not improve as much from cannabis use, according to survey respondents. That too makes sense, Dr. Hirsch says, because the hypothalamus — the brain region considered the body’s thermostat — isn’t believed to be significantly affected by the drug.

No research yet on long-term effects

Given a lack of clinical trials objectively testing the effectiveness and safety of cannabis to manage menopause symptoms, more research is clearly needed.

“If people are finding relief from cannabis, great. But is it safe? We think so, but we don’t know,” she says. “There are no studies of middle-aged women using cannabis for 10 years, for as long as menopause symptoms often last. Are there going to be long-term effects on memory? On lung function? We don’t know.”

About the Author

Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch

Maureen Salamon is executive editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch. She began her career as a newspaper reporter and later covered health and medicine for a wide variety of websites, magazines, and hospitals. Her work has … See Full Bio View all posts by Maureen Salamon

When I worked at Greenpeace for five years before I attended medical school, a popular slogan was, “Think globally, act locally.” As I write this blog about climate change and hay fever, I wonder if wiping off my computer that I’ve just sneezed all over due to my seasonal allergies counts as abiding by this aphorism? (Can you clean a computer screen with a tissue?)

Come to think of it, my allergies do seem to be worse in recent years. So do those of my patients. It seems as if I’m prescribing nasal steroids and antihistamines, recommending over-the-counter eye drops, and discussing ways to avoid allergens much more frequently than in the past. Are people more stressed out, working harder, sleeping less, and thus more susceptible to allergies? Or, are the allergies themselves actually worse? Could the worsening of climate change explain why the rates of allergies and asthma have been climbing steadily over the last several decades?

There’s more pollen and a longer pollen season

Seasonal allergies tend to be caused disproportionately by trees in the spring, grasses in the summer, and ragweed in the fall. The lengthening interval of “frost-free days” (the time from the last frost in the spring to the first frost in the fall) allows more time for people to become sensitized to the pollen — the first stage in developing allergies — as well as to then become allergic to it. No wonder so many more of my patients have been complaining of itchy eyes, runny nose, and wheezing.

In many places in the United States, due to climate change, spring is now starting earlier and fall is ending later, which, yearly, allows more time for plants and trees to grow, flower, and produce pollen. This leads to a longer allergy season. According to a study at Rutgers University, from the 1990s until 2010, pollen season started in the contiguous United States on average three days earlier, and there was a 40% increase in the annual total of daily airborne pollen. More recent research in North America shows rising concentrations of sneeze-inducing pollens and lengthening pollen seasons from 1990 to 2018, largely driven by climate change.

Climate change is increasing the potency of pollen

In addition to longer allergy seasons, allergy sufferers have other things to fret about with climate change. When exposed to increased levels of carbon dioxide, plants grow to a larger size and produce more pollen. Some studies have shown that ragweed pollen, a main culprit of allergies for many people, becomes up to 1.7 times more potent under conditions of higher carbon dioxide. With warming climates, the geographic distribution of pollen-producing plants is expanding as well; for example, due to warmer temperatures, ragweed species can now inhabit climates that were formerly inhospitable.

Other unfortunate consequences of climate change, which we are already witnessing, include coastal flooding as the arctic ice sheets melt, causing the sea levels to rise; and more extreme weather, such as storms and droughts. With the increased coastal flooding, mold outbreaks are more common, which can trigger or worsen allergic reactions and asthma. More extreme weather events, such as thunderstorms, are associated with an increase in emergency department visits for asthma attacks. (It is unclear why this is the case, but one theory suggests that the winds associated with thunderstorms kick up a tremendous amount of pollen.) Allergies and asthma are closely associated, with many people, this author included, having “allergic asthma” that is likely to worsen as climate change progresses.

So what can an allergy sufferer do?

Even as the allergic environment changes in conjunction with our climate, there are steps you can take to manage the impact of seasonal allergies and reduce sneezing and itchy eyes.

