THE RECOMMENDED IRANIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE (PERSIAN MEDICINE) DIET IN NON- ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the major cause of chronic liver disease globally. Increasing prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes along with NAFLD has made this disease as a main public health problem. Certain treatment is not found yet and lifestyle modification, including physical activity and diet are still the most effective way to keep liver health or treat its ailments. Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) is an ancient school of medicine, which can be considered to find a proper diet protocol. From the viewpoint of ITM, liver is a main organ and several diet regimens are prescribed for healing of liver diseases. In this review, we searched the major ITM manuscripts from the 8th to the 19th century and compared with modern studies by searching some databases such as PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. Therapeutic processes in ITM consist of 3 approaches. The first and most important of them is a regimen named Tadabeer that means Instructions for preserving or restoring health and including six essential principles (Setteh-e-Zarourieh). During this phase, in addition to the six essential principles, proper food regimen is recommended to patients, including some abstinence and using beneficial foods (Hepatoprotective in NAFLD). There are dietary instructions for treating NAFLD and the other diseases of the liver in ITM, which are efficient due to recent studies somehow. Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Iranian Traditional Medicine, Persian Medicine, Diet, Hepatoprotective