Happy Eating for Your Liver

One of the most difficult things to learn when fighting liver disease is what counts as "healthy eating". In my experience, learning this will save you from major difficulty from the effects of eating poorly. Some may have a harder time than others adjusting to this “cleaner” way of eating, while others may just need to fine-tune it a bit to fit into their lifestyle.

My doctor's advice to change my diet

When changing my diet, the key ingredients that became my best friends were garlic and Mrs. Dash (a non-salt seasoning). These two ingredients can help anything taste better. I was able to consume the recommended green leaf veggies my liver doctor spoke of - raw spinach, kale, collard greens, leaf lettuce, etc. The types of foods my liver team recommended to me about were all located in the fresh produce aisle: fresh veggies (mostly green leaf ones), squash, zucchini, turnips, etc.

Trial and error with a new way of cooking

To be honest, before that recommendation, I'd never had most of those foods regularly. And upon trying them, YUCK... I knew this would be the death of me. "How on earth can anyone eat this stuff??!", I thought. After much trial and error, I came up with the two ingredients that work fail proof on any thing produce: garlic and Mrs. Dash. I found too that fresh squeezed lemon juice also was good. To eat this stuff raw and steamed with no seasoning was just NOT going to work.

Mrs. Dash seasoning, a little plug for a product here, is a life saver. It comes in numerous flavors and mixtures. Some for fish, some for chicken, and yes, even my leafy greens. With each meal I prepare each night, I incorporate some sort of greens and either chicken or fish. I purchased an air fryer, which is an amazing product. It can cook meals quick and without grease and unwanted fats added - a clean, healthy way to prepare meats.

Limiting my red meat consumption

My doctor recommended that a person whose liver is struggling limit red meat consumption; The liver is not able to digest and absorb that high of protein, therefor sending it into your system and then settling in the brain, causing the foggy sensation you feel. Yes, I do have times that I am craving that nice juicy burger and need to have one... I do so with limits. I make sure then that the rest of my daily eating is clean with no more unhealthy fats added.

My team also warned against eating processed foods. These foods are full of preservatives and unnatural chemicals to make product last longer, taste better etc., all of which our poor livers cannot filter out. In short, in my experience, do your best to eat fresh food and greens, but steer away from red meats as much as possible.