Episode Details

Can you reverse fatty liver disease with a ketogenic diet?

Fatty liver disease is now one of the fastest-growing liver conditions in the world, affecting roughly 30% of adults and an increasing number of children. And in many cases, it’s driven by metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance.

In this conversation, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Amy Goss (University of Alabama at Birmingham) and Dr. Karen Jerome-Zapadka (Trajectory Health Partners) about the growing epidemic of metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and why carbohydrate restriction and ketogenic nutrition may be powerful tools for addressing it.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

1. What MASLD (formerly NAFLD) is and why it’s becoming so common
2. How insulin resistance and excess carbohydrates contribute to fatty liver
3. New research showing how carbohydrate restriction can reduce liver fat
4. Why ketogenic and low-carb diets may improve liver metabolism beyond weight loss
5. The clinical experience of reversing fatty liver through metabolic therapy
6. Why lifestyle approaches often receive less attention than medications

Dr. Amy Goss and her team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are currently conducting a large NIH-funded clinical trial investigating how carbohydrate restriction affects liver fat and insulin sensitivity in adolescents with fatty liver disease.

At the same time, Dr. Karen Jerome-Zapadka is applying these metabolic principles in clinical practice at Trajectory Health Partners, helping patients reverse steatotic liver disease through carbohydrate reduction and comprehensive metabolic care. Together, their research and real-world clinical experience are helping advance a deeper understanding of how targeting metabolic dysfunction may transform the way fatty liver disease is treated.

Curious about the safety of ketogenic therapy? Visit our Is Keto Safe topic page to see all of our top content on the topic: https://www.metabolicmind.org/resources/topics/is-keto-safe/

🔎 Have questions about how to apply metabolic therapies effectively? Submit them at metabolicmind.org/questions to be featured in a future Metabolic Mailbag episode.

#MetabolicMind #KetogenicTherapy #MASLD #FattyLiver

Expert Featured:

Dr. Amy Miskimon Goss

1. https://www.instagram.com/dr.amygoss/
2. www.linkedin.com

Dr. Karen Jerome-Zapadka

1. Trajectoryhp.com
2. instagram.com/kzapadka

3. Listen Now