Sweet drinks: how they can be dangerous for the liver

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Some believe that that fatty liver disease (a pathological change in the tissues of the organ in which there is an excessive accumulation of fats) is primarily caused by fatty foods. However, a study by Spanish scientists shows that some sweet drinks can be much more dangerous for the liver. And when these products are combined, the risk increases.

As scientists from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (Spain) point out, if food with a high fat content is combined with the use of beverages sweetened with liquid fructose, the accumulation of fats in the liver accelerates.

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According to the work, the effect that fructose has on increasing the synthesis of fatty acids in the liver is more significant than when eating fats with food. As the researchers note, with a high-fat diet supplemented with liquid fructose, this monosaccharide can cause the formation of fats and inhibition (suppression) of lipid oxidation in the liver.

Fructose increases the expression of a special protein that is associated with the appearance hypertriglyceridemia (high blood plasma triglyceride content), which is a cardiovascular risk factor. Scientists indicate that the effects described in the study can also be seen in humans.

Researchers emphasize that we are talking about liquid fructose. “As for sweetened beverages, fructose is quickly absorbed and reaches the liver in large quantities, causing metabolic changes,” they explain. However, when eating fruit, the amount of fructose is much lower. The very process of chewing and the presence of fiber in the fruit slow down the absorption of fructose and its entry into the liver.