Fruit juice as bad for your liver as alcohol?

Posted on Sun, 5 Jul 09

Too many sweet foods such as soda and sweetened fruit juice may be as damaging to your liver as alcohol. A group have reported in The Journal of Nutrition that people who consume more dietary sources of sugars, such as soft drink and sweetened foods, have a high risk of fatty liver disease the same liver disease that may affect regular drinkers and alcoholics [1].

It has been suggested that the reason sugar harms your liver is that it feeds “bad bacteria” in our digestive system causing an overgrowth. These “bad bacteria” then produce toxins that enter the blood stream and damage the liver [2].

Fatty liver disease is common in the general population and often goes undiagnosed. Fatty liver can progress to cirrhosis and is associated with liver cancer. Maintaining a healthy body weight, going for a regular diabetes check and avoiding added sugars in processed foods such as soft drinks, fruit juices, baked goods, cereals and sweets and limiting alcohol consumption are important steps towards reducing the risk of fatty liver.

 References

1. Thuy S et al. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in humans is associated with increased plasma endotoxin and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 concentrations and with fructose intake. J Nutr. 2008 Aug;138(8):1452-5.

2. Bergheim L et al. Antibiotics protect against fructose-induced hepatic lipid accumulation in mice: role of endotoxin. J Hepatol. 2008 Jun;48(6):983-92.

Image: Veronique Leplat. Science Photo Library.