Detox isn’t a new buzzword. It has been around for quite some time. From losing weight to getting rid of chronic aches and pains, detoxing has been credited with being super beneficial for your health. But what about detoxing your liver? Is that something you should seriously think about? Well, you should! Though your liver regularly “Detoxes” itself by removing toxins from your blood, it would be better if it got extra help. Especially when you’re dealing with a fatty liver. The extra fat stored in your liver can lead to liver damage if left unchecked. So, what are the ways you can do this? In today’s video, we’ll be talking about the best way to detox a fatty liver naturally. Are there foods that could help? What are some other ways to expedite the healing of your liver? We’ll talk about all of these AND more.
LET'S FIRST UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR LIVER NEEDS TO DETOX.
Your liver is extremely important for your body, as it performs over 500 vital functions. From helping regulate blood sugar levels to removing waste products, your liver is constantly working. It does this all silently, so much so that even when your liver stops functioning properly, you might not notice anything out of the ordinary. This makes liver disease dangerous. Because they go unnoticed and may progress into liver failure, which is life-threatening.
Thankfully, there are ways to keep your liver healthy. Liver detox is one way to keep liver disease at bay. Whether you have a liver disease or not, we highly recommend you try liver detox once in a while to make sure your liver stays strong. It’s also helpful for those who have a fatty liver. Your liver's extra fat storage is the root cause of fatty liver disease, as you might have guessed from the name. It can damage your liver in the long run. Now that you have an idea about the necessity of detoxing your liver, let's begin the discussion.
1. Reduce Weight
It makes sense to burn fat to reduce fat storage in your liver. When you shed extra pounds, you’ll also lose excess fat from the liver. In fact, experts also suggest that weight loss is one of the best ways to improve the symptoms of fatty liver disease. When you lose extra pounds, you can also stop the progression of the disease. It is recommended that people with obesity lose around 3% to 5% of their body weight. This will stop the ongoing fat buildup in your liver. If you manage to reduce your body weight by 7% to 10%, you can reduce other symptoms of liver disease. This includes inflammation and scarring. Fibrosis can also be stopped if you reduce the necessary amount of weight. Of course, this does not mean you should go on an intense fasting or dieting program. Instead, it should be done in stages. You should have a plan and set goals for each stage so that you lose weight in a healthy manner. Crash diets and starving yourself will do more damage to your body than you could even imagine. Before you even contemplate reducing your weight, you will need to first check with your doctor to figure out what will work for you.
For example, intermittent fasting is great. Everybody seems to be finding it incredibly powerful for losing weight. But it may not be for you, especially if you have diabetes type 1 and take insulin. A dietitian can also help design a diet that can bring down body weight without causing other health issues. Are you interested in knowing more about healthy weight loss? What if I told you there’s a way to eat your way to health? Sounds impossible, right? You can read our post on Top 14 Healthy Foods You Should Eat Every Day Read and learn.
2. Coffee
Be honest: You thought I was going to ask you to stop drinking coffee for the health of your liver. Isn’t it? Well, you are wrong. You’re in for a surprise, as it turns out that coffee is good for your liver. In moderation, of course. Research has shown that drinking coffee can be helpful to the liver. Its most important benefit is its ability to help produce enzymes in the liver that can fight inflammation. If you have fatty liver disease, drinking coffee regularly can help reduce the overall damage to the organ. Drinking two to three cups a day should be enough to get the most benefits. Anything more would end up having other effects, such as making you feel anxious and jittery. When you do drink coffee, it would be best to go for black coffee. This doesn’t have added fat or sugar, so it would be doubly healthy. Coffee with sugar and cream will add more calories and lead to weight gain, which defeats our purpose.
