The court is clearly closing its case on added sugars!
This review in the April edition of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition sums up the role of fructose with a range of conditions but particularly NAFLD – Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. This is now a ‘normal’ finding on abdominal scanning and up to 8% of 10 year olds have it. It is a precursor to chronic liver disease – simple as that.
“The rapid rise in NAFLD prevalence supports the role of environmental factors.
Overconsumption of HFCS in the soft-drink is linked to the rise in the prevalence of obesity and associated with NAFLD.
Ingested carbohydrates are a major stimulus for hepatic De Novo Lipogenesis, and more likely to directly contribute to NAFLD than dietary fat intake.
Fructose phosphorylation in the liver consumes ATP, consequently the accumulated ADP serves as substrate for uric acid formation.
The lipogenic and proinflammatory effects of fructose appear to be due to transient ATP depletion.”