• Work with your doctor to treat your allergies with medications such as antihistamines, nasal steroids, eye drops, and asthma medications if needed. If you take other medications that may interact with over-the-counter allergy medications such as Benadryl or Sudafed, let your doctor know.
• Discuss with your doctor whether you would benefit from allergy testing, a referral to an allergist, or prevention methods like allergy injections or sublingual immunotherapy, which, by exposing your body in a controlled manner, slowly conditions your immune system not to respond to environmental allergens.
• Track the local pollen count and avoid extended outdoor activities during peak pollen season, on peak pollen days. However, most doctors would agree that it isn’t healthy to cut back on exercise, hobbies, or time in nature, so this is a less than satisfying solution at best. You could plan for an indoor exercise program on high-pollen days.
• Wash clothing and bathe or shower after being outdoors to remove pollen.
• Close windows during peak allergy season or on windy days.
• Wear a mask when outdoors during high pollen days, and keep car windows rolled up when driving.
• If your house has been flooded, be on the lookout for mold. There are services that you can hire that will inspect your home for mold, and remove the mold if it is thought to be harmful.
• Have as small a carbon footprint as possible and plant trees. Even though they are responsible for some of the pollen that many of us choke and gag on each spring, summer, and fall, trees contribute to their environment by taking in carbon dioxide and producing the oxygen we breathe, thereby improving air quality. We have to protect and plant trees, even as allergy sufferers, as climate change is arguably the biggest threat that we, as a species, now face.

About the Author

Peter Grinspoon, MD, Contributor

Dr. Peter Grinspoon is a primary care physician, educator, and cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital; an instructor at Harvard Medical School; and a certified health and wellness coach. He is the author of the forthcoming book Seeing … See Full Bio View all posts by Peter Grinspoon, MD

Low energy, brain fog, and lung problems are a few of the lingering aftereffects reported by some people who have had COVID-19. Could gut troubles also fall among the constellation of chronic symptoms that people with long-haul COVID experience? And if so, what do experts suggest to help ease this?

What happens to the gut during a COVID infection?

As we head into the fourth year since COVID-19 became a global health emergency, hundreds of millions of people around the globe have been infected with the virus that causes it. Since 2020, we’ve known that the virus particles that cause lung illness also infect the gastrointestinal (GI) tract: the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, and colon. This can trigger abdominal pain and diarrhea, which often — but not always — clear up as people recover.

We know chronic gut problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) sometimes occur even after illness caused by microorganisms like Campylobacter and Salmonella are cured. Could this happen with COVID-19?

What is long COVID?

While most people who get COVID-19 will survive, medical science is becoming aware of a group of people suffering from lasting declines in health. Well-reported long COVID aftereffects include tiredness, breathing difficulty, heart rhythm changes, and muscle pain. But few people, even in the medical field, are aware that long COVID symptoms may include chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Why might the gut be involved in long COVID?

It is not clear why chronic gut symptoms might occur after a COVID-19 infection. One possible insight is a well-known syndrome called post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) that may occur after a stomach flu (gastroenteritis).

Long after the bug causing the illness is gone, a change in gut-brain signaling may occur. A complex network of nerves connects the gut and the brain, and controls communication between different parts of the gut. These nerves tell body organs to produce digestive juices, alert you to the need to go to the bathroom, or prevent you from having another serving of stuffing at the Thanksgiving table.

The nerve network of the gut is so complicated that it is sometimes called the second brain. When the nerves are working well, you won’t notice a thing: you eat without pain, you move your bowels with ease, you have no GI worries. But what if the nerves are not working well? Then, even if the process of digestion remains normal, you may frequently have symptoms like pain or a distressing change in your bowel movements, such as diarrhea or constipation.

Once known as functional GI disorders, these health problems are now called disordered gut-brain interactions (DGBIs). When viruses and bacteria infect the gut, experts believe they may prompt a change in gut-brain signaling that can cause a DGBI like IBS to develop.

What to do if you’re noticing long-lasting gut problems after COVID-19 infection

We still do not know conclusively if COVID-19 can cause a long-term change in gut-brain messaging that leads to IBS or other disordered gut-brain interactions. But increasing evidence suggests that GI distress lasting six months or longer might be a symptom of long COVID. While we wait for more evidence, some GI specialists, including myself, recommend trying approaches that help relieve irritable bowel syndrome and other DGBIs.

If you are suffering from chronic abdominal pain and a change in your bowel movements after having had COVID-19, talk to your primary care doctor. Many health conditions have similar symptoms, including viral or bacterial infections, inflammation, or even cancers. A thorough exam can help to rule out certain conditions.

If the problem persists, do not suffer alone or feel embarrassed to act! Seek help if severe pain or changes in bowel movements are harming your quality of life or affecting daily activities. Talk with your doctor about the possibility that your chronic gut symptoms might be a form of long COVID. Find out if they can recommend helpful treatments or suggest a referral to a GI specialist. As research continues, new information may be available.

