Another Reason Not To Overdo The Fructose

Fructose is bad for you? Really?

By now, it's common knowledge that a fructose — a form of sugar found in fruit and honey — isn't exactly the elixir of life, especially when consumed in processed forms like high-fructose corn syrup. Fructose has been scientifically linked to obesity and overeating, and now researchers are adding another reason to be wary of the ingredient: liver damage.

A recent study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center investigated the effects of a high-fructose diet on liver health. The experiment divided 10 healthy monkeys into two groups, and over six weeks, researchers fed the control group a calorie-controlled diet with 0.5 percent fructose, and meanwhile fed the other group a calorie-controlled diet with 24 percent fructose. The aim was to determine whether weight gain or fructose-intake spurs liver disease.

According to the lead author of the study, Kylie Kavanagh, "What surprised us most was how quickly the liver was affected and how extensive the damage was, especially without weight gain as a factor."

She added, "We studied fructose because it is the most commonly added sugar in the American diet."  

More research will be conducted to test for dextrose in addition to fructose, but the bottom line is that a high-sugar diet is not conducive to a healthy liver.