Fast Foods Can Cause Liver Damage

Submitted by Loring A. Windblad on February 24, 2010

Diet Fast Foods And Effects On Liver

Fast food is the latest trend today. With the increasing amount of work pressure and reduced amount of time fast foods are becoming a lifestyle with many people as it is a quick way to have a meal and does not take time to prepare. Unfortunately, fast foods can cause a number of serious health issues and diseases and is known to rapidly damage the liver.

The liver is a very important organ of the body which performs the function of breaking down fats in the body for energy. When there is an excessive increase in the consumption of fats, the liver is not able to keep up to the high levels and ultimately infiltrates the liver cell and builds up around the liver causing scarring and inflammation of the liver along with permanent liver damage.

It is important that you understand the whole process as to how eating fast foods leads to a step by step process of damaging the liver.

Fast food consumption allows all the calories to enter your body which directly results in weight gain. Obesity itself is the root cause for majority of the heart diseases. This was proved by a research conducted by Swedish people where they selected 18 thin but healthy volunteers including 12 men and 6 women and put them on consuming two fast food based meals everyday for 4 weeks while reducing their physical exercise.

Enzymes like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and hepatic triglyceride content (HTGC) are indicative of liver function. Therefore, any significant changes in these enzymes will require further tests for an accurate diagnosis. People who generally consume excessive amounts of alcohols are seen with abnormally high levels of ALT. The HTGC measures fatty acids in the liver as elevated levels leads to a serious condition known as fatty liver disease. During the 4 week course, 13 of the 18 subjects developed pathological serum ALT concentrations.

At the end of 4 weeks the research reported that fast food consumers had put on an average weight of 6.5 kg and 5participants increased their weight by 15 percent.

ALT rose to liver damage level in 11 participants. The increase in ALT was linked to weight gain and an increase in sugar and carbohydrate intake.

The liver can regenerate itself but a long term exposure to eating fast food diet can cause an irreversible damage on the liver which can prove fatal.

Hence it is essential that you restrict your fast food consumption and indulge in a healthy and nutritious diet.