How Does Sugar Affect Your Liver Health?
It is often suggested to start our day with a fruit rather than tea or coffee but the majority of us, start our day with tea or coffee containing sugar. But have you ever thought that is sugar really good for our overall health too?
Di you know there are 4 types of sugar?
- Glucose.
- Fructose (a.k.a. fruit sugar)
- Sucrose (a.k.a. table sugar)
- Lactose (a.k.a. dairy sugar)
Now let us understand what happens inside our bodies when we consume sugar?
When we eat a meal containing sugar, our bodies break it down into glucose, use some of the glucose for energy, and for later use, save some. Fat Cells are created out of excess glucose. The liver is one of the places in our bodies that store this excess fat. Over time, liver cells are gradually replaced by fat cells, leading to non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease. Some studies show that sugar can be as damaging to the liver as alcohol, even if you’re not overweight.
What will happen if we consume an excessive amount of sugar?
If you eat way too much sugar, your body stops responding properly to insulin, your pancreas starts pumping out even more insulin. Eventually, your overworked pancreas will break down and your blood sugar levels will rise, setting you up for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and obesity which is a leading cause of liver diseases.
What happens when we eat a high amount of sucrose?
When a similar amount of fructose and sucrose is considered, the latter boosts fat synthesis even more. These high sucrose foods include puddings, milkshakes, cakes, fruit juice drinks, deep-fried meals with sweet sauce, cookies, pancakes, candies, chocolate, and commercial cereals
Medical surveys say that even a moderate amount of regular intake of sugar can disturb metabolism. As the liver can metabolize only fructose present in fruits and vegetables and other sugar sources to a small extent but when we consume other sugar sources it leads to the storage of fats in the liver and increases the chances of NAFLD and insulin resistance in individuals
How much sugar is safe to consume?
The World Health Organization (WHO) advises people to eat no more than 5% of their daily calories from added sugar. Which equals 25 grams or roughly 6 Teaspoons for a person with a normal diet.
Did You know?
Sugar also adds to the aging of the skin and triggers acne too?
What happens to our liver when we consume sugar?
Our liver can metabolize only fructose which is present in fruits and vegetables and other sugar sources to a small extent but when we consume other sugar sources it leads to the storage of fats in the liver and increases the chances of NAFLD and insulin resistance in individuals. Our bodies create inflammatory chemicals when we consume sugar on daily basis, these chemicals accumulate in our systems, harming other internal organs and eventually leading to liver disease.
When the liver is scarred, fatty, or inflammatory, it cannot function as effectively as when it is healthy. It is unable to digest and eliminate toxins from our bodies. It also causes obesity with a lower rate of burning fat and cholesterol thereby increasing fatty deposits.
It has been observed teenagers that can overconsume fizzy drinks and sweets This is an alarming sign of liver diseases in the younger generation and prevalence of NAFLD in children and teenagers, also an exponential rise of fatal liver disease in adults
How do avoid the liver inflammation caused due to sugar synthesis?
- Limit the consumption of sugar
- Eating lots vegetables and fruits
- Exercising regularly
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