Your liver is very important, it receives more than 30 percent of the blood that circulate in your body every minute. It removes harmful toxins and store the important nutrients. Every time you eat, your liver feeds the body. Once the calories, sugar and fats are broken down and they enter into the blood, their first destination is the liver. The liver regulates and maintains the healthy levels.
If the glucose is in excess the liver turns it into glycogen and stores it and converts it into glucose when the need arises. The liver can also convert amino acids into glucose which keeps you healthy. Your liver is where the fats are processed and they are broken down in a way that they can be stored as alternative energy supply. The liver also stores vitamins and minerals and releases them when your body needs them most.
As we can see the liver is one of the most important organ in the body. If it is not taken care of, it may lead to liver complications such as liver failure. You can avoid these liver complications by avoiding things such as taking alcohol. But you can also keep your liver healthy by eating the right foods and drinking the right drinks. In this article, we are going to look into 17 foods that you can take in order to maintain a healthy liver.
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Oatmeal
As we have already established the liver is a processing factory. So there is a lot of digestion that take place in the liver. Oatmeal contains large amounts of fiber and fiber is very important when it comes to digestion. The specific fiber in an oatmeal is very helpful to the liver. Oats are rich in a compound called beta-glucans which is very helpful to the liver. This compound as research revealed, helps modulate the immune system and also fight conditions like obesity and diabetes. Beta-glucan also helps the liver reduces the amount of fat which protects the liver. Take whole oats for maximum benefit. Pre-packaged oats usually contains sugars which are really not important to your body.
Garlic
Garlic helps in detoxification which is very important when it comes to keeping your liver healthy. Garlic helps in detoxification because it is rich in allicin, an antioxidant which protects your body from oxidative damage. Allicin stimulates the liver and activates enzymes which flush out toxic substances. After you chop your garlic allow it sometime before using it. You should know that heating the garlic will destroy the qualities of the allicin. So if you have to take garlic, you will have to take it raw or buy capsules that contain allicin available in pharmacies. Take 1 clove of garlic per day and 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic in food. Garlic is also of great help to anyone who wants to lose weight or a person who is obese.
Berries
Berries contains an antioxidant called polyphenols. This antioxidant plays a vital role in protecting the liver. A research conducted by world journal of gastroenterology revealed that eating strawberries and blueberries helps stimulate your immune system. Good immune system will help your liver.
Broccoli
Broccoli is a source of sulforaphane and isiothiocyanates which improves metabolism. Broccoli have some anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce developing nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. A research conducted by university of Illinois revealed that eating broccoli protects the liver from liver cancer. Take one cup of broccoli 3 times a week and your liver will thank you for it. Broccoli is a must eat if you want to have a healthy liver.
Beetroot
Antioxidants are always of great help to the liver. Beetroot contains an antioxidant called betalains. A research conducted by a university in Poland proves that eating beetroot helps in reducing DNA damage as well liver injuries caused by carcinogens. Take one glass of beetroot per day. If you can’t take a glass every day then make sure to take a cup of beetroot juice 3 times a week.
Carrot
Carrots are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Carrot juice reduces DHA, MUFA and triglyceride levels in the liver. Carrot juice will protect your liver from nonalcoholic fatty liver. Also carrot juice protects the liver from liver toxicity. Make sure to eat a cup of cooked carrots after every two days and take a glass of carrot juice every day. This will protect your liver and it will remain healthy.
Coffee
Coffee offers your liver protection from nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. Drinking coffee daily reduces the risk of getting chronic diseases and liver related diseases. Coffee stimulates enzymes in the liver which helps it flush out toxic substances. Also coffee has protective antioxidants which helps the liver get rid of substances that cause cancer. Take a cup of coffee every morning and every night. Make sure to take plain coffee as flavored coffee can lead to weight gain because even if you calories it won’t stop you from eating. Having more calories in body means more weight. So if you are not planning on adding weight just take plain coffee.
Grapes
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Grapes, grape juice and grape seeds are rich in antioxidants that help liver damage. The antioxidants in the grapes reduces inflammation which is an important thing when it comes keeping your liver healthy. You should make sure not to throw away the seeds because grape seeds are the best. Take at least 5 grapes in a week and drink a glass of grape juice every day. This will protect your liver and keep it healthy.
