The role of the liver is to remove toxins from the blood and help digest food and turn it into energy for the body. Vitamins are essential for overall health, but some are especially important for the liver. Vitamin deficiencies can lead to liver damage and are common in liver disease. A healthy diet can provide all the vitamins a person needs to be healthy, but in some instances vitamin supplements may also help.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps the liver make blood clotting factors, according to Medline Plus. People with vitamin K deficiencies have a higher risk of bleeding due to inadequate blood clothing. The University of Illinois Medical Center (UIMC) says that vitamin K is often prescribed for people with biliary cirrhosis. Biliary cirrhosis can lead to liver failure due to destruction of the liver's bile ducts. Bile ducts transport bile, a digestive enzyme, from the liver to the gallbladder to the small intestine to digest fat. Foods rich in vitamin K include green leafy vegetables, cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, beans, olives, soybeans, meat, cereal and dairy products.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants protect the liver and other organs from free radicals, harmful oxygen molecules that damage cells and tissues and contribute to chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Essential vitamins that are antioxidants include vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) individuals with alcoholic hepatitis, a type of liver disease caused by heavy alcohol use, are often deficient in vitamin A and C due to a poor diet. The UIMC says vitamin E is often administered to people biliary cirrhosis.
Dietary sources of vitamin A include eggs, meat, milk, cheese, cream, liver, kidney, cod and fish oil from halibut. The NIAAA warns that vitamin A supplements can be toxic when combined with alcohol. They should only be administered to alcoholics with a known vitamin A deficiency that have significantly reduced their alcohol intake or stopped drinking altogether. Vitamin E is found in wheat germ, corn, nuts, seeds, olives, green leafy vegetables, asparagus and vegetable oils. Vitamin C is in citrus fruits and juice, green bell peppers, berries, tomatoes, broccoli, leafy green vegetables, sweet and white potatoes and cantaloupe.
Thiamine
Thiamine (vitamin B1) is a water-soluble B vitamin found in cereals, pasta, whole grains, lean meats, fish, dried beans, peas, soybeans and bread that has had thiamine added to it. According to the NIAAA and Medline Plus, alcoholic liver disease can result in a thiamine deficiency because alcohol makes it difficult for thiamine to be absorbed from food. A thiamine deficiency can lead to fatigue, weakness, nerve damage and brain damage. Individuals with alcoholic liver disease can benefit from 50 mg of supplemental thiamine a day. The Mayo Clinic says other B vitamins that are important in alcoholic liver disease include riboflavin (B2) and pyroxidine (B6).
