Too much fructose disrupts intestinal barrier in mice, leading to liver damage

Reuters Health - 03/09/2020 - A mouse study of fatty liver disease suggests that excessive fructose consumption disrupts the intestinal barrier, allowing endotoxins to leak out into the liver, thereby triggering cytokine production and conversion of fructose and glucose into fatty acid deposits. The process can set the stage for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). "As far as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other high-fructose foods consumed by humans, I think our studies suggest that only excessive, high-end (i.e., 90th percentile and above) fructose consumption is worrisome," Dr. Michael Karin of the University of California, San Diego told Reuters Health by email. "Occasional drinking of HFCS-containing soft drinks or processed food and moderate consumption of dried fruits may not lead to barrier deterioration, as observed after high-end fructose consumption." "Therefore, clinicians need to caution their patients about excessive fructose consumption, suc...

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Posted on 3 September, 20208 September, 2020