3. Stay Active
I know I sound like a broken record when I say you should exercise regularly. But the fact is that the importance of staying active cannot be overstated. Having a lifestyle in which you don’t do much physical activity is one of the reasons for fatty liver disease. Research has shown that people who live a sedentary life are more likely to have the condition. It also contributes to other symptoms, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. People who have fatty liver disease should make it a practice to be physically active. Experts suggest you try two to three hours of moderate-intensity exercise every week. So that essentially comes to around 30 minutes every day, five times a week. This exercise activity can be something as simple as taking a brisk walk. It is not always necessary to play a sport or go to the gym to get exercise. You can even inculcate it into your daily routine. For instance, you can walk the dog or walk to the grocery store and do brisk walking during that time. Or you could even take the stairs instead of choosing to go on the elevator. The bottom line is, please MOVE! Keep moving to stay healthy.
4. Remove added sugars from your diet
Do you have a sweet tooth? Cannot imagine completing dinner without a second round of dessert? Well, you have to if you care about your liver and your overall health. If your diet contains foods with sugars such as sucrose and fructose, it increases your risk of developing fatty liver disease. Research shows these sugars cause a buildup of fat in your liver when eaten over a period of time. It’s a common misconception that only sodas, cakes, and ice cream contain added sugar. Read the labels of foods you get from the supermarket, and you’ll be surprised to see how many packaged foods hide added sugar in them. Readymade salad dressings, flavored yogurt, and canned soup seem like good choices. But when you see the amount of added sugar in them, you’ll be shocked. Even your favorite breakfast cereals, packaged juices, and energy drinks could be hiding an insane amount of added sugar. If the brand doesn't specifically mention it, your granola bar also contains sugar. So the next time you’re grocery shopping, do yourself a favor and check the ingredient list. Any ingredients ending with ‘-ose’ are most probably added sugars. This includes sucrose, fructose, and maltose. Either skip eating such foods altogether or opt for healthier versions. For instance, instead of buying flavored yogurt, pick up the Greek version. Switch to homemade salad dressings like balsamic vinegar, hung curd, or extra virgin olive oil. When you’re in control of the ingredients, you’ll make healthier choices. That’s not all. Besides sucrose, fructose, and maltose, there are other forms of sugar that could be added to the product you are buying. High-fructose corn syrup, corn sweetener, cane sugar, honey, molasses, and syrup are some of them. They have the same impact on your body as regular sugar. These are just different forms of it. You can also tell if there is too much sugar in a food product by looking at how many grams of it are listed in the nutrient list. The lower the number of grams of sugar in a food, the better it is for you.
Curious to know what else you can do to cut sugar from your diet? For starters, you can switch to herbal teas to curb sugar cravings. This will not only save calories but also improve your health. You can begin with chamomile tea. It’s refreshing! You don’t need to skip desserts just because you’re giving up sugar. Frozen fruit popsicles are an excellent summer treat you can enjoy on lazy afternoons. Greek yogurt topped with strawberries and blueberries is delicious and will satisfy your sweet tooth without the harmful effects of added sugar. The best part of a sugar-free diet is that you don’t have to stay away from chocolate. Just make sure you opt for dark chocolate that has at least 70% cocoa. If you are in the habit of reaching for low-fat versions of foods like yogurt and peanut butter, please don’t. It might seem logical to grab low-fat foods while on a weight-loss diet. But the truth is, they usually contain more sugar and sometimes more calories than their full-fat counterparts. High sugar content will lead to weight gain, which defeats the purpose of grabbing low-fat foods. You also need to eat more whole foods that haven’t been processed or refined. This is why beans, legumes, vegetables, and whole grains should be a big part of your meals. And of course, you should always go for fresh, in-season fruits instead of canned varieties. Fruit is sweet enough; you don’t need it packed in syrup. If you still can’t help it, buy versions labeled “Packed In Water” or “No Added Sugar.”
5. Manage your blood cholesterol levels
Research shows that when you have a fatty liver, your body finds it difficult to manage blood cholesterol levels on its own. This leads to a cyclical effect where your body has high cholesterol because your fatty liver cannot help manage it. And the high cholesterol levels, in turn, make your fatty liver disease even worse. Your risk of developing life-threatening heart disease increases. You have to somehow break this vicious circle. The first step in the right direction would be to try to manage your blood cholesterol levels. For this, you need to avoid both saturated and trans fats. Saturated fat is usually found in red meat and full-fat dairy products. Fried foods, baked goods, and crackers are loaded with trans fat. Along with making solid changes in your daily diet, you need to try other ways to manage cholesterol levels. This includes exercising daily and reducing your Body Mass Index. If the levels still remain high, your doctor might prescribe some medicines to help bring the cholesterol levels under control.
