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When you grab fast food for supper or enjoy a huge bowl of popcorn and a movie, you may also pick up a soft drink. While the wonderfully fizzy beverages are undoubtedly popular, there are several facts about soda that might surprise you. That includes the findings of recent research, which discovered that soft drinks can raise the danger of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
During the research which was shown at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s yearly meeting, per Healthline, researchers looked at data from 2017 and 2018 that was gathered from the Nutrition and National Health Examination Survey. 70% of Mexican Americans who were studied and had nonalcoholic fatty liver disease also ate diets that were high in fructose, according to the findings of 3,292 participants. Those who consumed a lower amount of fructose were less likely to develop the same liver-related problem. As a result, the researchers observed that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is in soft drinks, can raise the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
“It’s all about calories,” Dr. Hillel Tobias said to Healthline. “The presentation to the Endocrine Society discovered a direct link between consuming high fructose and the occurrence of fatty liver disease in all segments of the population.”
“A study on the detrimental impact of high fructose corn syrup on fatty liver disease published at the Endocrine Society meeting shows the necessity of limiting consumption of this hazardous substance that is present in most soft drinks and sweets,” added Dr. Tobias.
In fact, a single 12 oz bottle of Coca Cola contains 39 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to eating 10 teaspoons of sugar and provides empty calories that are devoid of nutrients. “Drinking sodas provide a fast dump of glucose into the circulation since this comes in liquid form,” Alyssa Wilson, RD and Signos Health nutritionist tells us. “This encourages a blood sugar boost that may cause typical symptoms associated with being on the blood sugar roller coaster: such as irritability, hunger, and sweet cravings.”
Wilson also states that drinking soda on a regular basis, particularly those with high fructose corn syrup, is linked to an increased risk of chronic health issues such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, as well as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Wilson also comments that “when it comes to drinking diet sodas, artificial sweeteners are not much better, as some research suggest they are linked with poor glucose metabolism, greater calorie consumption, and weight gain.”