About the Author

Christopher D. Vélez, MD, Contributor

Dr. Christopher Vélez is an attending gastroenterologist in the Center for Neurointestinal Health of Massachusetts General Hospital's division of gastroenterology and the MGH department of medicine. He focuses on neurogastroenterology and motility disorders of the esophagus, … See Full Bio View all posts by Christopher D. Vélez, MD

Loneliness is complicated. You can feel lonely when you lack friends and miss companionship, or when you’re surrounded by people — even friends and family.

Either way, loneliness can have devastating health effects. It boosts risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, depression, high blood pressure, declining thinking skills, inability to perform daily living tasks, and even an early death. The remedy? Below we offer three ways to ease loneliness and add happiness by helping you expand your social network.

Taking the first steps

Not all loneliness can be solved by seeking out people. Loneliness that occurs despite relationships may require talk therapy and a journey that looks inward.

Reducing loneliness caused by a lack of relationships is more of an outward journey to make new friends. “That’s a challenge as we get older, because people are often established in their social groups and aren’t as available as they might have been in a different phase of life. So you have to be more entrepreneurial and work harder to make friends than you once did,” says Dr. Jacqueline Olds, a psychiatrist at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital and the coauthor of two books on loneliness.

Trying these strategies can help.

1. Seek like-minded souls

Being around people who share your interests gives you a head start on making friends: you already have something in common.

Start by considering your interests. Are you a voracious reader, a history lover, a movie aficionado, a gardener, a foodie, a puppy parent, or an athlete? Are you passionate about a cause, your community, or your heritage? Do you collect things? Do you love classic cars? Do you enjoy sprucing up old furniture? Maybe you want to learn something new, like how to cook Chinese food or speak another language. Search for online groups, in-person clubs, volunteer opportunities, or classes that match any of your interests or things you’d like to try.

Once you join a group, you’ll need to take part in it regularly to build bonds. If you can gather in person, it’s even better. “The part of our brain involved in social connection is stimulated by all five senses. When you’re with someone in the same room, you get a much stronger set of stimuli than you do by watching them on an electronic screen,” Dr. Olds says.

2. Create opportunities

If joining someone else’s group is unappealing, start your own. Host gatherings at your place or elsewhere. “All it takes is three people. You can say, ‘Let’s read books or talk about a TV show or have a dinner group on a regular basis,'” Dr. Olds says.

Other ideas for gatherings — either weekly or monthly — include:

• game nights
• trivia nights
• hikes in interesting parks
• beach walks
• bird-watching expeditions
• running or cycling
• meditation
• museum visits
• cooking
• knitting, sewing, or crafting
• shopping
• day trips to nearby towns
• jewelry making
• collector show-and-tell (comic books, antique dolls, baseball cards).

The people you invite don’t have to be dear friends; they can just be people you’d like to get to know better — perhaps neighbors or work acquaintances.

If they’re interested in a regular gathering, pin down dates and times. Otherwise, the idea might stay stuck in the talking stages. “Don’t be timid. Say, ‘Let’s get our calendars out and get this scheduled,'” Dr. Olds says.

3. Brush up your social skills

Sometimes we’re rusty in surface social graces that help build deeper connections. “It makes a huge difference when you can be enthusiastic rather than just sitting there and hoping someone will realize how interesting you are,” Dr. Olds says.

Tips to practice:

• Smile more. Smiling is welcoming, inviting, and hospitable to others.
• Be engaging. Prepare a few topics to talk about or questions to ask — perhaps about the news or the reason you’ve gathered (if it’s a seminar, for example, ask how long someone has been interested in the subject). Or look for a conversation starter. “Maybe the person is wearing a pretty brooch. Ask if there’s a story behind it,” Dr. Olds suggests.
• Be a good listener. “Listen in a way that someone realizes you’re paying attention. Hold their gaze, nod your head or say ‘Mm hmm’ as they’re talking so you give feedback. Assume everyone in the world is just yearning for your feedback,” Dr. Olds says.
• Ask follow-up questions. Don’t ignore signals that someone has interesting stories to tell. “If they allude to something, your job is to look fascinated and ask if they can tell you more. They’re dropping crumbs on a path to a deeper exchange,” Dr. Olds notes.

Even chats that don’t lead to friendships can be enriching. A 2022 study found that people who had the most diverse portfolios of social interactions — exchanges with strangers, acquaintances, friends, or family members — were much happier than those with the least diverse social portfolios.

Ultimately, a wide variety of interactions contributes to well-being, whether you’re talking to the cashier at the supermarket, a neighbor, an old friend, or a new one. And all of these connections combined may go a long way toward helping you feel less lonely.

