A sobering question is being posed by a Harvard-trained gastroenterologist: are you eating your way to liver disease? The expert warns that three common food categories are major contributors to the silent, creeping epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
The first path to liver disease is paved with sugary beverages. The doctor explains that every time you drink a soda or a glass of sweetened juice, you are tasking your liver with processing a large, unnatural load of fructose. The liver’s response is to turn this sugar into fat, which then gets stored in its own cells, initiating the disease process.
The second dietary habit leading to liver damage is the frequent consumption of deep-fried foods. These foods are a concentrated source of inflammatory fats. The expert notes that this constant state of inflammation, combined with the deposition of fat, can cause progressive damage to the liver, eventually leading to more serious conditions like cirrhosis.
The third contributor is a diet high in ultra-processed foods. Items like chips, cookies, and ready-made meals are engineered for taste but are nutritional voids. They deliver a triple blow to the liver with unhealthy fats, added sugars, and chemical additives, overwhelming its capacity to function properly.
The expert’s warning comes with a clear solution. To get off the path to liver disease, you must make a conscious choice to avoid these three food groups and embrace a diet centered on whole, unprocessed foods.