Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Liver Disease —Reply

In Reply We appreciate the comments by Dr Ayada and colleagues. We agree that sugar-sweetened beverages might partially impact the risk of liver cancer through their potential effect on NAFLD. We also hypothesize that sugar-sweetened beverages could affect liver carcinogenesis directly or via other mechanisms. For example, various additives, colorings, and preservatives that are commonly used in sugar-sweetened beverages could increase the expression of genes related to inflammatory processes in the liver. Additionally, sugar-sweetened beverages could induce changes in gut microbiota, which may increase intestinal permeability and further pose a risk of exposure to detrimental carcinogenic chemicals from gut to liver. Clearly, more investigation is needed to further elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and hepatocarcinogenesis.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research