Can Sugar Cause A Leaky Gut? Apparently, research at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine seems to point to that conclusion involving a relationship between excessive consumption of fructose and the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is believed that the popular consumed sweetener can disrupt the barrier of the internal organs allowing bacterial toxins to leak in.
Learn more about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD):
"NAFLD is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the world. It can progress to more serious conditions, such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death," said senior author Michael Karin, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "These findings point to an approach that could prevent liver damage from occurring in the first place."
Findings published in Nature Metabolism calls for the need for therapeutics that prevent the disruption of the protective barrier eventually prevent the liver from NAFLD.
"The ability of fructose, which is plentiful in dried figs and dates, to induce fatty liver was known to the ancient Egyptians, who fed ducks and geese dried fruit to make their version of foie gras," said Karin.
"With the advent of modern biochemistry and metabolic analysis, it became obvious that fructose is two to three times more potent than glucose in increasing liver fat, a condition that triggers NAFLD. And the increased consumption of soft drinks containing HFCS corresponds with the explosive growth in NAFLD incidence."
Source: Science Daily