A groundbreaking study has found that just 3 months on a high-sugar diet alters fat metabolism in such a way that it may cause even healthy people to raise their risk of heart disease.
The study suggests that the liver deals with fat differently on a high-sugar diet than it does on a low-sugar diet.
The researchers, led by a team from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, describe their findings in the journal Clinical Science.
They report how otherwise healthy men had higher levels of fat in their blood and liver after consuming a high-sugar diet for 12 weeks.
They also found that the men’s fat metabolism bore similarities to that of people who have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition that develops when fat builds up in the liver.
“Our findings provide new evidence that consuming high amounts of sugar can alter your fat metabolism in ways that could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease,” comments Bruce Griffin, a professor of nutritional metabolism at the University of Surrey.
