Even just a month of eating fast food can cause significant changes to your liver.
A new study shows that regularly eating fast food isn't just bad for your waistline, it can also damage your liver in ways that are surprisingly similar to hepatitis.
The results were revealed on the television program, 'The Doctors,' where it was found that even just a month of eating fast food can cause significant changes to your liver.
French fries in particular were dangerous because of the extra ingredients added.
'We know that they are adding salt, and cooking it in fat, but they're also putting sugar on them too. Why sugar? Because it helps get them golden crispy,' said Dr. Drew Ordon, who appears on the show.
Foods like fried chicken and onion rings were especially bad for the liver.
'The amount of fat and saturated fats creates a condition called fatty liver,' Ordon said.
He said the changes in liver enzymes are in line with the effects of hepatitis. That disease can ultimately cause liver failure.
The US has 160,000 fast food restaurants serving an estimated 50 million customers every day.
'We're all guilty, and every now and then you have to splurge, but the problem is that so many people are getting into eating fast food, especially kids, as their staple, and I think that's the point,' Ordon said.
Just ordering a salad won't help as Ordon warned that any item marked healthy or fresh at a fast food restaurant likely has added chemicals, as there aren't clear regulations for those foods.
'Some places actually put propylene glycol on the salads, which is anti-freeze, the reason behind that is that it prevents wilting,' said Ordon. 'And although they say a little anti-freeze isn't going to hurt you, obviously given a choice you don't want to be eating anti-freeze.'
最新研究显示，经常食用快餐油炸食品不仅会让人肥胖，还会损害肝脏，而且对肝脏的损伤类似于肝炎。
电视节目《医生》播出了这一研究结果。吃快餐油炸食品一个月，就可引起肝脏的明显变化。
研究显示，法式炸薯条危害很大，缘于其中过多的添加物。
德鲁•奥登医生在节目中说：“大家都知道其中添加了盐，用油炸制而成，其实薯条中还加了糖。为什么要加糖？因为那样可以让薯条颜色金黄，口感酥脆。”
炸鸡、炸洋葱圈等食品对肝脏的危害也很大。
奥登说：“油脂和饱和脂肪酸的堆积导致了脂肪肝。”
他说，快餐油炸食品引发的人体内酶的变化类似肝炎。这种疾病最终会导致肝功能衰竭。
美国有大约16万家快餐店，每天向5000万消费者提供快餐。
奥登说：“我们都感到内疚，常常不得不吃这些。但问题是，相当多的人已经养成了吃快餐的习惯，尤其是儿童，他们把快餐当成主食。我觉得这是问题所在。”
只吃沙拉也没用。奥登提醒消费者，快餐店中标明健康新鲜的食品也常常被添加多种化学物质，而这方面美国目前尚无限制使用的明确规定。
奥登说：“有些地方会在沙拉中添加丙二醇。这是一种防冻剂，也可用于保鲜。尽管他们说一点点防冻剂无损健康，但显然如果可以选择，谁也不愿意吃下防冻剂。”
fatty liver: 脂肪肝