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We know fructose, the main sugar from fruit, it very toxic to the liver. Does that mean we shouldn’t be eating fruit? Nah! It means eat moderately. Think of yourself as a caveman or cavewoman wandering through he forest, gathering and nibbling berries and roots. Eat at about that rate. What’s wrong with our modern living is that we can go to a supermarket and buy a whole week’s food and then eat the entire packet in hours. That’s not natural. Eating some grapes, crunching an apple, followed by a few nuts, a couple of dried apricots an hour or two later… that’s hunter-gatherer style eating. What’s really unnatural, of course, is eating concentrated fruit sugars; meaning high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Fructose is a simple sugar found in fruits and vegetables. It also is combined with glucose to manufacture high-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener in many packaged foods such as cereal and soda. That’s very bad and we know it damages the liver. I doubt it does the rest of the body much good either. Now a new test has been suggested, to monitor levels of uric acid and a reduction in liver energy stores. High uric acid, or hyperuricemia (like gout), is linked to lower levels of liver adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a compound involved in transferring energy between cells. The researchers, who published their new report in the September issue of the journal Hepatology, noted that energy depletion in the liver could result in liver damage for those with the metabolic condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and in those at risk for the condition. They stressed that the public should be aware of these risks associated with a diet high in fructose.