About the Author

Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter

Heidi Godman is the executive editor of the Harvard Health Letter. Before coming to the Health Letter, she was an award-winning television news anchor and medical reporter for 25 years. Heidi was named a journalism fellow … See Full Bio View all posts by Heidi Godman

About the Reviewer

Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing

Howard LeWine, M.D., is a practicing internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Chief Medical Editor at Harvard Health Publishing, and editor in chief of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. See Full Bio View all posts by Howard E. LeWine, MD

Making friends and finding social opportunities can sometimes be difficult, particularly for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or an intellectual disability. Here’s what parents can do to help.

Building inclusive communities

Friendships and social connections are an important aspect of our lives. They provide a sense of belonging and allow people to be included in their communities.

People with neurodevelopmental disabilities may communicate, learn, and behave differently. Sometimes these differences make it harder than usual to develop friendships and participate in social activities.

But parents and others can help create more inclusive communities and opportunities to build social relationships, especially for people with neurodiverse abilities.

Below are some tips and strategies to help children learn and develop the social and emotional skills they need to make friends.

Practice at home: Tips for common social situations

Navigating social settings and making friends involve many skills you can practice with children at home.

• Greetings and questions. Make a habit of practicing greetings throughout the day. Model good listening for your child, and take turns asking and answering conversation starters like, “How are you?”
• Calm body movements. Sometimes it can be hard for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities to keep a calm body. Have your child practice giving their body enough room and keeping personal space between themselves and others by using an arm’s-length distance.
• Appropriate level of voice. Encourage your child to listen and match the level of your voice. Imagine your voice has a volume dial and practice turning the volume up and down.
• Eye contact. Looking directly into someone’s eyes can be difficult, so help your child instead look at different parts of your face or practice looking at their own eyes in the mirror.
• Reading and responding to social signals. People regularly communicate using more than just words. Social signals are the variety of ways in which we communicate through body language and facial expressions. Often this can be tricky to detect for children who are neurodiverse. Help your child recognize common social signals by asking what someone’s body or face might be saying.

Rerouting challenging behaviors to help children build friendships

Challenging behaviors may get in the way of making and keeping friends. It is important to address challenging behaviors like impulsivity and aggression through therapies and programming. Additionally, practicing the following fundamental skills can help reduce challenging behaviors.

• Patience. Learning how to wait for a turn to play or a time to speak in a conversation is an important social skill. Practice waiting with a timer, gradually building up from 10 seconds, to one minute, to five minutes.
• Flexibility. Help your child make compromises using first/then statements, such as, “First we play your way, then my way.” Model flexible play and redirect with new toys to show how play can evolve.
• Communicating strong emotions.Handling strong feelings can be difficult sometimes. Practice communicating these feelings effectively either by asking for help, using an emotions board, or taking a break.

How to throw a wide net socially

Encouraging social opportunities is an important part of supporting friendships and social relationships for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Social spaces offer chances for children who are neurodiverse to find activities they enjoy. They are able to practice the social and emotional skills they are learning and even meet other children practicing these same skills.

• Structure and organize play dates. Set up the environment before a play date by making a list of activities to do with a friend, then picking out of a hat which activities to do and in what order.
• Make a list of things that are fun to do and invite others to join. Look for free or low-cost programs or events out in the community.
• Connect with other parents of children with disabilities. Set up an activity for your children like an ice cream date, going on a walk, or a game night with adults and kids together. These encounters can give rise to repeat, planned social interactions.
• Check out organizations in the community for children with disabilities, like Special Olympics, or recreational programs that foster inclusive environments through Unified Sports.
• Look into facilitated recreational activities like a Lego club or pizza parties with teachers. Plan to bring a support person if needed.

Your child’s doctor or teacher may be able to suggest additional community or web-based resources designed to help families support friendships for children with neurodiverse abilities.

About the Authors

Sydney Reynders, ScB, Contributor

Sydney Reynders, ScB, is a clinical research coordinator in the Boston Children’s Hospital Down Syndrome Program. She assists in research investigating educational, behavioral, and medical interventions in Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She received her … See Full Bio View all posts by Sydney Reynders, ScB

Nicole Baumer, MD, MEd, Contributor

Nicole Baumer, MD, MEd is a child neurologist/neurodevelopmental disabilities specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, and an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Baumer is director of the Boston Children's Hospital Down Syndrome Program. She … See Full Bio View all posts by Nicole Baumer, MD, MEd

In today’s fast-paced world, our waking hours are filled with decisions — often surrounding what to eat. After a long day, dinner could well be fast food or takeout. While you may worry about the toll food choices take on your waistline or blood pressure, as a liver specialist, I also want to put fatty liver disease on your radar.

