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Eating tomatoes every day may help protect against deadly liver disease, according to a study.

In the UK, fatty liver disease – where the condition is not triggered by alcohol – affects about a third of adults and is linked to obesity, high cholesterol and type-2 diabetes.

In some people the condition can progress to inflammation, scarring and, in severe cases, liver failure.

Researchers from the National Institute of Gastroenterology in Italy randomly divided 79 adults with fatty liver disease and a BMI of 30 or below into two groups.

One group ate 200g of raw tomatoes every day – roughly one large tomato – along with 50g of tomato sauce for six weeks. The other group followed a tomato-free diet.

After six weeks, researchers measured liver fat using a specialised scan.

A tomato a day could cut the risk of fatty liver disease, a study has found

The study, published in the journal Nutrients and funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, found that while both groups had less liver fat after six weeks, the reduction was greater among those who ate tomatoes.

Their measure of liver fat fell by about 11 per cent from baseline over six weeks, compared with about 6 per cent in the control group.

However, eating tomatoes did not significantly improve liver stiffness, fibrosis scores, liver enzymes, cholesterol, blood sugar or body composition.

The researchers do not know exactly what caused the reduction in liver fat, but tomatoes contain nutrients that are considered anti-inflammatory, which they believe may have contributed.