The high sugar and stimulant content in carbonated soft drinks puts a burden on the liver and can cause elevated liver enzymes.
Liver enzymes are enzymes that catalyze metabolic reactions. AST, ALT, ALP, and GGT enzymes account for a high percentage in the liver. Excessive liver cell damage releases these enzymes into the blood, causing increased liver enzymes.
Elevated liver enzymes are often a warning sign of acute hepatitis, hepatic coma, chronic hepatitis, pancreatitis... If not controlled promptly, high enzyme levels can easily cause the disease to progress to a serious, dangerous stage.
Dr. Vu Truong Khanh, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that drinking a lot of carbonated soft drinks can easily increase liver enzymes. Carbonated soft drinks contain a lot of sugar, about 10.6 grams of sugar per 100 ml; 100 ml of energy drinks have about 8.7 grams of sugar. Drinking a 330 ml can of soft drink is equivalent to taking in 29-35 grams of sugar. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adult women should not eat more than 25 grams of sugar per day, and men should not consume more than 36 grams of sugar.
People with liver disease who regularly use this type of drink put a burden on the liver, causing this organ to work harder, easily increasing liver enzymes, and over time can lead to cancer.
The liver easily absorbs a lot of sugar in this type of drink, then converts it into fat, accumulating fat in the liver, leading to fatty liver and increasing liver enzymes. The accompanying health consequences are the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity...
Drinking too much soft drinks is not good for the liver. Photo: Ly Nguyen
Increased liver enzymes also occur due to a number of diseases such as hepatitis A, B, C, D, E virus infection, fatty liver disease, overweight, diabetes. Unscientific lifestyle; unbalanced diet; consuming a lot of processed, canned, fatty foods; alcohol and beer abuse are also causes.
Symptoms of elevated liver enzymes include loss of appetite, dark urine, right upper quadrant pain, nausea, jaundice, abdominal pain, enlarged spleen, ascites, and low-grade fever. Signs are not obvious when liver enzymes are mild or moderately elevated.
Only liver enzyme tests can determine if liver enzymes are high. If the index is too high, the patient needs to take medication as prescribed by the doctor, combined with a scientific diet and lifestyle.
To prevent the disease, Dr. Khanh recommends limiting alcohol, beer, and carbonated soft drinks. You should only drink a maximum of 350 ml per week, or about one bottle of soft drink, but it is best not to drink to protect your liver. Quit smoking to reduce the toxic load on your liver. Regular exercise helps increase metabolism, burn excess energy, limit fat accumulation in the liver, and stimulate the body to naturally detoxify through sweat.
Eat lots of vegetables and fruits to provide vitamins, fiber and carotenoid pigments. Vegetables such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, avocado, lemon, grapefruit... help neutralize toxins, promote liver regeneration and healing, thereby lowering liver enzymes.
Losing weight if you are overweight can also help lower liver enzymes. Working and resting properly, keeping your mind relaxed, and having regular health check-ups are also ways to control liver enzymes and maintain a healthy body.
Ly Nguyen
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