The Rising Influence of the Hispanic Vote: A Growing Force Shaping America’s Elections
  Whether you are celebrating or mourning the results of Tuesday’s election, one thing is for certain. The Hispanic vote continues to be an ever-increasing driving force influencing final election outcomes.  There’s Strength in Numbers Accordin...
Californianos Quieren más Seguridad: Aprueban Prop 36 para Endurecer Sentencias
Los californianos apoyaron abrumadoramente la Propuesta 36 para alargar las sentencias penales por ciertos delitos de robo y drogas, y para dirigir a más personas a tratamientos contra las drogas después de las condenas. Las opiniones de los votant...
La Influencia del Voto Hispano: Fuerza Creciente que Moldea las Elecciones Estadounidenses
  Tanto si estás celebrando como lamentando los resultados de las elecciones del pasado martes, una cosa es segura: el voto hispano sigue siendo una fuerza impulsora con una influencia cada vez mayor en los resultados finales de las elecciones.  ...
Latinos’ Views of and Experiences with the Spanish Language
Over half of U.S. Latinos who do not speak Spanish have been shamed by other Latinos for it. Language plays a foundational role in shaping human experience, connecting people to their heritage and offering a sense of pride. However, for many U.S. ...
Perspectivas y Experiencias de los Latinos sobre el Idioma Español
Si bien la mayoría de los latinos en EE.UU. hablan español, no todos lo hacen. El 24 por ciento de todos los adultos latinos dicen que solo pueden mantener un poco o nada una conversación en español.   Más de la mitad de los latinos en EE.UU. que...

Bay Area study: Cutting sugar reduces liver fat in kids

Information
15 February 2018 Visión Hispana Print Email

Just nine days of cutting out fructose — the kind of sugar found in soft drinks, fruit juices and most processed foods — led to an unprecedented reduction in liver fat, a condition strongly linked to Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a new Bay Area-based study shows.

Scientists at Touro University in Vallejo and UC San Francisco who recorded a 20 percent drop in liver fat in children and adolescents they studied say the results offer a strategy that could slow the soaring global increase in chronic metabolic diseases.

The findings appear in the journal Gastroenterology.

“Our study clearly shows that sugar is turned into fat, which may explain the epidemic of fatty liver in children consuming soda and food with added sugar. And we find that fatty liver is reversed by removing added fructose from our diet,” lead author Jean-Marc Schwarz, a professor at Touro University and UCSF, said in a statement.

The researchers said the prevalence of fatty liver disease in adolescents has more than doubled in the past 20 years and is thought to cause a number of disorders by increasing insulin resistance, which dampens the body’s ability to control blood sugar, leading to Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

Studies show that sugar consumption among Latino and African-American teens is about 50 percent higher than that of whites and Asians, so the researchers recruited obese non-diabetic children and teens, ages 9 to 18, from those two ethnic groups. All the participants had at least one physiological marker for insulin resistance and all reported habitual high sugar consumption.

In the experimental diet, the calories from fructose were replaced by glucose-rich, starchy foods. Experts say glucose, found in grains and some vegetables, is the body’s main source of energy. It is essential for metabolism and can be turned into energy in all of our cells.

The researchers noted that a new model projecting the health and cost benefits of reducing sugar consumption in the U.S. found that a 20 percent drop in fructose consumption would cut the prevalence of a range of metabolic diseases by about 5 percent, saving the country $10 billion annually in medical costs.