Nutrition for Liver Health

What you eat and how well you take care of yourself can affect how well your liver works. The liver filters and metabolizes nearly everything you ingest--including foods, medications and vitamins and minerals. Taken in excess, a number of things can affect the health of the liver, even when functioning normally.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

A fatty liver contains an excessive amount of fat and becomes large and heavy. Being overweight or obese can lead to liver dysfunction. A fatty liver is the most common cause of abnormal liver function tests in the United States. Weight loss of as little as 5 to 10 percent can improve liver function and reverse damage.

Increase Dietary Fiber

Fiber helps the liver by ridding toxins from the digestive tract before they reach the liver to be metabolized. Foods high in fiber include whole grains and many fruits and vegetables. It also may be helpful to take a psyllium fiber supplement if the diet does not contain adequate fiber sources.

Lower Intake of Saturated Fats

High-fat diets can lead to high levels of blood lipids (cholesterol). The liver regulates fat metabolism, and consuming too much dietary fat causes the liver to store the excess instead of transporting it to cells for energy. This can lead to fatty liver disease.

Avoid Refined Sugar

Excess sugar in the diet is initially stored in the liver in the form of glucose (glycogen). This can increase the size of the liver, causing it to function less effectively. When the liver is at maximum capacity, it converts excess sugar to body fat.

Increase Intake of High-Sulfur Foods

Foods rich in sulfur may help the liver's ability to metabolize environmental toxins. Foods in this group would include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale and brussels sprouts. Other beneficial sulfur-containing foods are garlic, legumes, onions and eggs.

Avoid Foods that Contain Toxins

In 1992, the American Medical Association recommended the elimination of mercury from regular use as a harmful substance to heath. It is a toxin that can build up in the liver. Certain fish can contain high levels of mercury and should be avoided. These include shark, swordfish, tilefish (golden bass or golden snapper) and king mackerel.

Some experts also recommend consuming organic foods when possible to reduce the amount of agricultural chemicals and toxins to be filtered through the liver.