Welcome to the last blog from Sprouting Health in 2022! Coming to the end-of-year celebration, it is important to remember to make smart decisions over what we put into our stomach whilst enjoying the time with family and friends.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2017-18, 67% of Australians aged 18 and over were overweight or obese. 1 in 4 children aged 2-17 was overweight or obese.(1) Physical inactivity and poor eating habits are arguably the biggest contributor to being overweight. One simple trick to avoid being overweight is to limit the consumption of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) containing food and drinks! Fructose is a sugar found naturally in fruits and honey. However, the consumption of fructose has drastically increased in the past few decades due to the intake of sweeteners that are highly made up of fructose. Fructose metabolism takes place in the liver, this process will consume energy(ATP), increase uric acid production and increase fat accumulation, especially in the liver.(2) As a result, obesity, insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases can occur.(2) Recent research has estimated 1 in 10 children and adolescence aged 2-19 have NAFLD.(3) Fatty liver often cause no symptoms. When it does, they may include fatigue, pain or discomfort in the upper right abdomen. In adults, fatty liver disease can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis and is a growing reason for liver transplant and, in some instances, liver cancer. Here are our top 5 food and drinks to avoid 1. Soft Drinks 2. Fast food and processed food 3. Lollies 4. Ice cream and sweetened dairy products such as yoghurt 5. Breakfast cereals and protein bars - although generally labelled as healthy foods, manufacturers often add sweeteners to improve the taste Making smarter choices help us get back the control of our health! If you are curious and want to gain control of your own health, chat with one of our chiropractors and see how we can help manage your concerns! Lastly, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year! Reference 1. Health AIo, Welfare. Overweight and obesity. Canberra: AIHW; 2022. 2. Mai BH, Yan L-J. The negative and detrimental effects of high fructose on the liver, with special reference to metabolic disorders. Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity: targets and therapy. 2019;12:821. 3. Elizabeth LY, Schwimmer JB. Epidemiology of pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical Liver Disease. 2021;17(3):196.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBlogs by the team at Sprouting Health Archives
November 2024
Categories |