If you are like many Americans and rely on packaged foods, fast foods, and other processed foods to fuel your busy day, you may be destroying your liver.

Recent studies have found that two common ingredients — trans fats and high fructose corn syrup — are major factors in the skyrocketing number of people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Although liver disease used to be mainly associated with heavy drinking, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is different. It is characterized by an accumulation of fat in the liver of people who drink very little or no alcohol, and is becoming common.

Over time, liver cells are replaced with scar tissue, called cirrhosis, and liver failure or liver cancer may develop.

Here’s a stunning statistic: Up to 25 percent of American adults have NAFLD, many of them unknowingly, according to the American Liver Foundation.

“In general, there are no signs of developing fatty liver disease,” neurosurgeon and holistic health expert Russell Blaylock, M.D., tells Newsmax Health.

Diet is a major factor in NAFLD, according to Dr. Blaylock, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and trans fats are two of the biggest culprits.

Unfortunately, many of the foods Americans eat on a daily basis contain both.

“Studies have shown they are much worse in combination,” says Dr. Blaylock.

Are you eating more of these ingredients than you realize?

The answer almost certainly is “Yes.”

Even though trans fats may not be listed on food labels, they still can be hiding in products. If a serving contains less than half a gram, it doesn’t have to be listed.

Considering that many people eat more than the manufacturer defines as a single serving, or eat two foods that both contain small amounts of trans fats, the amount you may actually consume begins to add up quickly.

You also may be consuming more HFCS than you realize. Although large amounts of corn syrup are found in highly sweetened products, such as soft drinks and candy, many foods that contain small amounts of trans fats also include HFCS. In addition, many non-caloric sweeteners are derived from HFCS.

“Even small amounts are harmful,” says Dr. Blaylock.

A study published in the journal Hepatology found that diets with high levels of trans fats and HFCS often lead to fatty liver disease with cirrhosis.

Researchers fed three groups of nice a normal diet, a high-fat diet with trans fats, or a trans fat diet enriched with HFCS.

At the end of 16 weeks, the mice fed a normal diet remained healthy and slim, while both groups of mice fed the diets that included trans fats became obese and developed fatty liver disease.

“Interestingly, it was only the group fed the combination of trans fat and high fructose which developed the advanced fatty liver disease which had fibrosis,” said study leader Rohit Kohli, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

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