Small stories, big health lessons (episode 6)

<h3>It Is Just Soft Drink...</h3> Mariya was sitting under a tree outside her faculty, trying to finish an assignment.Beside her was the most important part of the operation.A cold bottle of coke.She took another sip and continued writing.A few minutes later, she opened WhatsApp.Her friend had posted a link on her status.“How sugary drinks are slowly damaging your liver.”Mariya almost skipped it.Almost.Then she looked at the bottle beside her.“Hmm.”Then she clicked it.One article became two.Two became a YouTube video.Then another.Before she knew it, she had spent almost half an hour reading about sugar, the liver, insulin, fat accumulation and something called fatty liver disease.She stared at the bottle of coke.She looked at the article again.She had always thought too much sugar meant cavities.Perhaps a bit of weight gain.Or even diabetes if someone was really overdoing it.But the liver?She'd never thought of that.She was confused.So she did what any curious student would do.She found her friend, Zainab, a student of Biochemistry.“Zee, I want to ask you something.”Zainab looked up from her phone.“What?”“How does sugar even get to the liver?”Zainab looked at her curiously.“Why are you asking?"Mariya pulled out her phone.“Well,I was reading about sugary drinks and fatty liver. How can something I drink end up making fat in my liver?”Zainab put her phone down.“Okay. Let us start from the beginning.”“So carbohydrates are classified as sugars,you already know that. When you eat these carbohydrates, your body breaks many of them down into simple sugars, especially glucose. That glucose then enters your bloodstream and your body uses it for energy. Some of it can also be stored, mainly as glycogen in your liver and muscles.”Mariya nodded.“Okay.”“But when you consistently take in more energy than your body needs, especially large amounts of added sugars, things can become more complicated. The liver can convert some of that excess carbohydrate into fatty acids through a process called de novo lipogenesis.”Mariya frowned.“De novo what?!”“Making new fat.”“Oh.”“Yeah,and when this happens excessively, fat can accumulate in the liver. Over time, that can contribute to a condition called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, which was called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease then.”Mariya looked at the bottle in her hand again.“So this thing can actually make my liver store fat,and cause that steatotic thingy you just called?”“Yes and no. It depends on frequency. Regularly consuming large amounts of sugary drinks can contribute to that risk, especially alongside other factors such as excess calorie intake, weight gain and metabolic problems.”Mariya was quiet.“But I thought the liver was just processing everything.”“It does a lot more than that. The liver is one of the major organs involved in how your body processes and stores nutrients. That is why what you repeatedly consume matters.”Mariya unconsciously took another sip.Then stopped."Haeww I need to control this thing wallahi"“How much is too much ma nikam?”“That is the difficult part. There is not one magical number that means, ‘Congratulations, you have now damaged your liver.’ It depends on the overall diet, energy intake, physical activity, genetics and other metabolic factors.”“So I cannot just drink one bottle and develop fatty liver?”Zainab laughed.“No, Mariya. Don't start panicking.”Mariya laughed too.“I am serious!”“I know. One bottle does not suddenly give you fatty liver. The concern is the habit of regularly consuming large amounts of these sodas”Mariya looked at the empty bottles in the dustbin.She counted them.Then she remembered how often she bought another one after finishing the first.“Heiiii”“What?”“I think I drink these things much more than I thought.”Zainab smiled.“Then that is probably the part worth changing.”Mariya nodded slowly.“So I should stop taking them completely?”“If you're able,that will be beautiful. But even if you start by reducing how often you take them, that is already a good step. Drink more water. Choose unsweetened drinks more often. And pay attention to how much added sugar you are consuming.”Mariya looked at the dustbin again.“It really is just soft drink though.”Zainab smiled.“It is just a drink.”She paused.“But what you repeatedly put into your body is never just anything.” 🌿 Big Health LessonSugary drinks can be easy to overconsume because they provide a lot of energy and added sugar without necessarily making us feel as full as a meal would.Regularly consuming large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages can contribute to excess calorie intake and metabolic problems, and is associated with a higher risk of excess liver fat and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.And the liver is not the only concern. High consumption of added sugars is also associated with problems such as dental caries(better known as tooth decay) and can contribute to broader cardiometabolic risk.This does not mean that drinking one soft drink automatically means you will develop fatty liver.No,the lesson is simpler:Do not make excessive sugar consumption a daily habit.If you can reduce sugary drinks, replace some of them with water or unsweetened alternatives, and pay more attention to how much added sugar you consume, your future self will thank you for that.Sometimes, learning about your body does not begin with being sick.Sometimes, it begins with looking at the bottle in your hand and asking:“What exactly is this doing inside me?” 🌿 Until next time, stay healthy and stay curious.

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