Salmon
Research conducted by world journal of gastroenterology revealed that fatty fish has huge benefits to the liver. Fatty fish plays a vital role in preventing fat build up. More fats means more work for the liver and overworking the liver leads to health complications. Your liver needs to be treated with a lot of care and helped where it is possible. Fatty fish maintains the enzyme levels in the liver which helps it flush out toxic substances like the cancer causing ones among other toxic substances. Eating fatty fish also fights inflammation and as we have already seen it helps your liver a lot. Salmon also contains omega-3 acids which has many benefits to your liver. It is very important to check on your omega 3 to omega-6 ratio because if you have high levels of omega-6 than omega-3 it will increase the chances of having liver diseases.
Lemons
Not the sweetest fruits in the world but very important fruits when it comes to keeping your liver healthy. Lemons and limes are rich in vitamin C which helps reduce any liver damage. Your liver will need the help of lemons if it is already showing some signs of an unhealthy liver. Taking the lemons and limes in the morning is the best time since your liver needs to be stimulated all day. Take at least 2 lemons every day to protect your liver from damages and to reduce some damages if it is already damaged.
Avocado
Avocados has many health benefits and protecting your liver is one of these benefits. This nutty and buttery fruit is rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and healthy fats which are vital when it comes to protecting your liver. Scientists in japan revealed that avocados reduces liver damage if your liver is already damaged. A compound called Glutathione that is found in an avocado has a function of removing toxic substances in your body. You should take up to 5 slices a week for maximum benefits of an avocado to your body. Avocados are one of the best when it comes to maintaining a healthy liver so you can take more if possible. It does not have any side effects so taking more won’t affect your health in any way.
Apple
There is a saying that goes “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” well, that is true. Eating an apple everyday has very many health benefits. A research was conducted to show the effectiveness of an apple and it was found that it is very effective. This research was conducted to show how dehydrated apple would work on serum and liver lipid levels and after 3 months it was found that it had effectively reduced the liver and serum lipid levels. Another research in china confirmed that the polyphenols in an apple plays a vital role in regulating down the inflammatory signal pathway. This in turn helps the liver fight certain diseases related to the liver like hepatic steatosis. As the saying goes you should take an apple a day if you want to keep your liver healthy and keep the doctor away.
Olive oil
Unhealthy lifestyle causes most of the liver’s problems. People who consumes olive oil has less chances of getting liver diseases than people who don’t. Olive oil helps lower LDL cholesterol in the body which is a benefit to the liver. The liver has the function of processing fats and if the LDL cholesterol is reduced it means that the liver will have less work. A relaxed liver is a healthy liver. Also olive oil increases the levels of lipid oxidation and insulin sensitivity which also benefits the liver. You should prepare all your foods using olive oil. We understand olive oil is expensive compared to other types of oil but it is expensive for a reason and that reason is that it is very effective when it comes to maintaining the health of your liver.
Whole grains
Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa and barley among others are rich in fiber. Fiber as we have already seen has many benefits to the liver because it improves digestion and hence making the work of the liver easier. Fiber helps the liver shed the excess cholesterol and fat. Whole grains also help in protecting the liver from nonalcoholic diseases. You should always take a meal full of whole grains daily. This will ensure that your liver stays in perfect health for a long time.
Green tea
A research which was conducted by word journal of gastroenterology revealed that green tea helps the body reduce the overall fat content as well as reduce some signs of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. Taking green tea has proven to be better than taking extracts as some extracts may damage your liver rather than heal it. The research did not recommend that one should take green tea other than taking the extracts but it surely did show how green tea contributes towards a healthy liver. We suggest that you take green tea instead of extracts because some extracts has damaged livers before. If you already have a damaged liver, taking green tea will be of great help.
Nuts
Eating nuts is another simple way of protecting your liver and maintaining its health. Nuts contains vitamin E, antioxidants and unsaturated fats acid which are vital in preventing nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. In addition to preventing this diseases nuts also reduces oxidation stress and inflammation. Making sure that you have some nuts every day will maintain your liver’s health. If you are not planning on adding weight don’t take too much nuts because nuts contains a lot of calories.
Tomatoes
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The last food we are going to talk about is tomatoes. Tomatoes contains some good amounts of antioxidants that protects the liver against liver cancer. A research was done on rats and the rats who were fed tomatoes showed more resistance towards liver damage than the rats who were not fed tomatoes. This research confirmed that tomatoes should be included in foods to eat in order to have a healthy liver.