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We all know that a diet comprised mainly of fast food is bad for your waistline and for your cholesterol, but did you know that a fast food diet can also cause liver damage?

That is what Dr. Drew Ordon, author of Better in 7, alleges on the television program The Doctors. He said that fast food can have a similar effect as the viral infection hepatitis which, if it goes untreated, can cause the liver to shut down, CBS News reports.

The problem is not in a splurge that occurs every once in a while, Dr. Ordon says. However, many people are eating a substantial amount of fast food - not a surprising statement considering that, in the United States alone, there are 160,000 fast food restaurants that serve an estimated 50 million customers each day.

After just a month of consistently eating fast food, enzymes in the liver are changed. Eating fried chicken and onion rings, along with the fat and saturated fat that comes in the dish, can cause the development of a fatty liver.

French fries are among the worst foods that consumers can eat as well, because of the way that the potatoes are cooked. The potatoes are salted, cooked in fat and restaurants put sugar on them in order to make them golden and crispy.

The obvious solution for many diners would be to order a salad at fast-food restaurants instead of the fatty combo. However, Dr. Ordon discourages this practice as well, because some restaurants sprinkle salads with propylene glycol in order to keep salads fresh for more days.

In addition, the Times of India reports that consumers should be wary of items marked healthy or fresh in fast food restaurants, because there are no regulations that restaurants need to follow in order to label dishes in such a manner.