Your Children Eating Themselves Sick? (Archived Pedcast)

Many children are literally getting a chronic liver disease from their poor diets. Learn more in today's pedcast. Photo compliments of Pixabay images Musical Intro What is NASH? Today we are going to talk about an emerging disease… not an emerging infectious disease but one that clearly comes back to lifestyle choices. A newly recognized, silent liver disease (hepatitis) is spreading across America among children that is called NASH or non alcoholic steatohepatitis. While the cause is not fully understood, the injury to these children’s livers seems to be associated with an excess intake of food, calories and high fructose corn syrup so common in our diets. Yes, these children seem to be literally eating themselves into a seriously poor health. Their excess consumption of food seems to cause the normal red brown healthy liver tissue to be replaced with yellow fatty sick liver tissue. Recent studies estimate that 1 out of every 10 children in the United States, or more than 7 million children, have fatty liver disease, the first step in the progression to the development of NASH and possibly irreversible cirrhosis or scarring of liver. A cirrhotic liver has had the healthy liver cells replaced with scar tissue...a liver that simply cannot keep a child growing and healthy. Unfortunately, once a liver has become cirrhotic, there is no going back to healthy. Which Children are at Risk Here is what experts are currently thinking is behind this newly recognized liver disease: a major excess intake of certain foods  first triggers the development of a fatty liver, followed by a type of hepatitis called NASH, and finally for some unfortunate children, cirrhosis. All of this can occur without symptoms. Currently about 40% of obese children (those with a BMI greater than 30) seem to be afflicted with fatty livers and possibly the more serious NASH or cirrhosis. Mexican-American children seem to be unusually susceptible, while interestingly, African American children seem to be more protected from the dise