by Sandra Douglas

Created on: October 11, 2010   Last Updated: October 14, 2010

The American food industry began using High Fructose Corn Syrup in the 1970’s and since then, Americans have seen increased rates of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Now we can add one more to the list of health problems with a link to high fructose corn syrup:  Liver disease.

The news that high fructose corn syrup affects your liver may surprise a few people. After all, sugar is sugar, right?

How HFCS Affects your Liver

To understand how High Fructose Corn Syrup affects your liver, we need to understand the impact it has on obesity. Corn syrup producers have long denied the connection between High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and obesity, but independent research studies show that there is a relationship between the amount of HFCS in a person’s diet and the rate of obesity.  In one study published online March, 2010 by Princeton University researchers in the journal of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, researchers found that rats that drink water with high-fructose corn syrup gained much more weight than rats fed the same diet but had water sweetened with table sugar. Not only did the HFCS fed rats gain more weight, they showed signs of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a dangerous condition in humans that causes abnormal weight gain, increased triglyceride levels, and large fat deposits, especially belly fat.

When people show signs of metabolic syndrome, they are at an increased risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer, and diabetes. Doctors treating patients for these diet related conditions are now seeing an increase in another often silent condition, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. The liver tissue of people with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease resembles the liver of a person with alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Doctors know that obese people are at greater risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, but one study shows a more direct link between HFCS and the liver.

The Journal of Hepatology published the results of a study in 2008 that showed that, when comparing the diets of those with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease to those with normal livers, people with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease were shown to have an intake of HFCS two to three times higher than those without the disease.  The researchers concluded that a high intake of HFCS may be related to the development of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Sugars Are Not Treated Equally

Scientists now challenge the

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