The liver is responsible for filtering and processing everything that you eat and drink. The ideal diet for healthy liver function includes high-fiber, low-fat foods and no alcohol. Because everything you eat and drink passes through the liver, all of the unhealthy substances in fatty, processed foods and alcohol can affect the liver. Certain foods can enhance the liver health and help prevent disease.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, Swiss chard and broccoli contain high amounts of fiber. Fiber keeps the liver healthy by binding to bile. Bile is a substance made by the liver that emulsifies fat, and delivers it to the colon for excretion. Less bile inside the liver means a healthier functioning organ. You should aim for at least 25g of fiber per day.
Berries
Berries provide a great source of antioxidants. Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals can wreak havoc on cells. The journal "Food Science and Nutrition" reports that antioxidants may have some healing power for the liver. An article published in 2005 by Paolo Vitaglione and colleagues reports that antioxidants can be used to maintain health and heal damage inside the liver.
Garlic
Garlic has positive healing and prevention effects on the liver. According to a study published in the journal "Phytotherapy Research" in 2006 by Shizutoshi Nakagawat and colleagues, S-allylmercapto cysteine, a substance found in garlic, can help the liver. It was found that this substance had a healing effect on the liver and could help prevent liver necrosis.
Beans
Beans are a good source of thiamin, a vitamin that promotes liver health. In a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 1965 by Carroll M. Leevy, M.D., low levels of thiamin were associated with an increased instance of liver disease. According to Vitamins-supplements.org, the recommended intake for thiamin is 1.1g for men and 0.8g for women.
Beets
It is suggested that beets can increase liver health by lowering triglycerides. In a study published in "Cereal Chemistry" in 1990 by Carol F. Klopfenstein the effects of beet sugar fiber on the liver were analyzed. This study confirmed that beet fiber helped lower liver cholesterol and triglycerides, resulting in a healthier liver.
References
- Wiley Online Library: Prevention of Liver Damage by Aged Garlic Extract and Its Components in Mice
- "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies"; Francis Sizer, Eleanor Whitney; 2004.
- InformaWorld: Dietary Antioxidant Compounds and Liver Health
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; B-Complex Vitamins in Liver Disease of the Alcoholic, M.D. Leevy, M. Carroll; 1965
- Vitamins Supplements Guide: Thiamin
- "Cereal Chemistry"; Nutritional Properties of Coarse and Fine Sugar Beet Fiber and Hard Wheat Bran: Effects on Rat Serum and Liver Cholesterol and Triglycerides and on Fecal Characteristics; Carol F. Klopfenstein; 1990
