A sweet burden? Study: Fructose harms livers in young people

The "sweetness" of processed foods available on the market, such as fruit juice, carbonated drinks, shaken drinks, etc., mostly uses high fructose corn syrup to achieve the sweetness required. The main ingredients of high fructose corn syrup include glucose and fructose.

(Situational picture/provided)

Many studies have linked fructose to hypertriglyceridemia (high blood fats), hyperuricemia (gout), obesity, diabetes, and more. A recent study published in the Journal of Hepatology found that young people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (commonly known as fatty liver) are more likely to develop chronic liver damage the more fructose they consume.

Research Methods

• The study was conducted at the Children's Hospital in Rome and involved 271 obese children and adolescents with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Among them, 38% of the participants also had non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in addition to fatty liver.

The participants underwent liver biopsies to assess the amount of fat accumulation in liver tissue. At the same time, fructose intake was assessed by questionnaire and uric acid concentration was confirmed.

Study Results

• Compared with patients without steatohepatitis, patients with steatohepatitis had a higher proportion of hyperuricemia (uric acid >= 5.9 mg/dL, 47% vs 29.7%). High uric acid concentrations and higher fructose intake will increase the risk of fatty liver disease. Those with high uric acid levels had a 2.48-fold increased risk of fatty liver disease (OR: 2.48, 95% CI: 1.87-2.83, p=0.004), and those with high fructose intake had a 1.61-fold increased risk (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.25-1.86, p=0.001).

Further analysis showed that increased fructose intake itself would increase the risk of hyperuricemia by 2.02 times (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.66-2.78, p=0.01). Young patients with steatohepatitis consumed an average of 70 grams of fructose per day, while those without steatohepatitis consumed an average of 53 grams of fructose per day.

(Photo provided by Dr. Xiao Huang's random notes)

However, the study did not distinguish whether the source of fructose (fruit, juice or beverage) had any difference in its effect on the liver.

discuss

This study found that in young people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, excessive fructose intake can lead to higher uric acid concentrations and subsequent liver damage from steatohepatitis.

At present, there are no clear regulations or recommendations on fructose intake in China. The World Health Organization recommends that daily intake of added sugars should be less than 10% of total calories. Based on the average calorie intake of about 1,500 to 2,000 calories for a young person with moderate activity, the daily intake of added sugars should be between 37.5 grams and 50 grams. This carbohydrate intake includes the amount of glucose and fructose.

In this study, the average fructose intake of people without steatohepatitis was 53 grams, and the average fructose intake of people with steatohepatitis was 70 grams, both higher than the recommended amount of 37.5 grams to 50 grams. And this is only the fructose part and does not include the intake of glucose or other sugars.

The causes of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are related to obesity, type 2 diabetes, etc. Fructose intake is directly related to obesity. After obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease occur, fructose will aggravate the damage of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, further causing fatty liver hepatitis and leading to further deterioration of the liver.

From a personal perspective, reducing fructose intake, including fruit juices, shaken drinks, desserts, etc., can effectively improve physical health. From a public health perspective, in order to reduce fructose intake, in addition to promoting healthy eating concepts, we can also use policies such as sugar taxes to reduce the amount of fructose consumed by the public.

in conclusion

• Excessive fructose intake will not only lead to obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia and other health hazards, but will further cause liver damage to obese young people. Therefore, excessive intake of fructose should be avoided to promote health.

This article comes from: Dr. Xiao Huang's random notes

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