The great poet Maya Angelou once said, “Life loves the liver of it. You must live and life will be good to you, give you experiences.”
While she was speaking of living life to the fullest, it may also be said that if you are kind to your liver, it will help you lead a better life. And that kindness often starts with the best foods for liver health.
And what better way to treat your liver with kindness than to give it the nutrients and foods that best support it.
With so many toxins in the world and in our foods, it is vital to eat what best supports our body and organs, including the liver, which works so hard to keep us healthy.
The Functions of the Liver
The heaviest internal organ, the liver has a very large workload. It is the job of the liver to keep the chemical levels of the blood balanced. It does this by excreting bile.
Bile helps break down the fats that we eat, making them easier for enzymes to further break down.
The liver also regulates amino acid levels and stores fat-soluble vitamins. This allows it to keep blood clotting at healthy levels through the use of vitamin K. And the liver has the ability to convert excess glucose into storable glycogen as needed.
Because one of the vital roles of the liver is to filter out toxins, it is susceptible over time to prolonged use of alcohol, drugs and certain medications. This can lead to a number of diseases.
Cirrhosis can occur in cases of alcoholism and leads to scarring of the liver. Hepatitis can also lead to cirrhosis.
Other diseases can include metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), liver cancer and autoimmune liver diseases.
MASLD occurs when the organ is not able to adequately process the amount of fat in the diet. People who are overweight, have diabetes and high triglycerides are at higher risk of MASLD. This can progress into metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, which can cause excessive inflammation and swelling of the liver.
The good news is that much of the damage that can occur to the liver can be repaired through diet and lifestyle changes. While scarring cannot be reversed and the longer the damage occurs, the less likely it is to repair, the liver is one of the few organs that can self-heal.
Avoiding Alcohol is Good for Your Liver
It should go without saying but one of the best things you can do for your liver is to watch your alcohol consumption. While moderate drinking should be tolerated by the liver, if the organ is already negatively impacted by disease or medications, alcohol may exacerbate impaired function.
Safe and healthy levels of alcohol consumption vary person to person. But there are some factors that can help determine where you fall.
Men and women can drink different amounts, not just because of possible body mass differences but because men and women metabolize differently. Women have lower levels of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) than men.
Ethnicity can also factor into your alcohol metabolism. For example, those of Asian descent can have lower ADH levels.
Generally speaking, men are recommended to drink fewer than three drinks per day on average, and fewer than two per day for women. But while some drinks like red wine can have some health benefits, minimal drinking is best.
Best Beverage Choices for Your Liver
Water
If alcohol is a liver no-no, water would be a big yes-yes.
One of the best things you can do to show your liver some love is to stay hydrated. Water helps the organ better filter the blood, promotes liver cell regeneration and improves nutrient absorption to support the liver.
Ideally, eight to 10 cups of water each day is a healthy place to start. But it can vary per person depending on weight, activity level and weather.
Green Tea
Green tea is another drink that supports liver health. This is thanks to the high levels of antioxidants. Antioxidants like catechins are powerhouses against MASLD, especially polyphenols like epigallocatechin-3-gallate. This last type may be especially beneficial at preventing liver cancer.
Keep in mind that while drinking green tea itself has wonderful benefits, concentrated green tea extract may risk toxicity and can actually damage the liver.
Coffee
There are indications that coffee may also be cancer preventative for the liver. Not only that, but it may actually be the caffeine in the coffee that is helping.
Beyond cancer, coffee consumption may reduce the risk of cirrhosis.
But there may be a sweet spot where three to four cups of coffee per day can see benefits. Anything over, and the risks of coffee begin to outweigh the benefits.
Foods Your Liver Loves: Best Foods for Liver Health
Citrus
Citrus is high in vitamin C and antioxidants, which are excellent for the liver. They support the liver’s function of detoxifying. But grapefruit in particular is rich in naringin and naringenin. These not only combat inflammation in the liver, they also support the generation of cells and the triggering of liver enzymes. Citrus is consistently included among the best foods for liver health thanks to these powerful compounds.
Cruciferous Vegetables
The family of produce known as cruciferous vegetables includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale. These potent veggies boost detoxification thanks to glucosinolate. One type of glucosinolate in particular is indole, which may be effective in fighting off both MASLD and liver cancer. These vegetables are some of the best foods for liver health because of how deeply they support detoxification pathways.
Garlic
And while these vegetables contain some sulfur, it is found in even higher levels in garlic. (It’s important to note that the sulfur in garlic becomes more bioavailable when it is chopped or smashed.)Sulfur is a vital component in liver detoxification. Garlic also contains selenium, which helps the liver handle oxidative stress with support from enzymes and antioxidants.
Nuts
Selenium is also found in impressive levels in Brazil nuts. But for a liver-loving nut, you can’t do better than the walnut.
While all nuts are associated with lower risk of MASLD because of healthy fats and vitamin E, walnuts are especially high in arginine. Arginine, an amino acid, specifically aids in the detoxification of ammonia.
Vitamin E
Besides nuts, there are a lot of vitamin E-containing foods that are great for the liver.Vitamin E has been found to be beneficial in preventing MASLD. It can even be effective for those already suffering from MASLD.
This is great news since there are many healthy and delicious foods with vitamin E, including fish, eggs, avocado, mango and kiwi.
Olive Oil
Olive oil can be a part of nearly any healthy diet. But it should absolutely be part of a liver-supporting diet. In addition to containing vitamin E, olive oil keeps fat levels in the liver balanced and supports enzyme levels.
Liver
It may not be everyone’s favorite food but there is something to be said for eating liver for your liver.
It’s not hard to imagine how animal liver would contain many of the nutrients that your liver needs. But it is important to get organic and pasture-raised sources of liver since so many toxins go through the organ.
Liver is incredibly rich in fat-soluble vitamins, iron, folate, B12 and protein.
If you’ve never cooked liver before, it can seem intimidating. But here are two simple recipes to get you started: Dianne’s Beef Liver with Figs and Liver Fingers with Honey Chili Sauce.
Whole Foods Support the Liver
A diet that supports healthy liver function is nothing that would surprise you: drink less alcohol and more water and eat fruits and vegetables. And maybe the occasional liver. Sticking with more whole foods is clearly one of the best ways to show one of your largest organs some love.
It’s an added bonus that so many of these foods will aid in overall health thanks to supporting nearly all body functions, from head to toe.
If the idea of learning about nutrition and starting a career in nutrition therapy intrigues you, then the Nutrition Therapy Institute may just be the place for you.
You can learn all about NTI’s Nutrition Therapist Master Certification program and see if it’s the right fit.
About the author: Maya Strausberg earned her Master Nutrition Therapist certification from NTI before starting her nutrition therapy private practice. She now offers writing and editing services for nutritionists and other health practitioners around the world through her business, Family Tree Nutrition.
Images:
- Image by u_to38cto4 from Pixabay
- Image by bridgesward from Pixabay
- Image by Bruno from Pixabay
