Your liver performs various important tasks, including bile secretion, digestion, and breakdown of toxins from medications, metabolism, and alcohol. A healthy liver is important for your overall health.
There are many liver support vitamins and liver support supplements also available, which helps in the detoxification processes and keep your liver healthy.
Liver support foods
To keep the liver healthy, here are some tips related to what to eat and what to avoid:
1. Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, dandelion, and other greens are containing sulphur aids the liver in detoxification.
Dandelions contain Taraxacin, which helps in bile secretion and promotes digestion.
2. Coffee
Here is good news for coffee-lovers! Researches have indicated that drinking coffee can give protection to the liver against fat and collagen build-up, which can further decrease the risk of liver cancer.
3. Grapes
Purple and red grapes have various healthy plant compounds. One example is resveratrol, which helps in lowering inflammation and boosting up antioxidants levels.
4. Almonds
Nuts like almonds have rich amounts of vitamin E and unsaturated fats. They help in removing bad cholesterol from the body, decreasing blood pressure, and also protect against fatty liver disease.
5. Eggs
Eggs are considered the healthiest foods. Eggs contain all essential amino acids and another important nutrient called choline. The choline and amino acids aid liver in the detoxification process and enhance the metabolism rate.
6. Berries
All kinds of berries, including raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, and cranberries, are a superfood. Berries contain phytochemicals that give protection against free radicals. Polyphenols and anthocyanin have been known to lower the risk of liver cancer.
7. Green Tea
Green tea is rich in antioxidant compounds known as Catechins. They are known to help liver function and also give protection against damage caused by toxins like alcohol. Regular intake of green tea results in blockage of stored fats in the liver, which further reduces the risk of fatty liver disease.
Worst foods for the liver
1. Alcohol
Alcohol ranks as the number one food which is harmful to liver health. When the breakdown of alcohol occurs by the liver, resultant chemical reactions can damage liver cells which may cause scarring and inflammation. Chronic alcohol consumption can block the absorption of nutrients, which may cause the liver to become toxic.
2. Fatty Foods
Fast foods such as fries, pizzas, and burgers are rich in saturated fats, which may cause inflammation and cirrhosis in the long term. They also contribute to increasing the levels of bad cholesterol and lowering the levels of good cholesterol.
3. Sugary foods
The liver functions to convert sugar into fat. High-fat storage in the liver can cause fatty liver disease.
4. Soda and Whitebread
Soda and white bread are made up of refined sugars and carbohydrates, which are not good for your liver health at all. They contribute to increasing the risk of fatty liver disease.
5. Salty items
Packaged foods and canned soups are full of sodium which may cause fluid retention in the liver. They can also inhibit liver functioning.
6. Red Meat
Red meat contains protein, but it is tough for the liver to break down this protein. The excess build-up of protein can cause toxicity, and it can be harmful to the liver and brain.
7. Excess fruits
Fruits are rich in fructose, but taking large amounts of them (raisins and dry fruits) can cause inflammation and fatty liver. That is because the sugar found in fruits, called fructose, can produce high amounts of fat in the blood when taken in large quantities.