A method for reducing the likelihood of developing 
liver cancer in an individual diagnosed with non-
alcoholic fatty liver disease involves providing in the gut of an individual a 
population of 
beneficial bacteria selected from the group consisting of 
Lactobacillus species, and administering 
fiber to the individual to maintain a therapeutically effective amount of the 
beneficial bacteria in the gut of the individual. In certain embodiments, monoacylglycerolacyltransferase-3 (MGAT3) synthesis is inhibited to lower triacylglycerol (TAG) production, while in others, expression of diacylglycerolacyltransferase-2 (DGAT-2) is inhibited. The 
beneficial bacteria are preferably modified to produce increased amounts of 
butyrate and may also be encapsulated in a frangible 
enclosure. Levels of 
Roseburia are preferably increased while the levels of 
Akkermansia spp. in the individual's 
gut microbiome are reduced. In other embodiments, a therapeutically effective amount of a bacterial formulation comprising 
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is administered, or a composition comprising modified L. reuteri 
bacteria having the ability to survive conditions in the 
duodenum or 
jejunum of the individual's 
small intestine. Other embodiments include the administration of a bacterial formulation comprising at least one of Coprococcus, Veillonella, 
Roseburia, 
Bifidobacterium, 
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and 
Prevotella.