The liver is a powerhouse of an organ. Your liver is responsible for breaking down the carbohydrates, making glucose and detoxing the body. There are many foods and drinks that a person can consume to help protect the liver.
Liver health is important for overall health. It may be impossible to manage all risk factors but having certain foods and drinks will definitely help promote your liver health. In this blog we have tried to include certain foods and drinks that are beneficial for a healthy liver.
FOODS AND DRINKS FOR LIVER HEALTH
Coffee
It is one of the best beverages to promote your liver health. Coffee has the ability to prevent the buildup of fat and collagen – two main markers of liver disease. Coffee helps to decrease the inflammation, helps lower the risk of cirrhosis, or permanent liver damage, in people with chronic liver disease.
Oatmeal
Having oatmeal is an easy way to add fiber to your daily diet – an important thing for digestion. The beta-glucans from oats appear to help reduce the amount of fat stored in the liver. When you say oatmeal, one should avoid prepacked oatmeal because it may contain fillers such as flour or sugars, which will not be as beneficial for the body.
Green Tea
Green tea is widely considered to be beneficial for health, and evidence shows that it may have particular benefits for the liver. Study shows that people who drank green tea were less likely to develop liver cancer. Further the research also shows that people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), after consuming green tea for around 12 weeks, help them to reduce fat deposits in the liver.
Prickly Pear
The fruit and juice of the prickly pear may also be beneficial to liver health. It has long been used in traditional medicine as a treatment for:
- ulcers
- wounds
- fatigue
- liver disease
Fatty Fish
Fatty fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are the good fats that help reduce inflammation. These fats may be especially helpful in the liver, as they appear to prevent the buildup of excess fats and maintain enzyme levels in the liver.
Nuts
Eating a handful of nuts, such as walnuts or almonds, each day may help maintain liver health. Nuts generally contain unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and antioxidants. These compounds may help prevent NAFLD, as well as reduce inflammation on liver.
Beetroot Juice
Several studies have shown that consuming beetroot juice helps reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the liver, as well as increase natural detoxification enzymes.
Blueberries and cranberries
Making these berries a part of your regular diet is a good way to help your liver with antioxidants it needs to stay healthy. It slows down the development of lesions and fibrosis and scar tissue in the liver.
Foods to avoid
However, there are also some foods and food groups that the liver finds harder to process. These include:
- Fatty foods (fried foods, fast foods, packed snacks, etc.)
- Sugar
- Salt
- Alcohol
The bottom line
Your liver largely takes care of itself, but still, you can help maintaining liver health consuming these foods and drinks. These foods have demonstrated benefits on the liver including:
- Lowering the risk of liver disease and cancer
- Increasing antioxidant and detoxification enzyme levels
- Giving protection against harmful toxins
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