Your liver is responsible for many significant processes your body needs to perform to function normally. Examples include the production of proteins, the metabolism of medications, the breakdown of toxic agents, and the storage of nutrients. That is why the smooth functioning of the liver is crucial for maintaining your overall health and preventing the risk of liver diseases. 1
Hence, adding healthy foods like cruciferous vegetables and nuts to your diet, staying physically active, regularly drinking coffee and tea, getting vaccinated, and avoiding the overuse of alcohol and certain medications are some of the best ways to keep your liver healthy.
Do you know:
- Liver disease is responsible for almost 2 million deaths worldwide every year
- Likewise, the complications of liver disease, particularly those related to liver cirrhosis along with hepatocellular carcinoma, kill approximately 1 in every 25 people globally.
- Among these, men are more susceptible to facing the deadly consequences of liver disease. This is because the recorded numbers suggest that almost two-thirds of all lives lost due to liver disease are of men. 2
That is why it is essential to keep your liver healthy by understanding how to improve liver function naturally. However, before you do that, you can take a liver panel test to get a comprehensive diagnosis of the current health status of your liver.
Ways To Improve Liver Health: Diet, Lifestyle and Natural Remedies
There are numerous ways to improve liver health, from altering your diet to lifestyle changes and weight loss strategies.
1. Diet and Nutrition: Food to Improve Liver Health
When looking for ways to keep the liver healthy, having a nutritious and balanced diet is one of the most crucial steps to improve liver function naturally.
Therefore, here is a list of food items that you must include in your daily diet to improve liver health—
1. 1. Coffee
One of the best foods to improve liver health is coffee. Coffee helps to improve liver function naturally by minimising the risk of—
- Chronic liver disease
- Cirrhosis
- Liver Inflammation
Moreover, according to a 2016 research paper, since coffee does not allow the building up of fat in the liver, regular coffee intake is highly beneficial to prevent the onset of liver disease.
Hence, to improve liver health, it is suggested to have coffee at least 3 times a day regularly.
1. 2. Tea
Another refreshing beverage you can have daily to keep your liver healthy is tea, particularly green tea.
Many research studies have concluded that green tea can help to improve liver function naturally by fighting against the liver enzymes associated with diseases like NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease). It is also known to be beneficial for the prevention of liver cancer.
That is why, to maximise the positive effects of tea to improve liver health, it is recommended to drink at least 4 cups of it daily.
1. 3. Cruciferous Vegetables
Having a high nutrition content and an abundance of fibre, Cruciferous vegetables are completely packed with compounds that improve liver function naturally.
They offer benefits like—
- Enhancing the detoxification process
- Protecting the liver from potential toxins (substances that can cause internal harm)
So, here are some examples of the cruciferous vegetables that you must include in your diet to keep ‘your liver healthy—
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
1. 4. Nuts
The health benefits of nuts are numerous. They are rich in—
- Healthy fats
- Vitamin E
- Antioxidants
- Several other plant compounds that improve liver health
According to a 2019 research, an increased consumption of nuts was found to be directly responsible for decreasing the chances of the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). That is why they are among the best foods to improve liver health.
While not always, sometimes the problems associated with your liver can occur because of nutritional deficiencies. 3 You can book a blood test at home to identify such deficiencies and correct them timely to keep your liver healthy in the long term.
2. Lifestyle Habits to Improve Liver Function Naturally
Lifestyle habits to keep your liver healthy in the long run include staying physically active, having fast food only occasionally, and avoiding alcohol. Here's how these habits can help to improve liver health eventually.
2. 1. Exercise Regularly
Leading a physically active lifestyle is one of the best natural ways to keep the liver healthy. This is because when you exercise regularly, your body cuts down on liver fat and lowers the number of triglycerides in your body. As a result, your chances of developing fatty liver disease are minimised, and your liver function is improved naturally.
Some liver-healthy exercises that you can include in your routine to keep your liver healthy include:
2.1.1. Aerobic Exercises
These exercises help to reduce liver fat. Examples include light physical activities like—
- Cycling
- Jogging
- Walking
- swimming, etc.
Ensure that you practice any of these aerobic exercises for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour daily, at least five times a week.
2.1.2. Strength Training Exercises
Resistance training exercises are also part of a heavy workout routine. To keep your liver healthy, you can perform moderate-to-extreme levels of strength training exercises like weightlifting at least three times a week. You must ensure that each session is scheduled on a different day of the week. 4
2. 2. Limit Fast Food Consumption
Despite the taste, satisfaction, affordability, and easy accessibility that fast food offers, it is something that you should avoid to keep your liver healthy.
A recent study has concluded that if 20% (or more) of your daily calorie intake comes from fast food, then it can increase the risk of liver damage due to fatty liver disease. Moreover, while everyone should limit fast food consumption, people who have obesity or type 2 diabetes must be extra careful with it.
But why so? The main reason behind this is that these foods are rich in unhealthy components like:
- Saturated fats
- Added sugars
- Other ingredients that negatively affect your metabolic health
Therefore, to improve liver function naturally, you need to minimise the consumption of fast food in your day-to-day life. 5
2.3. Avoid Heavy Alcohol Intake
To improve your liver function naturally, you must stop drinking alcohol. This is because:
- Firstly, alcohol hardly provides any nutritional value to your body.
