Fructose in processed foods poses a deadly threat to your liver

The shocking reason for the big rise in liver transplants

When you think of deadly liver diseases, children don’t typically come to mind.

But kids, some as young as six, are now in the crosshairs of one of the fastest-growing epidemics seen in modern times.

It’s a stealth liver disease called NASH, which spells out nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. And it could land your child on the waiting list for a liver transplant before you know what’s happening.

Now, a new study is sounding the alarm where kids and NASH are concerned with a one-word warning for parents: FRUCTOSE.

More than just soda
When UK and Italian researchers wanted to study kids with NASH, apparently they rounded up close to 300 of them without blinking an eye. And that, on its own, is frightening.

Because once you’ve been diagnosed with NASH, your liver — and even your life — are in big jeopardy.

As the name implies this kind of liver damage has nothing to do with drinking. But NASH, which is basically inflammation and damage to the liver, can lead right to cirrhosis — a condition that had been practically unheard of in children.

Even more common that NASH, however, is what comes before it, a condition called NAFLD — that stands for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. And NAFLD, while it also has nothing to do with alcohol, does have a direct connection to some of the most commonly consumed foods in the supermarket today (I’ll tell you more about that in a minute).

With around 20 percent of kids in America said to be suffering from NAFLD, it’s no wonder that liver specialists have been trying to sound the alarm. But what they’re up against is a powerful lobby for the corn refiners industry that would much prefer you never heard a word about these diseases.

The latest study on NASH, kids and fructose added another warning about the connection between high uric acid and the liver condition. The researchers confirmed (again) that fructose is directly related to NASH and also added that high uric-acid levels can damage the liver as well.

But instead of study after study simply confirming what we already know, the big topic right now should be how to steer clear of these conditions. As you might have guessed, Big Pharma is hard at work coming up with a drug to treat NAFLD. And to study what drugs might work, they give lab rats fatty liver disease by feeding them a diet high in fructose!

That’s right, fructose, as in high fructose corn syrup and similar sweeteners that are liberally added to scores of seemingly healthy foods and beverages.

It’s plain as day that fructose is the perfect recipe for NAFLD and NASH. And it’s a danger to both kids and adults alike.

But even if you haven’t had a soda for ages, you, your kids and grandkids are still likely consuming large amounts of this sweetener, which is almost always produced from genetically modified corn.

So here are the three big ways to keep fructose out of your diet and keep your liver safe:

#1: Read labels and put back anything with HFCS in it. As I said, it’s in much more than sodas. Things like bread, granola bars, bottled teas, even pickles have added HFCS. Also watch out for something called HFCS-90, a super-high fructose concoction that’s often added to “low-cal” foods.

#2: Steer clear of “fruit sugar” which is much more likely to come from corn than any kind of fruit.

#3: Avoid other dangerous high-fructose sweeteners, such as crystalline fructose and agave syrup.

But don’t stop eating fruit. It’s good for you — and the natural fructose in fruit is bound with fiber and other nutrients that allow it to be metabolized naturally, unlike what’s made in a corn-refining plant.

“Fructose consumption linked to the increase of liver disease among adolescents and children” Elsevier Health sciences, February 14, 2017, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com