Your liver is a vital organ important for maintaining many of your body's functions, including how it processes nutrients from foods. Liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis can alter this process, and your doctor may have to place you on a liver disease diet that offers the right mix of calories, nutrition and liquids for your condition. Eating a healthy diet will make it easier for your liver to do its job and potentially help repair liver damage.
Identification
Your liver is the second largest organ in your body, and up to 90 percent of blood that leaves your stomach and intestines delivers nutrients to your liver where they're converted into a form your body can use. Your liver also helps get rid of toxic substances to be excreted out of your body. Liver disease may be genetic or caused by infections or chemical poisoning, with some conditions temporary and others chronic. Certain liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, can actually cause malnutrition. A balanced diet with adequate calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates can help a damaged liver regenerate new liver cells.
General Recommendations
Although your healthcare practitioner will tell you the appropriate diet for your specific liver condition, MayoClinic.com recommends you focus on a plant-based diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables, while limiting high-fat foods. A damaged liver has a harder time breaking down glycogen from carbohydrates for energy, so you should increase your carbohydrate consumption. Good sources include whole-grain breads, cereals such as rice and oats, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn and peas. Antioxidants help protect against cellular damage. These include beta-carotene found in foods that are orange, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and mangoes; lycopene found in tomatoes and watermelon; vitamin C in citrus fruits; and vitamin E in almonds, green leafy vegetables and plant oils.
Specific Conditions
Liver cholestasis, or a backup of bile, may benefit from safflower oil. Cirrhosis often requires a high-protein diet; however, animal proteins may contribute to a liver-induced brain condition called hepatic encephalopathy, so plant proteins such as soy and beans may be best. Foods high in choline -- such as wheat germ, peanuts, skim milk and soy -- may help prevent the formation of a fatty liver. If you have ascites, a condition where liver disease causes fluid to collect in your abdominal cavity, milk may be helpful because of its high-protein, low-sodium content.
Expert Insights
A study published in "BMC Gastroenterology" in November 2006 showed that resveratrol, a compound found mainly in the skins of red grapes, reduced liver damage in mice with cirrhosis and significantly prolonged lifespan. Researchers from Turkey published a study in 2007 in "The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology" demonstrating that pomegranate peel extract prevented liver scarring in rats with bile duct obstruction. Scientists in Brazil investigated the effects of quercetin -- an antioxidant found in tea, red onions, apples and berries -- on liver damage in rats with cirrhosis. Their results, published in 2003 in "Digestive Diseases and Sciences," showed quercetin also had protective effects against liver scarring from cirrhosis. Findings from a study published in "Hepatology" in 2010 suggested that coffee was able to reduce liver damage in the inflammatory liver disease called steatohepatitis.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Liver Problems; April 2011
- National Liver Foundation: Diet and Nutrition
- Drugs.com: Liver Disease Diet
- American Liver Foundation: Diet and Your Liver
- "BMC Gastroenterology"; Effect of Resveratrol on Alcohol-induced Mortality and Liver Lesions in Mice; Luis Bujanda, et al.; November 2006
- "The Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacology"; Pomegranate Peel Extract Prevents Liver Fibrosis in Biliary-obstructed Rats; H.Z. Toklu, et al.; September 2007