- Secondly, it damages the liver and gradually destroys a healthy microbiome.
- Thirdly, when you consume alcohol, your liver has to work extra hard to digest and process it. Thus, it burdens your liver, leading to its early damage. 6
- Lastly, alcohol is equivalent to poison for people with even mild hepatitis (a common type of liver disease) because it tends to worsen its symptoms quickly and rapidly. 7
Apart from this, if you have been a consistent alcohol consumer in the past or if you still drink it frequently, you can take an LFT profile test. This test can help you detect potential risks of liver failure (if any) and the possibilities of alcoholic fatty liver disease.
3. Managing Weight and Metabolic Health
One of the most crucial steps that you can take to keep your liver healthy is to lose extra weight. This is because excess accumulation of fat is the leading cause of liver damage that results in fatty liver disease and other serious liver diseases.
When you lose at least 5% of your body weight, the amount of fat in your liver decreases significantly. When this percentage rises and goes between 7% to 10%, there is a reduction in liver-related inflammation. Plus, your liver cells become less susceptible to any injury's negative effects.
Hence, it is important to reduce calories, exercise regularly, and avoid foods that cause obesity to improve liver health.
Moreover, in the case of people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, the chances of fatty liver disease increase. That is why, along with maintaining a healthy weight to keep their liver healthy, these people must also—
- Manage their blood sugar levels
- Constantly get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked to ensure that they are under the normal range
Having moderate to high energy levels and healthy skin are two of the most easily visible signs of a healthy liver. Having diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), or high cholesterol can interfere with these and cause problems in your everyday life. That is why it is essential to adopt the right strategies to improve liver function naturally.
4. Preventive Measures and Medical Check-Ups
Along with using the above-mentioned strategies to keep the liver healthy, it is equally important to protect yourself against possible carriers of liver disease to minimise damage and improve your liver health.
So, here are some preventive measures that can help you to improve liver function naturally—
4. 1. Practise Good Hygiene
Some ways to practice good hygiene to improve your liver health include—
- Wash your hands after every visit to the washroom and before every meal
- Use the right cleaning methods while preparing food
- The objects that are used for personal cleanliness needs, such as razors and toothbrushes, must never be shared. This is because they might contain residual blood on them, which can infect the other person.
- Do not drink from any open source of water while travelling
4. 2. Get Vaccinated
In order to keep your liver healthy, it is essential to get a vaccination against liver-damaging viruses to prevent the risk of:
4. 3. Practice Safer Sex
The chances of catching Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C increase when you don't take the right safety measures while having sex. That is why, to keep the liver healthy and safe against these conditions, you must use a condom and other barrier methods.
4. 4. Don't Overuse Medicines
As already mentioned above, your liver is responsible for processing all the medicines that you consume. Thus, in cases where a person overuses these medicines, the risk of liver injury and damage increases. This can lead to drug-induced hepatitis (an adverse health condition associated with liver damage).
Hence, to keep your liver healthy, make sure you only take your medicines in limited quantities and as prescribed by a doctor. This applies especially to:
- Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines
- Painkillers like acetaminophen
- NSAIDs or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Examples include diclofenac, naproxen and ibuprofen. 8
5. Natural And Alternative Remedies
To improve liver function naturally, here are some natural remedies that might and might not be helpful:
5.1. Natural Remedies That Actually Work to Improve Liver Health
According to 2018 research, there are some specific herbs and spices that can actually be used to improve liver health and treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These include—
- Turmeric
- Milk Thistle
- Green Tea
- Ginger
- Garlic 9
However, it is not advisable to consume green tea in the form of supplements without consulting a medical expert. This is because some people's bodies might react negatively to these supplements, resulting in a completely opposite effect on their livers. It is a matter of concern because this negative effect can even lead to permanent liver damage.
5.2. Alternative Methods to Avoid
Natural remedies, which claim to be 'cleansing' or 'detoxing' for the liver, are not recommended. Especially, when it comes to prevention against fatty liver disease to keep the liver healthy, diet and lifestyle habits are the best solutions, according to experts.
Debunking Myths and Misconceptions
While you might be trying to find ways to keep your liver healthy, there are common myths that might become a hindrance on your journey. Some of these can affect your choice of strategies to improve liver health and ultimately put you at risk of developing liver disease.
Such myths include:
Myth 1: Only people who consume large quantities of alcohol are at risk of liver disease
Fact: Even though alcohol does increase your chances of developing liver disease, it is not the only factor responsible for its cause. You can suffer from liver problems even if you have never touched alcohol.
Myth 2: Liver disease only happens to old people
Fact: Liver disease can affect people of all ages and genders. This includes even infants and teenagers.
Myth 3: How can I have liver disease if I have never faced any of its symptoms?
Fact: The worst part about liver-related disorders is that many times, they don't show any symptoms in the initial stages. But this does not mean you don't have the disease. 10
That is why it is important to take a complete body check-up package after regular intervals to thoroughly evaluate your overall health. Especially when you have already adopted the strategies to improve liver health for a certain duration, this comprehensive examination can help you understand better the signs that your liver is healing and recovering.
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