# Sugar is poison for the liver Sugar is the generic name for soluble carbohydrates. The most common type of sugar is table sugar, also known as sucrose, a disaccharide composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. When you ingest glucose from a slice of white bread, about 20% of it reaches the liver since the rest is metabolized by the other cells in your body; indeed, **==around 100g of glucose can be stored in the liver as glycogen, and up to 400g in the muscle cells==**.[^1] Glucose stimulates the pancreas, which releases insulin, the hormone responsible for glucose absorption. **==About half of the glucose which reaches your liver is converted to glycogen, and the other half goes into your liver mitochondria in order to be converted to ATP.==** That glucose half becomes pyruvate, then acetyl-CoA, and enters the TCA cycle which yields ATP and citrate. Through a process called *de novo lipogenesis*, citrate is then converted to acyl-CoA and, finally, to very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), ie, fat. **This is generally not a problem since it concerns only a small quantity of glucose.** Fructose, on the other hand, is treated as a foreign substance so almost **==100% of it is processed directly in the liver mitochondria since it can't be converted to glycogen==**. **==As a result, it produces more VLDL, leading to an increased risk of heart disease and visceral fat accumulation.==** Furthermore, acyl-Coa is metabolized as free fatty acids, which cause **insulin resistance in the muscle**. Some fat cannot exit the liver, remaining in it and causing **non-alcoholic fatty liver disease**. Acyl-CoA also activates the enzyme JNK-1, causing both **inflammation and insulin resistance in the liver**. What is more, some fructose is converted to xylulose 5-phosphate, which **further stimulates de novo lipogenesis**, ie, fat synthesis. Finally, fructose metabolism also generates uric acid, which causes **hypertension**. By the way, most fruits contain fructose in varying proportions compared to glucose, but they are less dangerous to ingest thanks to their high fibre content which **slows the absorption rate of fructos**e, giving time for the liver to rest. What is more, **sugar disturbs your intestinal ecosystem** by promoting the growth of Candida, a type of fungi which can cause opportunistic infections. An unhealthy gut microbiome could be to blame for **many psychological troubles** such as ADHD, autism, Alzheimer's disease and brain fog. As if that was not enough, **sugar also exhibits many drug-like characteristics** (see [[Sugar is addictive]]). --- ## 📚 References - [[@whativelearnedLongevityWhyNow2016|Longevity & Why I now eat One Meal a Day]] - [[@whativelearnedWhySugarBad2016|WHY Sugar is as Bad as Alcohol (Fructose, The Liver Toxin)]] - [[@whativelearnedHowQuitSugar2016|HOW to quit Sugar & Unhealthy Habits]] [^1]: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen>