9 Surprising Things That Can Lead To Fatty Liver Disease: Part 2 of Liver Health

In recent years, I’ve observed that the environment we live in has gotten sicker and sicker. And when our environment is sick, those who live in that environment get sick as well. Many toxins and chemicals are used to make lots of the foods we consume and products we use on a daily basis. And unfortunately, the harmfulness and long-lasting effects of these toxins are just now starting to be realized.

One of the main things in the human body that’s affected by all of these toxins is the liver. The primary function of the liver is to filter out harmful toxins from the body. But when our bodies are being exposed to so many toxins, it can be hard for the liver to keep up.

So what happens when the liver gets overwhelmed? Where do the toxins go?

When our livers get overloaded with the amount of toxins it has to process, it responds by storing these toxins as fatty tissue in the liver. Over time, these fatty deposits cause a condition known as Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) or fatty liver disease.

MASLD is becoming more common, and this trend is expected to continue. This is largely due to the increasing amount of toxins and chemicals in our foods and environments.¹

The amount of toxins that we’re exposed to on a daily basis is large and probably hard to believe. We don’t have to work directly with chemicals in a factory to be exposed to chemicals and pollutants. In fact, most of them can be found at our local grocery stores.

Here are nine toxins that are common and have been linked to fatty liver disease.

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener that is made from corn starch, and it’s unfortunately found in large amounts in many of the foods we eat. Consuming high amounts of fructose on a regular basis can cause fatty liver disease. 

Specifically, when 25% of our daily calories consistently come from fructose, this can lead to changes in the body that can result in fatty liver disease. Additionally, consuming more than 50 grams of fructose in a day leads to insulin resistance, and more than 70 grams daily leads to increased triglycerides.²

And with the increasing amount of processed foods readily available, it’s easy to consume well over the recommended daily amount of fructose without realizing it. For example, a 20 ounce bottle of coca-cola contains 38.83 grams of fructose, which is almost an entire day’s worth of fructose in one beverage. 

2. Artificial sweeteners 

In order to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other forms of sugar, many people will instead consume products that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. But when it comes to the liver, they’re just as bad. 

Artificial sweeteners have been shown to cause gut dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive system),³ insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease.⁴

3. Mold Exposure

Many of my patients have been exposed to mold, and the organ that usually suffers the most damage in the body is the liver. When someone is exposed to mold, it triggers large amounts of fat to get deposited in the liver which leads to fatty liver disease.⁵

4. Medications

It’s important to remember that medications can be toxic and harmful to the liver. Medications that are known to be more toxic to the liver include:

  • Corticosteroids

  • Methotrexate

  • Tamoxifen

  • Amiodarone

  • Anti-retrovirals

If you’re on one of these medications, it’s important that you see your provider regularly and have frequent blood work to monitor your liver function. If you’re worried about your medications causing harm to your liver, the National Institute of Health has a great tool called LiverTox that you can use to find out how toxic a medication is to the liver. You can check it out at the link below.

5. Heavy Metals: Arsenic and Lead

Arsenic is a heavy metal that people are primarily exposed to through food and water. A surprising 13 million people in the United States use public water that exceeds the environmental protection agencies limit of 10 μg/L. Because of this, it’s so important to get water filters for all of your water sources. 

Other main sources of arsenic exposure include:

  • Seafood

  • Rice

  • Mushrooms

  • Poultry

  • Processed baby food

Unfortunately, a 2019 study found that 95% of baby foods tested were contaminated with toxic heavy metals.⁶ More recently, fruit pouches were recalled after the FDA found that the lining of the pouches released high levels of heavy metals like lead into the fruit inside. 

Lead has also been linked to the development of fatty liver disease and gut dysbiosis.⁷

6. Bis-phenol A and Canned Foods

Bis-phenol A (BPA) is a toxin that used to be largely used in plastic. But due to its harmful effects, it’s been removed from most plastic. However, it is still readily found throughout the food industry. 

BPA can be found in the inside lining of almost every canned food item. This is because it’s a key component of the epoxy that is used to prevent rust and corrosion inside of the can.⁸

Additionally, BPA is found in:

  • Water bottles

  • Compact discs (CDs)

  • Implantable medical devices

  • Dental implants

7. Phthalates

Phthalates are another toxin that we can get exposed to through our diet. While they aren’t initially in the food itself, they are in the containers that hold the food. The most common foods that are affected by this include milk, butter, and meats.

Additionally, phthalates are also found in non-food items such as:⁹

  • Cosmetics

  • Children’s toys

  • Ink from receipts

  • To-go coffee lids

  • Air fresheners

8. Persistent Organic Pollutants 

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are the pollutants that aren’t able to be broken down and filtered out of the body. Instead, they accumulate within our bodies. This is because POPs have long half-lives, which means that it takes a long time for our bodies to break them down.

Some of the most common POPs that people are exposed to due to their occupations include:

  • Exhaust from diesel and heavy duty trucks

  • Medications 

  • Insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides, such as DDT

  • Burning of medical waste and garbage

  • Industrial chemicals

  • Industrial wood combustion

  • Industrial boilers and furnaces

  • Cigarette smoke

  • Cosmetics

  • Personal care products including tampons and pads

  • Air, soil, and rainwater

There are also POPs that people are exposed to without working a certain occupation. According to the World Health Organization, these POPs account for 90% of total human exposure:¹⁰

  • Farmed fish

  • Meat

  • Milk

  • Dairy products

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a POP chemical that was in heavy use in the United States until the 1970s when it was banned. It was used throughout America in the agricultural industry and in many common household products to kill insects. The harm of using and being exposed to DDT has been well documented in research and was the subject of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking environmental work “Silent Spring”. 

Even though DDT is no longer used on crops grown in America, it’s still used in places like India, China, and African nations. DDT is used to kill mosquitos in many of these countries, and crops and other products from these countries may contain DDT that will enter the US. 

Not only are the people from these countries still being exposed, but we all are at risk of exposure. DDT has been found in multiple studies to have a positive correlation with fatty liver formation.¹¹

9. Roundup Ready (Glyphosate)

Roundup Ready is a weed-killer that contains a chemical called glyphosate. Because of its effectiveness at preventing weed growth, it’s used on crops like corn, wheat, soy, and sugarcane in America. However, the harm of using Roundup Ready on crops is now starting to be realized.

A 25 year study just came out in 2023 that demonstrates that there is a significant correlation between using Roundup Ready and having liver inflammation and metabolic syndrome in young adulthood.¹²

Because Roundup Ready is put onto crops that are used to make many of the foods we consume, the prevalence of glyphosate in the foods we eat is shockingly high. 

Several non-governmental organizations like Moms Across America, Food Democracy Now!, and The Detox Project have tested a variety of products for glyphosate. Based on their reports, here are just a few types of foods and examples of brands that have tested positive:

  • Granola by Quaker, KIND, Back to Nature, and Nature Valley

  • Instant oats by Giant, Quaker, Umpqua, and Market Pantry

  • Whole oats by Quaker, Bob’s Red Mill, Nature’s Path, and Whole Foods

  • Cereal by Kashi and Kellogg’s, including Lucky Charms and Cheerios

  • Snack bars by Quaker, KIND, Nature Valley, and Kellogg’s

  • Orange juice by Tropicana, Minute Maid, Signature Farms, and Kirkland

  • Crackers including Cheez-Its, Ritz, Triscuits, and Goldfish

  • Cookies by Annie’s, Kashi, and Nabisco, including Oreos

  • Chips by Stacy’s, Lay’s, Doritos, and Fritos

With all of these common household foods found to contain glyphosate, it may leave you wondering: so, what can I eat?

What Can I Eat To Prevent Fatty Liver Disease?

Even though it seems that there is nothing that can be done to prevent fatty liver disease, I want to assure you that’s not the case. With the rise of organic and non-GMO products, there are more options available now than ever to choose from. 

In my next blog, I’ll review some of my favorite foods and brands that are free from the above toxins and chemicals. Additionally, I’ll discuss all of the available treatments for the different types of fatty liver disease. 

For more reading on some of the topics we discussed today, I highly recommend Stephanie Seneff’s work “Toxic Legacy” and another newly published book that I have on my reading list: “How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT” by Elena Conis. Here is an article that discusses this book: