The liver is the largest and biggest (about 3.5 pounds) visceral organ in the human body. It is also the most versatile organ in the human body, and scientists believe it has over 500 functions. Its various functions include filtering the blood of impurities, detoxifying, and metabolism.
Due to its numerous functions, it’s essential to be careful of what we consume as the liver detoxifies and metabolizes every food and drugs that enter the body.
The liver serves a vital role in the metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, excessive consumption of any of these is capable of overworking the liver and cause the organ to malfunction. Since it detoxifies, excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs are the leading cause of liver problems in our society.
Best Foods for your Liver
- Fatty Fish: Fatty fish has omega-3 fatty acids, which are particularly nutritious to the body as they are anti-inflammatory and don’t store up in the liver as excess fat.
- Nuts: Nuts, when consumed moderately provide the body with antioxidants, vitamin E, and unsaturated oil. Excessive consumption, but, can add unnecessary calories to the body.
- Coffee: Studies have shown that regular consumers of coffee are less likely to suffer liver-related Its ability to enhance antioxidants in the body while reducing inflammation and fat build up in the liver makes coffee indispensable. While drinking up to 3 cups of coffee a day is highly recommended, adding too much milk could burden the body with additional calories.
- Grapefruits: Grapefruits are rich and have two major antioxidants, namely Naringin and Naringenin. These antioxidants are responsible for protecting the liver cells and reducing inflammation.
- Berries: They say the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice, polyphenols, a type of antioxidants present in many dark berries including Raspberries, Blueberries, and Cranberries prevent the liver from damage. Including dark berries in your diet is an excellent way of protecting your
- Olive oil: Fats are generally dangerous to the liver, unsaturated oils like olive oil are, however very healthy as they reduce inflammation of the liver due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids in the oil.
- Artichokes: Research has shown that artichokes prevent damaging toxins from entering the liver cells.
- Beans: Beans are rich in fiber, which is easily digested and liver friendly.
- Yogurt: probiotics, healthy bacteria found in yogurt nourishes the microbes and protects the liver from damage.
- Oatmeal: Oatmeal is rich in easily digested fiber. It reduces inflammation, and it’s essential in fighting obesity and diabetes.
- Green tea: Green tea is usually recommended for fighting obesity and overweighting because of its ability to reduce fat in the body.
- Garlic: Garlic helps in reducing weight and fat burning
- Fruits and Vegetables: Many fruits and vegetables protect and nourish the liver, taking 2 or more of these fruits in every diet will go a long way in protecting the Examples include Avocado, Banana, Broccoli, Carrots, Lemon, Watermelon, Fig, etc.
- Whole grains: Whole grains like quinoa barley and brown rice are high in fiber and help reduce cholesterol and fat in the body.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes contain antioxidants and help reduce inflammation and fight cancer.
- Water: Apart from hydrating the body, water also purifies and cleans the body of waste and toxins. Drinking plenty of water will go a long way in keeping the liver clean and functional.
Worst Foods for your Liver
- Alcohol: The number one enemy of your liver is alcohol, it is responsible for most liver-related Research has shown that those who consume an excessive amount of alcohol over a long period are very likely to suffer liver problems. The ultimate fate of a liver consistently exposed to huge amounts of alcohol is liver cancer, which starts as cirrhosis and alcohol hepatitis.
- Sugar: Refined sugar is high in fructose, which is difficult to break down, this leads to fatty build in the liver with time and reduces the functionality of the Prolong fatty build can lead to liver cancer and ultimately, liver failure.
- Non Alcoholic Beverages: Exposing the liver to nonalcoholic beverages with high sugar contents could be as detrimental to your liver as consuming alcohol is. Avoiding these type of drinks is as important as avoiding alcohol too.
- Supplements High in Vitamin A: Vitamin A is essential for the body, too much of it, however, could be injurious the liver. The best source of healthy Vitamin A is natural fruits and vegetables, talk to your doctor before using supplements rich in vitamin A.
- Intravenous Injections: Like HIV, Hepatitis C can easily be contracted from a syringe that has been infected. Stay away from drugs generally (especially one that’s injected) and be extra careful when choosing the tattoo shop for your next ink.
- Cheese: Too much consumption of cheese is not healthy for your This is because of the high amount of sodium present. Although moderate sodium helps regulate blood pressure, too much of it can cause excess fluid build up and damage the liver.
- Canned Vegetables: Just like cheese, canned veggies are high in sodium too and should be avoided. Other foods with high sodium contents are pizza and lunch meat. They should be eaten in moderation.
- There are a lot of foods that are good and healthy for the liver, and there are much more which could be damaging, knowing where to draw the line between the two categories is the first and most crucial step to keeping our liver healthy.
Fried Food: Alcohol and fat are the leading causes of liver problems, scientists have compared the effect of fried food on the liver to hepatitis. Fats in fried food store up as excess fat and are responsible for fatty liver. Fatty liver can be treated but can be cured, and the condition could last a lifetime. It is essential to protect our liver from fat by staying away from fried foods. - Fast Food: Fast foods are usually high in sugar, salt, or oil (often combination of the 3), all of which are not friendly to the liver. Avoiding fast foods dramatically reduces the chances of having liver-related