Foods and liver health

Chronic liver damage is a worldwide common pathology, characterised by an inflammatory and fibrotic process that leads to a progressive evolution from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A major role for fats and oxidative stress has been recently demonstrated in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. In the clinical practice, dietary recommendations in the management of chronic diseases often rely on denying patients certain foods, which results in a severe reduction of quality of life. In this paper a new perspective based on the development of Food intended for Specific Medical Purposes (FSMP) containing highly bioavailable antioxidant compounds or polyunsaturated-fatty acids, has been highlighted as a tool for preventive and curative medicine, to be associated to pharmacological treatments. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.