Soups and shakes diet, a new diet plan popular in the U.K. as a weight loss strategy for people with obesity and remission of type 2 diabetes, can be beneficial for people with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a recent study has found.

NASH is a serious health condition in which the liver builds up excessive fat deposits. It is an advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which does not have any treatment except for weight loss.

Factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and high levels of triglycerides or LDL cholesterol increase the risk of NASH. More than 115 million adults around the world suffer from the chronic liver condition and affects roughly 25% of adults in the U.S.

In the latest study published in the journal Obesity, researchers suggest that rapid weight loss through soups and shakes diet may be safe for NASH patients and reduce the signs of the condition, including inflammation and scarring.

For the trial, researchers evaluated 16 participants with obesity, NASH and moderate to advanced liver scarring for 24 weeks. The regular diet of the participants was replaced with specially formulated soups, shakes and bars, which add up to 880 calories every day. The special diet continued for 12 weeks, after which participants were given their regular food for the next 12 weeks.

Researchers took blood pressure, weight, blood tests and scans of the participants at the beginning and the end of the study. The participants lost an average of 15% of their body weight and there were significant improvements in their liver fat, liver inflammation and scarring.

"Our study also showed that the rapid weight loss was safe for participants. In the past, this kind of diet program wasn't recommended to NASH patients due to concerns over how safe it may be. The most common side effect patients experienced was constipation—but this was temporary and typically only mild," the researchers said in a news release.

The participants also showed improvements in systolic blood pressure and hemoglobin A1C, markers of hypertension and type 2 diabetes respectively. The researchers suggest that the diet could be used to reduce the risk of heart disease common to NASH patients.