The sugar-fatty liver connection

Singer-songwriter Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. was known as Fats Domino; silent-screen star Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle went by Fatty Arbuckle; and jazz pianist Thomas Wright Waller was called Fats Waller. These legendary celebs embraced their corpulent nicknames, but most folks don’t want to see their extra padding talked about on a billboard.

Nonetheless, the average American adult gains 1.25 pounds annually from their 20s to their 50s -- and it’s not muscle. That contributes to chronic diseases many of you contend with, from depression and sore joints to heart disease and diabetes. And you know poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle are to blame. But did you know that one of the most fat-fueling habits is eating sugar?

A new study found that consuming even moderate amounts of added sucrose and fructose doubles fat production in your liver, leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fatty deposits in your muscles and diabetes. The researchers say 2.8 ounces of sugar a day -what’s in a little more than two cans of Coke -- is all it takes to crank up excess fat production.

For up to 30% of the 100 million adults in the U.S. with NAFLD, the disease progresses to inflammation, liver damage and potentially fatal cirrhosis. So stopping the intake of added fructose and sucrose is essential.

Think -- or know -you’re at risk? Talk to your doc and pick up “Skinny Liver: A Proven Program to Prevent and Reverse the New Silent Epidemic -- Fatty Liver Disease” by Kristin Kirkpatrick and Dr. Ibrahim Hanouneh.