Fatty liver can be a sign of serious problems to
come
|
A diet rich in potatoes, white bread and white rice may be
contributing to a "silent epidemic" of a dangerous liver
condition.
"High-glycaemic" foods - rapidly digested by the body -
could be causing "fatty liver", increasing the risk of
serious illness.
Boston-based researchers, writing in the journal
Obesity, found mice fed starchy foods developed the
disease.
Those fed a similar quantity of other foods did not.
One obesity expert said fatty liver in today's
children was "a tragedy of the future".
High GI foods:
Mashed potato
White bread
Chips
Some breakfast cereals (eg Cornflakes,
Rice Krispies, Coco Pops)
Steamed white rice
Moderate GI foods:
Muesli (non-toasted)
Boiled potatoes
Pitta bread
Basmati rice
Honey
Wholemeal bread
Low GI foods:
Roasted salted peanuts
Rye and granary bread
Whole and skimmed milk
Spaghetti
Boiled carrots
Baked beans
|
Fatty liver is exactly as it sounds - a build-up
over time of fat deposits around the organ.
At the time, no ill-effects are felt, but it
has been linked with a higher risk of
potentially fatal liver failure later in life.
The study, carried out at Boston Children's
Hospital, looked at the effect of diets with
precisely the same calorific content, but
very different ingredients when measured
using the glycaemic index (GI).
This is a measure of how quickly the
energy in the food is absorbed by the
body, producing a rise in blood sugar
levels - high GI foods lead to sharper
rises in blood sugar, and similar rises in
insulin levels, as the body releases the
chemical in response.
High GI foods include many breakfast
cereals and processed foods such as
white bread and white rice.
Low GI foods include unprocessed
fruit, nuts, pulses and grains,
including rye or granary bread,
spaghetti, apples and oranges.
Silent and deadly
After six months on the diet, the
mice weighed the same, but those
on the high GI diet had twice the
normal amount of fat in their
bodies, blood and livers.
Fatty liver is going
to
be one of the
tragedies of the
future unless we do
something about it
Tam Fry, National
Obesity Forum
|
The researchers say that
because the processed
carbohydrates are absorbed so
quickly, they trigger the
release of more of the
chemical insulin, which tells
the body to lay down more fat.
Dr David Ludwig, who led the
research, said that the
results would also apply to
humans, and even children,
in whom fatty liver is
becoming far more common.
Between a quarter and half
of all overweight American
children are thought to
have the condition, he
said.
"This is a silent but
dangerous epidemic," he
said.
"Just as type 2
diabetes exploded into
our consciousness in
the 1990s, so we think
fatty liver will in
the coming decade."
Insulin resistance
Tam Fry, National
Obesity Forum
board member and
chairman of the
Child Growth
Foundation, said
it was clear that
eating a diet rich
in high-glycaemic
food led to
increased fat.
He said: "Fatty
liver is going
to be one of the
tragedies of the
future unless we
do something
about it."
Azmina
Govindja, a
dietician and
spokesman for
the British
Dietetic
Association,
said that the
biggest threat
from a diet
rich in high-glycaemic
food was
development of
insulin
resistance -
the first sign
of type 2
diabetes.
She said:
"There is a
place for
high-glycaemic
carbohydrates
in
moderation
as part of a
balanced
diet, but
there's good
research
that eating
too much can
increase the
risk of
insulin
resistance -
and this can
lead to
serious
health
problems.
"However,
this study
is
interesting,
as there
is other
evidence
that
people who
eat a diet
rich in
high-glycaemic
food are
more
likely to
have more
body fat."
|
