Healthy Liver Diet: Liver Disease Diet from Liver Foundation

March 22, 2019 | By John Raslavsky | Publications

Content sourced from Liver Foundation.org

A Healthy Diet, a Healthier Liver, a Healthier You

So, what should you eat to ensure that your liver can function normally?

If you’re a liver patient, your diet is adjusted to meet your individual needs. Talk to your doctor about what’s best for you. Still, here are some general food tips for healthy or healthier liver nutrition:

• What to avoid: Don’t eat foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Stay away from a lot of fried foods including fast food restaurant meals. Raw or undercooked shellfish such as oysters and clams are a definite no-no.
• Talk to your doctor about alcohol and your liver health: Depending on the state of your liver, you should avoid alcohol. If you’re allowed alcohol, limit it to no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman and two drinks a day if you’re a man.
• Eat a balanced diet: Select foods from all food groups: Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and beans, milk, and oil.
• Eat food with fiber: Fiber helps your liver work at an optimal level. Fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, rice and cereals can take care of your body’s fiber needs.
• Drink lots of water: It prevents dehydration and it helps your liver to function better.

Here are 10 healthy tips to follow the next time you go to the supermarket:

1. Pick out vegetables and fruits without high-calorie sauces or added salt & sugars
   
2. Choose fiber-rich whole grains
   
3. Pick up poultry and fish without skin prepared in healthy way
   
4. Decide over lean cuts of meat instead of those high in fat
   
5. Eat fish at least twice a week, especially fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. salmon, trout and herring)
   
6. Make sure your dairy is Fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%)
   
7. Avoid foods with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat
   
8. Limit saturated fat and trans fat by replacing them with the better fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated)
   
9. Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars
   
10. Choose foods with less sodium and prepare foods with little or no salt