Someone sent this through my email.

The study implicates soda too.  But that is less surprising.  I am
guessing  that future studies will show more generally that drinking
fructose is a bad idea.
Just two cans of fizzy drink a day can increase risk of liver damage
by 80 per cent
London Daily Mail
11th August 2009

Drinking just two glasses of fruit juice or fizzy drink each day may
cause long-term liver damage resulting in the need for a transplant,
according to new research published today.

Liver damage is usually associated with alcohol abuse but a new study
has found that drinks with a high sugar content can cause a condition
called fatty liver disease, making them even more dangerous than
alcohol abuse.

Israeli scientists found that people who drank a litre of high-sugar
fizzy drinks or fresh fruit juice each day were five times more likely
to develop fatty liver disease.

They found that even a couple of cans of beverages such as Coca Cola
raised the risk of liver damage, as well as diabetes and heart damage.

Doctors at the Ziv Liver unit in Haifa, Israel compared two groups of
volunteers, neither of which had a risk of developing fatty liver
disease.

The results at the end of the study showed that 80 per cent of those
who had consumed high-sugar fizzy drinks and fruit juices had fatty
liver changes, while only 17 per cent of the control group - who had
not been drinking sugary beverages - developed fatty livers.

Dr Nimer Assy who lead the study said the research showed that
long-term consumption of high-sugar beverages could result in liver
failure and the need for a transplant.

He explained that freshly-squeezed fruit juices could be as dangerous
as highly sweetened carbonated soda.

'The ingredient in fizzy drinks and juices that causes the damage is a
fruit sugar called fructose, which is highly absorbable in the liver,'
he said.

'It does not affect insulin production and goes straight to the liver
where it is converted to fat.

'Fructose increases the chances of suffering from a fatty liver, which
can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.'

The father-of-five, who confessed to letting his own children drink
Coca Cola recommended that parents limit their children's intake of
sweetened beverages to no more than one cup, juice box or can each
day.

He added that parents should replace the juice in their children's
lunch boxes with a bottle of water.

To reap the maximum benefit from fruit, and to avoid the risk of liver
damage, Dr Assy suggested eating the fruit whole: 'Whole oranges have
fibre that prevents fructose from being absorbed into the liver,' he
explained.

Dr Assy's study was inspired by patients with fatty liver disease at
his clinic: 'We have noticed recently that there are many patients
coming to the clinic with fatty infiltration of the liver.

'Usually the risk factor is for people with obesity, diabetes and
alcohol abuse, but we noticed some people without these pre-conditions
could have fatty liver.'

Imogen Shillito, the British Liver Trust's Director of Information and
Education said: 'We're very concerned that the rising tide of obesity
is putting people's liver health at risk. Fatty liver disease in the
UK is set to get worse with the rising rates of obesity.

'This research highlights that people should watch their sugar intake
as well as their alcohol intake in their drinks to avoid liver damage
and reduce the risk of liver cancer.

'A healthy diet, including fresh fruit and regular exercise, will help
reduce your risk of developing fatty liver disease.'