Our imagination thinks about the liver as tiny but it is larger than we realize. It is capable of doing a plethora of functions as long as it is healthy. It also plays a crucial role in digestion and absorbing vitamin K from the food we eat.
Liver is an essential organ and we need to take care of it properly. Even if you have been diagnosed with fatty liver, you can always reduce your chances of transforming it into a serious issue. You can do that with the help of a fatty liver diet.
4 Foods to eat with fatty liver
Your diet plays an important role in your overall health. Be wise with your food choices for a healthy lifestyle.
Greens
- The greens add a healthy component to heal any organ in our body.
- Especially spinach can lower the build-up of fat in the liver when eaten raw rather than cooked. It has polyphenols and nitrates that lower the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. With its antioxidant content called glutathione, it can keep the liver functioning well.
- So a salad with spinach in it is a value-added ingredient for your fatty liver. With it being rich in vitamins C, K, and A, it can also aid in purifying your blood.
- You may include kale, celery, and lettuce also in your fatty liver diet.
Oatmeal
- Beta-glucans in oatmeal and oats are found abundantly which modulates the immune system and removes the fat in livers. For the digestion to take place, fibers must be included in the body. Oatmeal and oats can help you get these fibers, as well as those specific fibers needed by the liver.
- It can aid in lowering triglyceride levels and turn out to be effective in curing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The oatmeal must be made of whole oats.
- To your liver, walnut is the closest pal. It has high omega-3 fatty acids and as a healthy natural fat that protects the liver from dietary fat. These acids prevent the liver from going into a mechanism of storing excess fat from the food.
- Walnuts help you reduce oxidative stress, and inflammation, and reduce insulin resistance.
Have walnuts as a handful of snacks or sprinkle them on your oatmeal, and yogurt!
Coffee
- People with Hepatitis C, a liver disease due to the inflammation of the liver from a viral infection are seen to fight it better with coffee intake. An intake of 1 to 2 cups a day can lower the symptoms of Hepatitis C.
- It has also been shown to have reduced fibrosis, and NAFLD in people.
- During caffeine digestion, the body breaks it down into paraxanthine. Some research suggests paraxanthine may play a role in inhibiting scar tissue growth. Chemicals like cafestol and kahweol can prevent liver cancer.
- Caffeine is mostly avoided for a lot of other scenarios like high blood pressure and digestion issues. Those with such issues shouldn’t consume caffeine.
Garlic
- People with fatty liver disease can reduce their fat and body weight with garlic powder. Besides, it has also helped in improving the enzyme levels in people with NAFLD.
- Garlic has an organosulfur compound which makes it anti-inflammatory and helps in reducing hepatitis and steatosis.
- It is recommended to add garlic and garlic powder to fight fatty liver diseases.
4 Foods to avoid with fatty liver
Let’s look into those foods you need to avoid when you have a fatty liver.
Meat
- Most meats, especially red meat and processed meats, are high in saturated fat. This type of fat can contribute to the buildup of fat in your liver, worsening your condition.
- Mitochondria are the powerhouses of your cells, including liver cells. When you have a fatty liver, these tiny powerhouses might not work as well. Meat consumption can further hinder their ability to break down fats for energy.
- A diet high in saturated fat can promote inflammation and damage your liver, especially if it’s already struggling with excess fat. Hence, it is better to avoid meat if you have a fatty liver.
Alcohol
- It has the potential to introduce alcoholic liver disease. This occurs depending on how long you have abused the alcohol and how much you have consumed.
- It inflates and swells the liver to cause hepatitis, continued scarring, and finally cirrhosis which is irreversible and may need liver transplantation.
Refined grains
- The grains when refined or processed, remove the fiber from it and that’s why it gets the name refined grains. The white rice which looks bright white, is deceiving as it has no fibers to help your body in any way.
- White pasta and white bread also add to the list. They seemingly increase the blood sugar levels in the body when you consume them and worsen the situation of fatty liver.
- Conversely, if you consume whole grains, you can reduce the liver cancer risk by 37%. Hence replace it with quinoa, oats, whole wheat bread, and brown rice.
Sugar
- Sugar isn’t just bad for the liver but for your overall health as well. The liver consumes only fructose sugar to prepare fat and this buildup of fat can damage the liver to cause disease.
- The fructose is the major driving component of liver disease. Therefore only 10% of total energy intake per day is allowed in the diet, reducing it to 5% is even better.
Conclusion
What’s predominantly driving fatty liver disease is alcohol intake and obesity. Damage to an organ is equal to the nonfunctioning of an organ which is more miserable to live without.
It can be cured when in an early stage by lowering the consumption of several foods that lead to liver disease and increasing the intake of foods that nourish the liver. Along with exercise that could add value to the healing process.
It is mostly irreversible when in the last stage, although liver transplantation could be done. But there is more to life than living in the miseries of disease, why not cure it at the early stage?
At Fitness With Nidhi, we offer a customized fatty liver diet considering your existing health conditions. We believe in a healthy lifestyle for everyone!
