Fizzy drinks: the sweet treat your liver will not forgive you for
"I’ll have one or two fizzy drinks every now and again, not enough to be unhealthy". Does that sound like something you’ve said to yourself in the past? Well, unfortunately, the verdict of these French researchers concludes you’re kidding yourself: drinking just 33cl, i.e., a small can, of fizzy drink per day significantly damages your liver due to the high levels of sugar in these drinks. The reason is that excessive consumption of sugar causes fat to accumulate in the liver.
This condition, AKA non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to give it its scientific name, is an inflammatory disease of the liver caused by this fatty buildup. And though it may not always cause visible symptoms, it is far from harmless as it can lead to cirrhosis or cancer. Today, a fifth of the French population are already suffering from NASH, and researchers are highly concerned that this disease may become the world’s next epidemic.
Given these concerns, scientists are focused on young children’s consumption of fizzy drinks, which is growing every day, sometimes as early as in their first baby bottle months, and are imploring parents to act more responsibly with the drinks their children consume. It bears repeating again and again – water is the healthiest drink there is!