How Does Corn Oil Affect The Liver?

Corn oil has long been used for cooking and as a chief ingredient in food products like salad oil, shortening and margarine. Polyunsaturated oils like corn oil contain multiple molecular bonds that are unstable and lead to the creation of free radicals in cells. Excess consumption of corn oil contributes to several diseases including liver damage.
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Corn oil has long been used for cooking and as a chief ingredient in food products like salad oil, shortening and margarine. Other commercial uses include manufacturing soaps and paint materials. Corn oil is polyunsaturated oil and contains linoleic acid. The difference between polyunsaturated oil and monounsaturated oil, like olive oil, is the molecular structure. Polyunsaturated oils like corn oil contain multiple molecular bonds that are unstable and lead to the creation of free radicals in cells. Excess consumption of corn oil contributes to several diseases including liver damage.


Liver Disease

Non- alcoholic steatohepatitis (also called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) is a liver disease that has been associated with high consumption of polyunsaturated oils including corn oil. People who suffer from this condition drink little or no alcohol. The condition may be symptom free, but in cases excess fat on the liver can cause inflammation and scarring. In severe cases of fatty deposits on the liver cirrhosis develops and can cause the organ can fail.

Corn Oil

In order to make corn oil more edible, producers use organic solvents, chemical treatments, and high heat. The raw oil is put through an alkali refining process and extremely high heat with steam at 500degrees Fahrenheit. Corn oil is rich in linoleic acid and Omega- 6 fats. Excess consumption of Omega- 6 fats is well-known to cause liver damage.

Polyunsaturated Corn Oil Studies

Studies on rats have been conducted to test the effect of a diet high in polyunsaturated oils on the liver like corn oil. The findings have consistently supported the theory that diets high in polyunsaturated fats may lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Rats that ate a diet that consisted of 57 percent of polyunsaturated fats developed insulin resistance and liver damage. In one study conducted in 1981, severe liver damage resulted in rats fed a diet that consisted of 20 percent corn oil. Liver tumors were present after 4 months.

A study conducted in 1981 examined the effect of different types and quantities of fat in the diet of rats during the initial phase of liver cancer. The results indicated that dietary fat consisting primarily of corn oil enhanced the growth of cancer cells in the liver.

Criticism of Studies

Because these studies have been conducted on rats, they have drawn some criticism.  However, the dietary habits of people in the United States in relation to the increase of non- alcoholic fatty liver disease seem to support the findings from rat studies. Consumption of corn oil and other Omega- 6 oils has increased dramatically in the United States in the last 30 years. The increased consumption of corn oil can be correlated to the increase in occurrences of the non-alcoholic type of fatty liver disease. The increase of the condition seems to be inversely proportional to the decreased consumption of saturated fats found in milk, butter, and eggs.