How to avoid a deadly ‘epidemic’ of liver disease

“An epidemic is upon us that we have not fully recognized.”

That frightening statement is from Dr. Scott Friedman of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

What could it be? Another outbreak of measles? Perhaps chicken pox, meningitis, or even the flu?

Nope, none of the above.

What he’s referring to is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, a condition that (only a few decades ago) was diagnosed in so few Americans that it was hardly ever discussed.

Now, not only are the feds holding meetings and press briefings about it… but, as you might have guessed, Big Pharma is drooling over the billions it will bring in.

And while drugmakers have yet to come up with a new or repurposed med to present to the FDA, you can just bet that one will be here before you know it.

But how did this epidemic sneak up on us? Millions don’t simply start coming down with a potentially deadly liver disease for no reason at all. Surely, there’s got to be something behind it.

Actually, there is. A proverbial smoking gun if there ever was one.

And whether you’re able to steer clear of NAFLD (or an even worse condition it can lead to) might entirely depend on how quickly you can boot something out of your life — a substance you might never have suspected of being a stealth liver toxin.

A shock to the system

Kimberly Rhodes was diagnosed with NAFLD when she was only four years old.

To her mom, Stacey, the news came as a complete shock. It didn’t seem possible that a child could “get something like that,” she said.

Now in her teens, Kimberly’s NAFLD has progressed to non-alcoholic steatopheatitis, or NASH — meaning that her liver is showing signs of cirrhosis and that she may need a liver transplant.

But she’s far from alone.

You could add up the population of the 10 largest cities in America – including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago – and you still wouldn’t hit half the number of those in the U.S. who are now suffering from NAFLD.

Young and old alike are currently afflicted with it, totaling over 70 million in the U.S… and even more when you add in those who have progressed to life-threatening NASH.

Both NAFLD and NASH are chronic liver diseases that stem from an excess accumulation of fat in the liver. While it has nothing to do with consuming alcoholic beverages (as you might expect when you hear the word “cirrhosis”), it does have a lot to do with other things we drink and eat (more on that in a minute).

The tricky thing about NAFLD, Dr. Friedman told reporters at a recent medical meeting, is that it can sneak up you. The public is still mostly unaware of the disease, he pointed out, and even worse, many doctors don’t realize the extent of the problem.

That’s why the diagnosis of a fatty liver (done with blood tests and a liver biopsy) can literally blindside you. Many who believe themselves to be perfectly healthy one day can end up on the liver transplant list the next.

But if you ask experts such as Dr. Friedman how to prevent either of these conditions, you’ll hear the most commonly referred to “cures” in the English language: lose weight and exercise.

While those two factors are vital to good health, neither one addresses the root cause of the problem.

And that, my friend, is dietary fructose.

That’s right, fructose — especially the kind in high-fructose corn syrup.

HFCS and other forms of processed fructose are metabolized almost exclusively in the liver, where it’s converted straight to fat. And any foods or drinks that contain this additive (which is mostly derived from corn in the laboratory) is a recipe for disaster where your liver is concerned.

In fact, the explosion of fatty liver disease directly parallels the introduction of HFCS in the American diet during the 1980s!

Of course, nowadays, HFCS is a much bigger problem than just soda. You’ll find it in foods across the board — from pickles to bread to tea and crackers. Reading ingredient labels is about the only way to avoid it.

But you need to watch out for more than just HFCS, and that means avoiding any type of added fructose, some of which can even go by deceptive names such as “fruit sugar.”

The only kind of fructose that should pass your lips is the kind naturally found in fruits like whole apples, peaches, and pears. That’s because the accompanying fiber slows the digestion, allowing it to be metabolized in a much healthier way.

“NAFLD may be easier to prevent than treat” Liz Highleyman, March 22, 2018, Medpage Today, medpagetoday.com