Moderate alcohol use in fatty liver disease; don't throw the cabernet out with the bathwater.

Abstract

We congratulate Dr Aberg and colleagues for a significant contribution to the literature on the important topic of moderate alcohol use in fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (1). Approximately 30% of the population of the Western world has obesity and/or other complications of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Due to the magnitude of this problem worldwide, palatable lifestyle therapies that are affordable, available and acceptable are necessary to curtail preventable early deaths. Moderate alcohol has the potential to fill this space, although knowledge remains limited.