Our liver is one of the most integral organs of our body. It cleans toxins from your body and ensures healthy blood sugar levels and regulates blood flow. Additionally, it performs other vital activities in our body to keep it running. Therefore, good food for liver is essential to support its activities and help it keep performing at its best.
Like any other organ in our body, the liver gets its power to function from the food we feed it. For this reason, among others, you need to be careful of what you put inside your body.
We are going to start by discussing the food that is bad for your liver as prevention is better than cure. If you find yourself reaching out to any of the food items mentioned that are bad for your liver, you need to stop immediately.
Foods bad for liver
1. Fatty food
Fatty food items like your favourite french fries and burgers are not kind to your liver. These food items get in the way of your liver trying to do a good job. Perennial consumption of these food items may lead to inflation. The inflammation leads to scarring in the liver. Furthermore, liver scarring, in turn, leads to liver cirrhosis.
2. Sugar
One of the functions of your liver is to convert sugar into fat. Therefore, it is not wise to introduce extra sugar into your body. When you eat food loaded with sugar your liver converts all that into excess fat. This can be an issue in case you’re dealing with overweight issues. Consuming excess sugar leads to conditions such as fatty liver disease.
3. Alcohol
Alcohol is your liver’s worst enemy. Too much alcohol consumption leads to liver cirrhosis. Occasional binge drinking if not kept in limit can be harmful to the liver.
6. Packaged snacks
Packaged food like your favourite pack of nachos or pringles is loaded with unhealthy amounts of sugar, salt, and fat. Giving up snacking is not an option. However, substituting your unhealthy snack options with healthier options is a choice that one can make. Slices of apple topped with nut butter for instance is a healthy snacking option.
Names of good food for liver
1. Coffee
You’re in luck today as everyone’s go-to function drink is on our list for good food for liver.
Coffee is good for the liver as it keeps fatty liver conditions at bay. Coffee consumption protects the liver against damaging conditions such as liver cancer. It reduces fat manufacturing in the liver. Additionally, it increases the number of antioxidants present in the body.
2. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is rich in fibre and this makes it a healthy option for your body to consume. The special fibre in oats helps in easy digestion. The beta-glucans that oatmeal consists of fights diseases and inflammation in the body. Additionally, it helps in reducing the amount of fat in the liver. Steel-cut and whole oats are more beneficial than instant oatmeals as they contain added sugar or flour. This is not very beneficial for the body.
3. Berries
Blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and all other members of the berry family contain the antioxidant polyphenols. This antioxidant protects the liver from damage. Blueberry juice is beneficial for dealing with liver fibrosis. However, this is yet to be confirmed and studies are being pursued on this aspect.
4. Fatty Fish
Fish oil is very healthy for the liver as it prevents non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The rich omega 3 fatty acids help reduce any kind of internal inflammation. The fatty acids prevent fat from building up in your liver and maintain your enzyme levels.
5. Nuts
Consuming nuts is another way of keeping the liver running healthy and preventing NAFLD. Nuts contain vitamin E, antioxidants, and unsaturated fatty acids. This helps alleviate oxidative stress and reduces inflammation.
6. Olive oil
Unhealthy fats are not good for the body. However, people make a mistake when they decide that cutting off fats altogether is the way to go. Your body requires healthy fats to function well. Therefore, replacing unhealthy fats with olive oil is a prudent option. Olive oil is good for the liver as it contains unsaturated fatty acids.
7. Plant food
Various studies show that plant food is good for the liver. Some of them are avocados, bananas, carrots, lemons, figs, papayas, watermelons, barley, brown rice, and broccoli. Furthermore, beet juice, kale juice, and collards are good options for the liver.
8. Grapes
Our little winemaker here is a really powerful ingredient for the liver. It has loads of antioxidants that protect the liver cells and reduce chances of inflammation or damage. In case you are not fond of grapes, you may consider consuming grape seed supplements. Do so after taking an opinion from your nutritionist or doctor in case you may be allergic to any ingredient.
9. Grapefruit
Grapefruit is another fruit that is loaded with antioxidants. Grapefruits obtain two types of antioxidants. They are called naringenin and naringin. The function of these antioxidants is to protect the liver cells and reduce inflammation in the liver.
Studies show that naringin helps reduce liver steatosis caused due to alcohol. Moreover, it helps reduce oxidative stress.
However, if you are on medication consult your doctor before consuming grapefruit juice as it interferes with certain medications.
10. Prickly pear
Prickly pear juice is said to be beneficial for liver health. Studies suggest that it is useful in treating NAFLD. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
11. Garlic
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can be overcome to a certain extent by fixing overweight issues if any. Certain studies believe that garlic can help aid weight loss. However, relying solely on garlic and not fixing your diet to get the results you are expecting is not fruitful. Moreover, garlic can help fix NAFLD issues.
Final thoughts
Good food for liver is essential to keep your liver running in good health. A good liver guarantees a healthy body.
