Common Foods That Can Really Harm Your Liver

Common Foods That Can Really Harm Your Liver

Common Foods That Can Harm Your Liver


We all love biting in into a delicious, sugary, freshly-made doughnut that the mere sight of which makes our mouth water despite being aware that they may not be too good for our health. In the rush of daily life, you may be consuming foods that are overtaxing this important organ. The liver – one of the most vital organs in our body – helps regulate the body’s metabolism, stores nutrients from foods and removes toxins from the body. Keeping your liver healthy is important and to do this you need to keep a check on your sodium, alcohol, fat intake among others.

Common Food Items That Harm Your Liver

Here are some foods you should probably keep an eye out for so as to avoid liver-related problems.

Sugar - Too much sugar in your diet can increase the obesity risk and put greater stress on your liver. So try to stay away from too many cookies and doughnuts. Instead, consume whole carbohydrates like whole grains and fresh vegetables.

Sodium - Any meal that consists of excessive salt can be harmful to your liver. Salt causes your body to indulge in fluid retention, which if your liver is dysfunctional, you may already be experiencing. This can have adverse effects. So be wary of high-salt processed foods, like sausages.

Fast Food - Eating too much fast food is the simplest way of finding yourself hit by liver problems. These fast food diets are high in fats and sugar and can cause serious damage to your liver. However, if it is not too late then the damage can be easily reversed by giving up this diet.

Fatty Foods - Consuming too much fatty food can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. There is a risk of obesity when you consume too much fat. Deep fried foods have high amounts of lipid peroxides, which are rancid fats and damage the membranes of liver cells. You need to reduce your saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your total calories and try to eliminate your trans-fat intake completely. Food items like margarine, cookies and high-fat meats usually have unhealthy quantities of fats.

Alcohol - Though this may not come under the category of foods, per se, this is one item that should be avoided. Excessive alcohol consumption has been found to be a major cause of liver disease.

Artificial Sweeteners - Excessive sugar in itself is bad, but artificial sweeteners have been found to be much worse as they create toxic reactions in the body. Some of the commonly used artificial sweeteners that you would do well to avoid include Splenda, Aspartame, Nutrasweet and Equal.

Monosodium Glutamate - Popularly known as MSG, this is a flavor enhancer used in many foods. MSG is a concentrated salt that has been found to cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma attack as well as being toxic to the liver.

Hence, avoiding, or at the very least, limiting your consumption of these food items will help your liver maintain good health. There are a number of foods that can also help rejuvenate your liver. Trying to add these in your diet will be very beneficial to you. Your liver speaks in signs and symptoms so pay heed to important signs that will clearly indicate that your liver needs a detox.

Sehat provides a list of best Liver Hepatologists in India from which you can research and choose the right doctor for your condition.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)

Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad