Can High Liver Enzymes Be Caused By Splenda?

A leaky gut can lead to the passage of pro-inflammatory molecules and bacterial endotoxins into the bloodstream, increasing hepatic inflammation and susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A new study found that certain artificial sweeteners can interfere with the liver’s ability to rid itself of toxins. Elevated liver enzymes often indicate inflammation within the liver, which can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, certain medicines, or liver diseases. Common causes include nonprescription pain medicines, prescription medicines, and transaminase levels.

There are many potential causes of elevated liver enzymes, from minor infections or illnesses to serious liver disease or cancer. Healthcare providers can help individuals understand their lab results based on their symptoms. High levels of liver enzymes in the blood may be temporary or a sign of a medical condition like hepatitis.

Increased consumption of aspartame (ASs) may further raise the prevalence of NAFLD, but further human studies are needed to determine its effects. A new study suggests that two sugar substitutes disrupt the function of a protein that plays a vital role in liver detoxification. Elevated hepatic deoxycholic acid levels may disrupt gene expression in the liver and contribute to the development of sucralose-induced NAFLD.

Some people claim that aspartame is entirely harmless, but new studies suggest that it may have some effects on metabolism. Commonly used sweeteners can cause cancer in the liver, according to Upstate research published in the journal Nature Metabolism. A new study published in BMC Public Health suggests that the heavy consumption of diet soda may raise the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver.

Do artificial sweeteners affect liver enzymes?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a widespread and systemic disease characterized by the accumulation of excess fat in the liver of individuals who consume little or no alcohol. Artificial sweeteners (ASs), also known as low-calorie or non-calorie sweeteners, are food additives that provide a sweet taste and are increasingly consumed to reduce calorie intake. The gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem with various roles in host nutrition, bone mineralization, immune system regulation, xenobiotic metabolism, intestinal cell proliferation, and protection against pathogens, is disrupted by ‘gut dysbiosis,’ which may adversely affect body metabolism.

The present study aims to investigate the effects of ASs on the risk of NAFLD, focusing on microbiota changes and dysbiosis. Increasing evidence suggests that ASs have a potential role in microbiota alteration and dysbiosis. Increased consumption of ASs may further raise the prevalence of NAFLD, but further human studies are needed to determine this relationship definitively.

NAFLD is a systemic disease affecting several extra-hepatic organs and regulatory pathways. It is predicted to be the most common cause of liver transplantation by 2030 and increases overall mortality by 57. Factors involved in the initiation and progression of NAFLD include obesity, visceral ectopic fat accumulation, adipose tissue inflammation, type 2 diabetes, nutrition and dietary pattern, and intestinal dysbiosis. Further human studies are needed to determine this relationship definitively.

Which sweetener is best for your liver?

Now, studying mice, new research shows that a natural sugar called trehalose prevents the sugar fructose — thought to be a major contributor to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — from entering the liver and triggers a cellular housekeeping process that cleans up excess fat buildup inside liver cells.

The research, by a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, appears Feb. 23 in the journal Science Signaling.

“In general, if you feed a mouse a high-sugar diet, it gets a fatty liver,” said first author Brian J. DeBosch, MD, PhD, a pediatric gastroenterologist. “We found that if you feed a mouse a diet high in fructose plus provide drinking water that contains three percent trehalose, you completely block the development of a fatty liver. Those mice also had lower body weights at the end of the study and lower levels of circulating cholesterol, fatty acids and triglycerides.”

What can falsely elevate liver enzymes?

Common causes of elevated liver enzymes include: Nonprescription pain medicines, particularly acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Certain prescription medicines, including statins, which are used to control cholesterol. Drinking alcohol.

Is it okay to use Splenda every day?

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of Splenda, established by the FDA, is slightly higher than that of stevia. The average person can consume approximately 23 servings of Splenda each day (1 serving = 1 tabletop sweetening packet). For stevia, the number of servings per day is nine. Yet, at intake levels lower than the ADI, changes in gut bacteria and weight gain have been observed in studies for both Splenda and stevia.

Consuming too much stevia may lead to nausea, bloating, dizziness, muscle pain, and numbness.

Consuming too much of any artificial sweetener may cause diarrhea, bloating, gas, or have a laxative effect in some people. There is also the possibility of an allergic reaction, so it is important to pay attention to any changes in the body.

What supplements can cause elevated liver enzymes?

Herbal supplements and vitamin supplements, like chaparral, comfrey tea, iron and vitamin A.

What does it mean to have elevated liver enzymes?. If you have high levels of liver enzymes in your blood, you have elevated liver enzymes. High liver enzyme levels may be temporary, or they may be a sign of a medical condition like hepatitis or liver disease. Certain medications can also cause elevated liver enzymes.

What are liver enzymes?. Liver enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in your body. These chemical reactions include producing bile and substances that help your blood clot, breaking down food and toxins, and fighting infection. Common liver enzymes include:

• Alkaline phosphatase (ALP).
• Alanine transaminase (ALT).
• Aspartate transaminase (AST).
• Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT).

Do sugar alcohols affect the liver?

