IS DIABETES AN ENEMY TO THE LIVER?

Obesity is one of the most important health issues in developed and developing countries. Obesity, which can be defined as the general increase in body mass index, increase of fat mass in comparison with fat-free mass, and body weight being extremely above average for the height, affects our system completely.

Obesity is a risk factor for fatty liver, insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, sleep apnea, menstruation disorders, and increase of some types of cancer.

How does diabetes cause fatty liver syndrome and obesity which becomes a risk factor for all these diseases?

The main function of the liver is balancing blood sugar according to the instructions (being full=insulin) it gets from the pancreas.

In postprandial state blood sugar will rise and insulin will be secreted from the pancreas.

For 1-2 hours, the liver will take the glucose from blood and turn it into glycogen to be released during fasting and store the extra as fat.

Extra carbohydrate we consume is stored as fat, so the liver gets fatty and as this happens we are heading towards cirrhosis.

In Turkey, fatty liver is the number one reason for cirrhosis.

The second reason is excessive alcohol consumption, which also leads to fatty liver.

Fructose, an industrial sugar named corn syrup (pseudo-sugar), causes more risk for obesity and fatty liver compared to glucose.

This is because our body cannot limit fructose.

That is why we must avoid fructose and save our liver.

Fructose is used commonly in the industry since it is sweeter and cheaper than glucose.

It is the biggest reason of childhood obesity, which has been increasing rapidly in the last 20 years.

We should never forget that the liver only becomes cancerous if there is an underlying disease.

Some examples of these are hepatitis viruses, biliary diseases, congenital liver diseases, obesity and fatty liver.

Since the most common reason in our country is obesity and fatty liver, we should avoid fructose and exercise regularly to maintain our ideal body weight.

Because Life Flourishes With Care And Love…