Foods to avoid when you have a bad liver

Liver is the seat of metabolism in the human body. It is also the place where detoxification takes places. A healthy liver is very essential for a healthy wellbeing. Liver diseases manifest as jaundice. In other words, your liver is bad when you have a jaundice. When the liver is not healthy or diseased, there are certain precautions to be taken, most especially as it concerns your diet. As liver is the seat of metabolism for everything you eat, you should cautiously select the food items you eat.

Foods to Avoid

The foods that should be avoided are as follows.

• Alcohol: Alcohol-related liver injury is very common. Basically, alcohol accelerates the disease progression to a larger extent. It also decreases the regeneration capacity of liver too. Hence, it is always better to quit alcohol when the liver is damaged.
• High sugary foods: Liver is the seat of carbohydrate metabolism. Excess glucose is converted into fat (glycogen) and is stored in the liver. Consumption of high sugary foods increases the metabolism of liver and causes fat accumulation in the liver.
• Fried foods: Avoid fried foods as they increase the metabolism of the liver.
• Salt: Limiting the intake of salt is critical as salt consumption causes water retention in the body. Low sodium diet prevents further liver damage and inflammation.
• Avoid animal-based foods: A damaged liver cannot metabolize proteins. Proteins should be broken down into amino acids for absorption. Excess consumption of animal-based proteins makes it difficult for the liver to metabolize them and decrease the regeneration capacity. On the other hand, plant-based products should be used instead of animal-based foods.
• Over-the-counter medications: Do not use the over-the-counter medications indiscriminately. Acetaminophen and other pain killers further accelerate the liver damage.

Final Notes

From the foregoing, maintaining a healthy liver is no rocket science. Just like the rest of us, everyday people just cannot do without one or more of the aforementioned foods. But then, you should keep in mind that the liver is a very vital organ of your body. Therefore, you must take steps to improve it by making critical lifestyle changes. According to Statistica, over 64,850 liver cirrhosis cases were reported in the United States between 2015 and 2017. This figure goes to show that people who suffer from liver diseases live in our midst. Without a doubt, every step taken to improve your liver is really worth it. So, do you need more counselling? If yes, you can contact a doctor now.