The study focuses on the role of sugar alcohols in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease (CLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in whole blood and liver tissues. Hepatitis C and B viral infections are major risk factors for HCC, which progress to CLD. Early diagnosis and treatment of HCC are challenging due to the lack of a fully defined pathogenesis. Untargeted GC-TOF MS metabolomics data were acquired from resected human HCC tissues and their paired non-tumor hepatic tissues. Blood samples of the same HCC subjects were compared to CLD and healthy control blood samples.

The most significant alteration was found for the class of sugar alcohols that were up-regulated in blood of HCC patients compared to CLD subjects and CLD compared to healthy controls. Sugar alcohols were the most significant class differentiating resected HCC tissues from non-malignant hepatic tissues for all HCC patients. Alteration of sugar alcohol levels in liver tissues also defined early-stage HCC from their paired non-malignant hepatic tissues.

In blood, sugar alcohols differentiated HCC from CLD subjects with an ROC-curve of 0. 875 compared to 0. 685 for the classic HCC biomarker alpha-fetoprotein. Blood sugar alcohol levels steadily increased from healthy controls to CLD, early stages of HCC, and late-stage HCC patients. This increase in sugar alcohol levels indicates a role of aldo-keto reductases in the pathogenesis of HCC, potentially opening novel diagnostic and therapeutic options after in-depth validation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents about 75 of all liver cancers worldwide, and its subtle manifestation in its early stages is responsible for delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis. Laboratory diagnosis of HCC by alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) lacks sensitivity and specificity with respect to CLD and cirrhotic liver.

Is it OK to use Splenda everyday?

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of Splenda, established by the FDA, is slightly higher than that of stevia. The average person can consume approximately 23 servings of Splenda each day (1 serving = 1 tabletop sweetening packet). For stevia, the number of servings per day is nine. Yet, at intake levels lower than the ADI, changes in gut bacteria and weight gain have been observed in studies for both Splenda and stevia.

Consuming too much stevia may lead to nausea, bloating, dizziness, muscle pain, and numbness.

Consuming too much of any artificial sweetener may cause diarrhea, bloating, gas, or have a laxative effect in some people. There is also the possibility of an allergic reaction, so it is important to pay attention to any changes in the body.

What are the negative effects of Splenda?

A 2020 Yale study found that consuming artificial sweetener sucralose, found in Splenda, Zerocal, Sukrana, and SucraPlus, can turn a healthy person into one with high blood sugar. A French study found that people who drank a median of just over 6 ounces of artificially sweetened beverages per day were at higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease than those who did not consume these drinks. Scientists hypothesize that artificial sugars trigger inflammation and alter metabolism, the gut microbiome, and blood vessels, leading to unhealthy cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that artificial sweeteners, when consumed long term, do not reduce body fat in adults or children and could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in adults. The recommendation applies to everyone except those with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic and natural non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and stevia. The WHO recommendation is conditional, and policy decisions will be made after discussion based on specific country contexts.

To avoid the risks of no-calorie sweeteners, individuals can use one or two teaspoons of sugar in tea and coffee, which is less than one quarter of the calories of most non-diet soft drinks. Drinking more water or unsweetened beverages, such as water with a slice of fruit, is also a healthy option.

Is Splenda good for the liver?

Sucralose, an artificial sweetener, has been found to promote reactive oxygen species (ROS) production through T1R3 and facilitate hepatic lipogenesis, potentially exacerbated by high-fat diets (HFDs). NAFLD, the most common chronic liver disease globally, is strongly associated with metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. Increased hepatic lipid accumulation results in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, leading to impaired liver function.

Sucralose is widely used due to its pH and heat stability and has been declared safe by the FDA in the United States. However, studies have shown that sucralose increases the expression of hepatic pro-inflammatory factors, induces hepatic lymphocytic infiltration, and increases rat hepatic lipogenesis-related gene levels. It also alters bile acid metabolism and glucose tolerance by changing the composition of gut microbiota. Recent evidence suggests that sucralose has an activity to induce the ER stress pathway, suggesting that it may exert adverse effects on human health.

Sweet taste receptors (STR), such as T1R2 and T1R3, are expressed in various extra-gustatory tissues and play a crucial role in energy balance, glucose homeostasis, and lipid metabolism. They are also expressed in the liver, and the loss of T1R3 reduces atherosclerotic plaque accumulation and hepatic steatosis in ApoE knockout mice. Although STR can be activated by sucralose and trigger physiological responses, the effects of sucralose on hepatic lipid accumulation remain unclear.

Which is safer, stevia or Splenda?

Splenda and stevia are popular and versatile sweeteners that won’t add calories to your diet.

Both are generally considered safe to use, yet research on their long-term health effects is ongoing. While no evidence suggests that either is unsafe, it appears that purified stevia is associated with the fewest concerns.

When choosing between the two, consider their best uses and enjoy them in moderation.

What is the #1 best drink for your liver?

1. Coffee. Coffee is one of the best beverages you can drink to promote liver health. Studies have shown that drinking coffee protects the liver from disease, even among those who already have health concerns related to this organ.

Coffee is one of the best beverages you can drink to promote liver health.

Studies have shown that drinking coffee protects the liver from disease, even among those who already have health concerns related to this organ.

For example, studies in a 2016 research review have shown that drinking coffee helps lower the risk of cirrhosis, or permanent liver damage, in people with chronic liver disease.