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I was recently diagnosed with fatty liver disease. The liver-related numbers in my blood work were slightly elevated. An abdominal ultrasound confirmed it. Liv

by chiph 2y ago

I was recently diagnosed with fatty liver disease. The liver-related numbers in my blood work were slightly elevated. An abdominal ultrasound confirmed it. Liver problems have historically been caused by excessive alcohol consumption (leads to cirrhosis, etc.) But I'm a teetotaler. The other version of fatty liver disease - the non-alcoholic kind - can be caused by excessive fructose consumption. Since I have been drinking diet sodas for years, that likely isn't it either (Diet Dr Pepper uses Aspartame as a sweetener). But there are hints that artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking they're getting the real thing and it will store those calories as fat. So I have started a fat-loss program where the first thing to go has been soda. And I'm down 15 pounds so far. Many thanks to the "LoseIt" app developers for making it easy to track my calories. And please get your numbers checked at your next doctor visit.

01100011 2y ago
Fatty liver here as well. Not a big consumer of sugar or alcohol though so I suspect something else is the cause. My liver doc ordered a couple dozen obscure blood tests to see if we can find the cause. I take a lot of supplements and vitamins, but the doc didn't see anything that should have caused it. My parents and siblings, despite being more obese and consuming more sugar, also do not have it.
unsupp0rted 2y ago
Is fatty liver disease also common in teetotalers / non-fructose drinkers of average weight?
- chiph 2y ago
  I wouldn't think so, as alcohol, fructose, and/or being overweight seem to be the main factors. I would ask your doctor to look at your blood work with relation to that the next time you get a physical. Oh, and at least in my case, it's not related to cholesterol or diabetes. I'm fine there. {shrug}
Gibbon1 2y ago
Thing I read that's a bit fascinating and possibly important is your digestive system has taste buds and it's own nervous system. I wouldn't be gobsmacked if it responded to artificial sweeteners. And that causes issues. Other thing I read is fructose is processed by the liver via some of the same paths that alcohol does. Would surprising if they didn't share some of the same negative health outcomes.
- arcticbull 2y ago
  You can get NAFLD from fructose yes, but it's not the same as alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver but the pathway is very different. Alcohol dehydrogenase (and in alcoholics CYP2E1) breaks it down into acetaldehyde. Aldehyde dehydrogenase breaks it down into acetone. Acetone is one of the ketone bodies that's then utilized as a fuel directly. Acetone is a natural ketone, but it's also toxic at high levels. Fructose undergoes fructolysis. Fructose is phosphorylated to fructose-1-phosphate by frucotkinase. It's then broken down by aldolase B into glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). Glyceraldehyde is converted to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and enters mid-way through the glucose metabolism pathway. DHAP is used to synthesize fat. Since it happens in the liver, you can get fat build-up in the liver, and NAFLD.

by chiph 2y ago

01100011 2y ago

Fatty liver here as well. Not a big consumer of sugar or alcohol though so I suspect something else is the cause. My liver doc ordered a couple dozen obscure blood tests to see if we can find the cause. I take a lot of supplements and vitamins, but the doc didn't see anything that should have caused it. My parents and siblings, despite being more obese and consuming more sugar, also do not have it.

unsupp0rted 2y ago

Is fatty liver disease also common in teetotalers / non-fructose drinkers of average weight?

chiph 2y ago
I wouldn't think so, as alcohol, fructose, and/or being overweight seem to be the main factors. I would ask your doctor to look at your blood work with relation to that the next time you get a physical. Oh, and at least in my case, it's not related to cholesterol or diabetes. I'm fine there. {shrug}

Gibbon1 2y ago

Thing I read that's a bit fascinating and possibly important is your digestive system has taste buds and it's own nervous system. I wouldn't be gobsmacked if it responded to artificial sweeteners. And that causes issues. Other thing I read is fructose is processed by the liver via some of the same paths that alcohol does. Would surprising if they didn't share some of the same negative health outcomes.

arcticbull 2y ago
You can get NAFLD from fructose yes, but it's not the same as alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver but the pathway is very different. Alcohol dehydrogenase (and in alcoholics CYP2E1) breaks it down into acetaldehyde. Aldehyde dehydrogenase breaks it down into acetone. Acetone is one of the ketone bodies that's then utilized as a fuel directly. Acetone is a natural ketone, but it's also toxic at high levels. Fructose undergoes fructolysis. Fructose is phosphorylated to fructose-1-phosphate by frucotkinase. It's then broken down by aldolase B into glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). Glyceraldehyde is converted to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and enters mid-way through the glucose metabolism pathway. DHAP is used to synthesize fat. Since it happens in the liver, you can get fat build-up in the liver, and NAFLD.