Top Foods That Help and Harm Your Liver

Food not only nourishes and fuels the body, but food can help or harm your liver. Being proactive in eating liver-healthy foods is just as important as knowing what to avoid.

While diet alone cannot cure hepatitis C or other liver disease conditions, it can help your liver function better while aiding your immune system if you eat the right foods.

Foods that help your liver

Let's start with the foods that can actually help your liver.

Fiber-rich foods

Regular oatmeal and steel-cut oats are fiber-rich and liver healthy. Fiber helps by filling you up and keeping hunger at bay.

Fiber also helps reduce cholesterol while helping you lose weight. Fiber is nature’s broom that helps sweep toxins out of your body.

Fruits and vegetables

Vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts along with dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, and mustard greens. Beets and artichokes are also great options. These vegetables have power-packed antioxidants that help protect your liver.

Blueberries, cranberries, and plums are among the top liver-healthy fruits. The majority of fruits are beneficial with liver-healthy vitamins and nutrients.

Certain fruits like blueberries, cranberries, and plums contain polyphenols that help protect the liver.

Nuts

Go nuts with almonds and walnuts packed with vitamin E and nutrients that help your liver and heart benefits.

Spice it up

Spices and herbs like oregano, sage, rosemary, and Italian seasoning mixtures add flavor to your food and contain polyphenols that help protect your liver.

Additional spices and herbs like garlic, cinnamon, cumin, and curry powder also have liver health benefits.

Beverages

Water is one of the best things you can drink for liver health. Water helps keep you hydrated while aiding in cell function and sweeping toxins out of your body.

Add lemon or another citrus to power up liver-cleansing benefits. Coffee is also beneficial to the liver, believe it or not.

Green Tea is loaded with antioxidants such as catechins that can help protect against cancer.

Foods and beverages that harm your liver

Processed foods are often loaded with unhealthy saturated fats, sodium and sugar, which can hinder your liver function while causing inflammation that can lead to scarring in the liver.

High sugar and high sodium foods are hard on the liver, causing weight gain and fluid retention, which harm liver function and increase inflammation.

This includes beverages like regular sodas and drinks. Alcohol of all types and amounts should be avoided. Alcohol is toxic to the liver.

When your liver is fighting a liver disease like hepatitis C, liver function is compromised. Drinking alcohol complicates and harms liver function.

Shopping better options

Fresh or frozen vegetables are better options. Buy organic if possible. Organic vegetables are free of pesticides and chemicals that can harm the liver.

Do you have any tips on foods that might be helpful for your liver? Please share in the comments below!

References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440772/