One variant, officially called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now affects one in four adults globally. Sometimes it progresses to extensive scarring known as cirrhosis, liver failure, and higher risk for liver cancer. The good news? Fatty liver disease can be prevented or reversed.

What is fatty liver disease?

Fatty liver disease is a condition caused by irritation to the liver. Liver tissue accumulates abnormal amounts of fat in response to that injury. Viral hepatitis, certain medicines (like tamoxifen or steroids, for example), or ingesting too much alcohol can all cause fatty liver disease.

However, NAFLD has a different trigger for fat deposits in the liver: a group of metabolic risk factors. NAFLD is most common in people who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance (prediabetes), or type 2 diabetes. It is also common among people who are overweight or obese, though it is possible to develop NAFLD even if your body mass index (BMI) is normal.

What helps prevent or reverse NAFLD?

Diet can play a huge role. Because NAFLD is so closely tied to metabolic health, eating more healthfully can help prevent or possibly even reverse it. A good example of a healthful eating pattern is the Mediterranean diet.

Overweight or obesity is a common cause of NAFLD. A weight loss program that includes activity and healthy eating can help control blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Among the many healthful diet plans that help are the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet. Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist if you need help choosing a plan.

To vigorously study any diet as a treatment for fatty liver disease, researchers must control many factors. Currently, no strong evidence supports one particular diet over another. However, the research below highlights choices to promote a healthy liver.

Avoid fast food

A recent study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology linked regular fast-food consumption (20% or more of total daily calories) with fatty liver disease — especially in people who had type 2 diabetes or obesity. Fast foods tend to be high in saturated fats, added sugar, and other ingredients that affect metabolic health.

Steer clear of soft drinks and added sugars

Soft drinks with high-fructose corn syrup, or other sugar-sweetened beverages, lead directly to large increases in liver fat deposits, independent of the total calories consumed. Read labels closely for added sugars, including corn syrup, dextrose, honey, and agave.

Instead of sugary drinks, sip plain water. Black coffee or with a splash of cream is also a good pick; research suggests coffee has the potential to decrease liver scarring.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol directly damages the liver, lacks nutritional value, and may affect a healthy microbiome. If you have NAFLD, it’s best to avoid any extra cause for liver injury. We simply do not know what amount of alcohol is safe for those with fatty liver disease — even social drinking may be too much.

Eat mostly whole foods

Vegetables, berries, eggs, poultry, grass-fed meats, nuts, and whole grains all qualify, but cutting out red meat may be wise. An 18-month trial enrolled 294 people with abdominal obesity and lipid imbalances such as high triglycerides. Regular activity was encouraged, and participants were randomly assigned to one of three diets: standard healthy dietary guidelines, a traditional Mediterranean diet, or a green-Mediterranean diet. (The green-Med diet nixed red and processed meats and added green tea and a dinner replacement shake rich in antioxidants called polyphenols.)

All three groups lost some weight, although the Mediterranean diet groups lost more weight and kept it off for a longer period. Both Mediterranean diet groups also showed reduced liver fat at the end of 18 months, but liver fat decreased twice as much in the green-Med group as in the traditional Mediterranean diet group.

Healthy fats are part of a healthy diet

We all need fat. Dietary fats help your body absorb vitamins and are vital in the protection of nerves and cells. Fats also help you feel satisfied and full, so you’re less likely to overeat. Low-fat foods often substitute sugars and starches, which affect blood sugar regulation in our bodies. But all fat is not created equal.

It’s clear that Mediterranean-style diets can help decrease liver fat, thus helping to prevent or possibly reverse NAFLD. These diets are high in healthful fats, such as monounsaturated fats found in olive oil and avocados and omega-3 fats found in walnuts and oily fish like salmon and sardines.

With so many choices, it’s hard to know where to start in the healthy eating journey. Let’s strive to eat whole foods in their natural state. Our livers will thank us for it.

About the Author

Kathleen Viveiros, MD, Contributor

Dr. Kathleen Viveiros is a clinical hepatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who sees patients in Boston and in Foxborough and Westwood, MA. She is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her professional interests … See Full Bio View all posts by Kathleen Viveiros, MD