Fit & Proper: What sugar does to your liver

Your weekly health guide

Too much of anything is bad for health, more so, if we are talking about sugar in our daily diet. Sugar doesn’t only cause cavities, but also affects many other parts of the body, causing long-term and irreversible damage. When you eat a lot of sugar, the whole body has to face its strain and it impacts the overall health.

What happens inside the body?

According to recent studies, excessive sugar intake can have the same effect on your body as alcohol and cocaine. When you consume sugar, the body releases mood uplifting hormones like dopamine and serotonin, which makes you crave more. The phenomenon is similar to that of drug and alcohol consumption. Inside the body, this sugar is broken down into glucose and fructose, which can then be assimilated by the body. So, when you consume too much sugar, your glucose level will increase and your body will release insulin to regulate it. The sudden rise and drop of sugar levels in the body drains you. Also, this sudden rise in insulin levels would prevent the body from secreting leptin, a hormone which sends signals to your brain when your stomach is full. In the absence of this hormone, you will keep eating, even after your hunger is satiated. The higher the insulin, the hungrier you feel and the brain identifies this as a self-starvation mode and starts storing glucose as fat deposits in the body. This overload of sugar in your bloodstream will eventually lead to diabetes.

What happens in the liver?

The fructose in the sugar is the main culprit behind liver damage. Glucose is a simple form of sugar and is easy to absorb. Fructose, on the other hand, seeps into the small intestine and is delivered straight into the liver. The main function of fructose is to break this down and metabolise. However, a sugar overload can make this process difficult and easily exhaust the liver resulting in small globules of fat deposits forming in the liver. This is known as lipogenesis and is a precursor to liver disorder.

The fructose overload brings down the good cholesterol level and multiplies the production of triglycerides, a type of bad cholesterol that travels straight from the liver to the heart, causing blockages and stroke. The liver also signals for an overdose of insulin to balance the fructose level, which then puts too much pressure on the already overworked pancreas. This constant regulation of blood sugar level tires the liver, and the glycogen, which gets accumulated over time, eventually leads to a fatty liver. This, over time, can lead to liver failure.

What can be done?

Regulating sugar intake and mindful eating are the only two ways to ensure a healthy liver. It is essential that you exercise and work out to burn excess fat from the body.  Binge eating should be curtailed and you must find alternate ways to pacify an emotional outburst. Yoga and meditation can help.

Next week: Housemaid’s Knee- Are You Also A Victim?

Dr Vinay Bhardwaj is the Head of Quantitative Health at Grow Fit