“fructose causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (or NAFLD), while alcohol causes alcohol-associated fatty liver disease. However, as also mentioned earlier, the two are almost identical in appearance. This led us to wonder whether alcohol causes liver disease because it stimulates fructose production. To test this, we gave alcohol to mice that could not break down fructose. Amazingly, the alcohol failed to cause liver disease. In other words, fructose is also the cause of alcohol-induced liver disease.”

Richard Johnson and David Perlmutter, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat