The liver is one of the most important organs in the body
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, but most people don’t give it enough credit. Your liver does more than 500 things for you every day. Your liver gets rid of toxins and makes them safe so they don’t get into your blood. It makes amino acids and other nutrients that your body needs. It helps you digest the fats in the foods you eat, and that’s just the beginning.
In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best foods for your liver’s health so you can keep this important organ healthy.
Foods and drinks harmful to liver health
Before we talk about the best foods for liver health, let’s look at the foods and drinks that can hurt your liver so you know what to stay away from. If you stop eating these things or at least cut back on how often you eat them, your liver health will improve a lot.
When toxins aren’t in the way, your liver can heal itself pretty well, especially if you eat foods that are good for liver regeneration. Your liver is the only organ in your body that can completely rebuild itself. It can even grow back to its normal size after up to 90% of it has been taken out.
To keep your liver healthy, try to cut back on or get rid of these foods and drinks:
- Drinking
- Cigarettes
- Foods high in fat (like burgers and french fries)
- Foods that are fried
- Foods that have a lot of sugar
- Foods that have been processed
- Foods that have chemicals and preservatives added to them
- Pesticides are used on crops.
Best foods for liver health
Now that we’ve talked about the worst foods for liver health, let’s talk about some of the best foods for liver health, like the best foods for liver detox and the best foods for liver regeneration.
Berries
Berries are one of the best foods for your liver health. Berries, especially dark ones like blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries, have antioxidants called polyphenols that may help protect the liver from damage. They might also help the liver’s immune system work better.
Ellagic acid is a chemical found in strawberries that has been shown to help the liver break down or get rid of some harmful substances and cancer-causing agents in the blood. Strawberries also have one of the highest amounts of vitamin C of any fruit, with 260 micrograms per gram of fruit. This important vitamin is also a strong antioxidant that helps the liver get rid of fats.
Raspberries and strawberries are both high in vitamin C and ellagic acid. However, raspberries also have ketones, which are similar to capsacin in red peppers and zingerone in ginger. Research has shown that ketones can help keep people from getting fat and having fatty liver.
Blueberries are one of the foods with the most antioxidants in nature. They have a pigment in them called anthocyanin that is a very strong antioxidant. Antioxidants fight free radicals, which are bad chemicals that can cause oxidative stress and disease.
Berries are one of the best foods for keeping your liver healthy because they help stop inflammation and protect liver cells from damage.
Broccoli
Broccoli is one of the healthiest foods for your liver and one of the best for detoxing it. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts, are high in fiber and contain a lot of healthy plant compounds. Research indicates that broccoli possesses enzymes that aid in detoxification and liver protection by enhancing the liver’s innate detoxification enzymes and elevating hepatic enzyme levels in the bloodstream.
Researchers have found that mice with fatty liver disease that ate broccoli had fewer tumors. The results are promising, but more studies on people are needed.
Fiber also keeps your liver from getting inflamed, which makes it work better. So, if you want to make your liver healthier, you should eat foods high in fiber, like broccoli.
Coffee
There are many things about coffee that make it good for the liver. Researchers have found that drinking coffee lowers the risk of cirrhosis, which is liver scarring. It also seems to lower inflammation in the liver and keep it safe from diseases like fatty liver disease. It’s interesting that people with liver diseases who drink coffee have a lower risk of death.
Coffee helps keep fat from building up in the liver, which is a big sign of liver disease. It also raises the amount of glutathione in the liver, which is an antioxidant that has been shown to be good for liver health.
Green Tea
Pure, ceremonial grade matcha green tea is very good for the liver. Research has shown that green tea makes blood tests for liver health better.
Antioxidants are found in a lot of green tea. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is one antioxidant that is especially high in it. This antioxidant protects cells from damage and lowers inflammation.
Research involving individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) indicates that the consumption of green tea enhances liver enzyme levels and may contribute to the reduction of oxidative stress and hepatic fat accumulation.
Green tea is good for the liver, but some people who have used green tea extract have reported liver damage. This might not be because of the extract itself, but it could be because of how it was extracted, how much was taken, the quality of the extract, other foods eaten at the same time, and a lot of other things. However, it is best for people who care about their liver health to drink whole green tea instead of green tea extract.
Almonds
Almonds are another great food for the liver because they are high in vitamin E, which is an important vitamin that protects the liver from cell damage. Studies on vitamin E indicate that it may safeguard the liver against the onset of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
A study published in the National Library of Medicine says that vitamin E may do more than just act as an antioxidant. It may also improve liver health by lowering the levels of hepatic cluster of differentiation 36 protein (CD36), which is a membrane transporter that brings fatty acids into the liver.
Nuts and seeds are some of the best foods for liver regeneration because they are high in vitamin E. Almonds are one of the best foods for liver repair and health because they are high in vitamin E.
Spinach
Another good food for cleaning the liver is spinach. Glutathione is an antioxidant found in spinach and many other leafy greens. Some people call glutathione “the body’s master antioxidant.” It is very important for protecting cells from damage and lowering oxidative stress in the liver.
Studies show that “Glutathione is very important for the detoxification and antioxidant systems of cells and has been used to treat both acute poisoning and chronic liver diseases.”
Nitrate, a substance that may protect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, is also found in spinach. Nitrates help the liver get rid of toxins and protect it from cell damage.
Dandelion Root
People used to think of dandelions as nothing more than annoying weeds, but now they know that they are one of the healthiest foods in nature. Dandelion is also a great food for the liver.
Polysaccharides in dandelion help the liver make bile and lower stress on the liver. Your liver makes bile, which helps with digestion, especially the digestion of fats. Dandelion also helps your liver filter out chemicals from your food that could be bad for you.
Dandelion is a good source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that helps protect the liver from oxidative stress and damage to cells.
Choline is another micronutrient found in dandelion greens that helps the liver work properly by affecting a number of liver processes, such as how fats are broken down and how bile flows.
You can eat dandelion greens in salads, juice them, or add them to smoothies. People often drink dandelion root as a herbal tea.
Water and liver health
Water is not a “food,” but it is very important for our health, including the health of our liver. For your liver to get rid of toxins, you need to drink a lot of water. It gets rid of the toxins and cleans out the liver tissues. When the body is dehydrated, the liver is especially affected. To improve liver health, drink a lot of water in addition to eating more of the foods listed above.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine say that men should drink about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids every day. Women should drink about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids every day.
Conclusion
Every day, your liver does a lot for your body. You can thank your liver and give it back by avoiding harmful foods and substances and eating more of these foods that are good for your liver every day.