Giving mice a big dose of saturated fat all at once seems to turn on genes that are tied to fatty liver disease, which might mean even short-term fat intake can kickstart liver damage.

Eating a lot of saturated fat just once might quickly mess with how your liver and body handle sugar and fat, possibly increasing the risk of fatty liver and insulin problems.

Eating saturated fat might quickly change how your liver handles fat and how your body controls blood sugar — not just over years, but within a short time.

Feeding rats a diet super high in fat leads to fat building up in their livers after 16 weeks — kind of like what happens in fatty liver disease. Scientists saw this through lab tests, scans, and looking at liver tissue under a microscope.

Eating a lot of saturated fat might make your body less responsive to insulin and cause fat to build up in your liver. If you also eat a lot of protein, it could push your body to make more sugar, which might raise your blood sugar—especially if you're prone to it.