Danger: Food companies fattening your liver

A dirty little secret that the food companies would like to ignore is what their products are doing to our livers. Thanks to their formulations, about 30 million of us now have fatty livers.

Why is that important?

Having a fatty liver can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This can cause the liver to swell and scar (a condition known as cirrhosis), and can lead to hepatitis and liver cancer. Eventually, you need a liver transplant if you want to live.

The signs of liver problems include weakness, tiredness, itching, fluid build-up, swell of your legs and mental confusion.

The problem starts with all the sugar – particularly high-fructose corn syrup – that is hidden in our food. As we gain weight on these over-sweetened items, the liver begins to accumulate extra fat. That leads to what’s called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

A big villain in this development is the marketing of sweetened drinks – most especially soft drinks. A study at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging shows that all you have to do is imbibe one of these a day to significantly up your risk of extra fat being created in your liver.

“Our study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to NAFLD and other chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” says researcher Jiantao Ma.

Avoiding high-fructose corn syrup takes some doing: It’s in virtually every sweetened drink lurking on supermarket shelves. But every time you’re tempted by one of these concoctions, remember – your liver is counting on you to deliver a healthier beverage like, say, plain water.

But aside from ditching foods containing high-fructose corn syrup, there are a few other things you can do to ensure the health of your liver…

For starters, exercising and maintaining a lower body weight are the best ways of controlling NAFLD.

Secondly, look to liver-protecting herbs and nutrients, like…

Milk thistle supports the liver’s detox functions.

Turmeric supports the removal of dangerous toxins from the liver, stimulates the production of bile and reduces inflammation.

Selenium (click here for food sources of selenium).

Another way to lessen the chance of having a fatty liver is to switch to coconut oil in your cooking and salad dressings. Coconut oil contains fats known as medium chain triglycerides that have been shown to keep fat from being deposited in the liver.