from Hacker News

Soft drink consumption and increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

by lawgimenez on 10/6/25, 11:20 PM with 14 comments

• by tracker1 on 10/7/25, 12:10 AM

  Could it be because HFCS, like Sucrose is about half Fructose and that Fructose is only metabolized by the liver... Not to mention the damage Fructose causes, similar to glycation but without anything resembling reliable testing. So basically everything bad about alcohol for the body but without the negative reinforcement of a headache after.

  Similar for fruit juice. In nature, people weren't drinking fruit smoothies by the liter year round either.

  When I was a kid, my grandmothers had these tiny 1/2 cup glasses for "fruit juice" which was a serving.. and you should "only have one serving a couple times a week." That's just not what people do today.

• by sghiassy on 10/7/25, 2:41 AM

  We still live in the shadow of the Temperance movement, where alcohol was demonized and liver disease became its symbol. But modern science shows that sugary drinks, even fruit juice, can cause the same liver issues once blamed solely on alcohol.

  Maybe the real takeaway isn’t “avoid alcohol,” but “understand what harms the liver.” We’ve moralized one source of damage while ignoring others.

• by blackqueeriroh on 10/7/25, 6:23 AM

  80% of people with NAFLD have normal enzyme markers and 92% have no cirrhosis at all.