Study on Mice Suggests Diet Rich in Carbohydrates May Lead to Fatty Liver
by Joan Trombetti, Writer | October 01, 2007
The study was done
using two groups
of laboratory mice.
using two groups
of laboratory mice.
A study published in the The Journal of Obesity by David Ludwig, MD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital of Boston and his colleagues found that a diet rich in carbohydrates with a high glycemic index (GI) not only expands the waistline, but may lead to fatty liver and result in liver failure and death. The study was done on mice.
With rising obesity rates among Americans, fatty liver is on the rise, and researchers involved in this study hope to confirm their findings in a clinical trial with overweight children. They want to show that the trend can be reversed by eating a healthy diet. Dr. Ludwig explained that fatty liver is becoming especially common among children, and although many adult cases can be caused by alcoholism, that is not so in children. It is estimated that between one and four and one in two obese American children are thought to be affected by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Ludwig went on to say that this means that millions of children are at elevated risk of getting full blown liver disease when they get older. He called this trend "a silent but dangerous epidemic". He said that just as type 2 diabetes exploded into our consciousness in the 1990s, "so we think fatty liver will do the same in the coming decade."
In terms of diet, the culprits seem to be high GI foods like white bread, white rice, most processed grains like breakfast cereals, and concentrated sugar. These foods tend to raise blood sugar quickly because starch is broken down into sugar quickly.
Americans should be eating healthy foods (low GI) like most vegetables, fruits, beans and unprocessed grains, because the starch in them is digested slowly and the blood sugar rises slowly.
The study was done using two groups of laboratory mice -- one group fed a high GI diet -- and the other a low GI diet. Both groups ate the same number of calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates. The difference was the GI value of the carbohydrates.
After six months, both group weighed the same, but there was a difference in fat deposits in the two groups. The mice on the low GI diet had normal amounts of fat in their bodies and were lean; whereas, the mice on the high GI diet had twice as much fat in their blood and their livers. Ludwig explained this by stating "sugar released from high GI food ramps up insulin production, which tells the body to make and store fat. This is a burden to the liver because the pancreas produces the insulin and sends it straight to the liver, resulting in liver insulin levels way above the rest of the body."
What is frightening is fatty liver usually has no symptoms, but it raises the risk of liver inflammation, which can lead to hepatitis that can sometimes be fatal.
Dr. Ludwig concluded by saying that the experiment has created a very strong argument that a high-glycemic index diet causes -- and a low-glycemic index diet prevents -- fatty liver in humans. He has a theory that obesity, sedentary lifestyles and eating too many refined carbohydrates are driving a fatty liver epidemic in children. He believes that the irony is that low fat diets only make things worse, because "they replace fat with sugar and starch (mostly high GI) that increases fat deposits in the body."
With rising obesity rates among Americans, fatty liver is on the rise, and researchers involved in this study hope to confirm their findings in a clinical trial with overweight children. They want to show that the trend can be reversed by eating a healthy diet. Dr. Ludwig explained that fatty liver is becoming especially common among children, and although many adult cases can be caused by alcoholism, that is not so in children. It is estimated that between one and four and one in two obese American children are thought to be affected by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Ludwig went on to say that this means that millions of children are at elevated risk of getting full blown liver disease when they get older. He called this trend "a silent but dangerous epidemic". He said that just as type 2 diabetes exploded into our consciousness in the 1990s, "so we think fatty liver will do the same in the coming decade."
In terms of diet, the culprits seem to be high GI foods like white bread, white rice, most processed grains like breakfast cereals, and concentrated sugar. These foods tend to raise blood sugar quickly because starch is broken down into sugar quickly.
Americans should be eating healthy foods (low GI) like most vegetables, fruits, beans and unprocessed grains, because the starch in them is digested slowly and the blood sugar rises slowly.
The study was done using two groups of laboratory mice -- one group fed a high GI diet -- and the other a low GI diet. Both groups ate the same number of calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates. The difference was the GI value of the carbohydrates.
After six months, both group weighed the same, but there was a difference in fat deposits in the two groups. The mice on the low GI diet had normal amounts of fat in their bodies and were lean; whereas, the mice on the high GI diet had twice as much fat in their blood and their livers. Ludwig explained this by stating "sugar released from high GI food ramps up insulin production, which tells the body to make and store fat. This is a burden to the liver because the pancreas produces the insulin and sends it straight to the liver, resulting in liver insulin levels way above the rest of the body."
What is frightening is fatty liver usually has no symptoms, but it raises the risk of liver inflammation, which can lead to hepatitis that can sometimes be fatal.
Dr. Ludwig concluded by saying that the experiment has created a very strong argument that a high-glycemic index diet causes -- and a low-glycemic index diet prevents -- fatty liver in humans. He has a theory that obesity, sedentary lifestyles and eating too many refined carbohydrates are driving a fatty liver epidemic in children. He believes that the irony is that low fat diets only make things worse, because "they replace fat with sugar and starch (mostly high GI) that increases fat deposits in the body."