6. Try Omega-3 fatty acid supplements
Don’t let the word ‘Fat’ scare you. All fats are not bad. Yes, you need to keep your intake of saturated and trans fats to a minimum. But your body also needs healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids to keep functioning at its best. You’ll be surprised to know they play a key role in improving your eyesight, promoting brain health, and reducing risk factors for heart disease. Intrigued to know more about them?Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that you usually get from fish and other seafood. It is also present in a few types of nuts and seeds. These fatty acids are specially recommended for people who have liver disease. The additional benefit is that they’ll take care of your heart as well. Even if you don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids from your diet, you can take supplements. Research has shown that these supplements are effective in reducing liver fat. It has also been shown to bring your cholesterol levels under control. In this review of studies, participants were given omega-3 supplements with doses ranging from 830 milligrams to 9,000 milligrams. You need to discuss the right dosage with your doctor. They would also recommend whether you should stick to getting your omega-3 fatty acids from food or if you actually need supplements. If you’re looking to go the natural way, add fatty fish to your diet. Salmon, mackerel, and sardines are excellent choices. Anchovies, herring, and oysters are also among the top contenders. If you’re not a seafood fan, you can try plant-based sources to get your daily fix of omega-3. Chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts would be your go-to options. Soybeans aren’t bad either.
7. Avoid liver irritants
There are substances that can irritate your liver and put a lot of stress on it. Alcohol is the biggest culprit among them. Wine, beer, whiskey, and vodka are all bad for your liver. They make your liver work very hard to process them. Research shows that alcohol causes further harm in people who have fatty liver disease, even when taken moderately. If you do not limit your alcohol consumption, it can even destroy your liver cells. The impact is so bad that there are diseases solely attributable to excessive drinking. These include alcoholic fatty liver disease, acute alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. Experts recommend no more than one standard drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Confused about what would be a standard drink?
It is either:
- 12 fluid ounces of regular beer that has about 5 percent alcohol
- 8 to 9 fluid ounces of malt liquor that has about 7 percent alcohol
- 5 fluid ounces of wine that has about 12 percent alcohol
- 1.5 fluid-ounce shot of distilled spirits like tequila, rum, gin, or whiskey that has about 40 percent alcohol
If you have liver problems already, the best thing to do is stop drinking alcohol altogether and let your liver recover. And never mix alcohol with medication. It puts a huge strain on your liver. That’s not all. Alcohol isn’t the only trigger for your liver. Certain over-the-counter medications can also irritate your liver. The same is true for some supplements. Don’t assume all supplements, like herbs, natural remedies, vitamins, and minerals, are good for your liver. Just because you are taking a natural product doesn’t mean it is free of long-term consequences. Experts have found several ‘natural’ weight loss supplements to be harmful to your liver. Green tea extract is one of them. Even too many vitamin A supplements can damage your liver.
Make it a habit to check with your doctor before including supplements in your daily diet. Be cautious with over-the-counter medications. Do not self-diagnose your ailments.
8. Vitamin E
You must have heard how vitamin E is great for your skin and hair. In fact, so many beauty products make tall claims about containing vitamin E to help with your skin and hair woes. It turns out that this vitamin is great for your liver as well. Vitamin E can help reduce inflammation in people who have fatty liver disease. This is a result of its antioxidant properties, which stop free radicals from causing cell damage. Experts suggest people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease should take around 800 International Units of Vitamin E per day. This dosage is for people who do not have diabetes and have confirmed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. It is an advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Considering there are always risks associated with supplements, you should check with your doctor before you start taking vitamin E supplements. The doctor would be able to advise you if taking the supplements would help with your fatty liver issues. Since certain vitamin supplements can irritate your liver, getting your daily vitamin E fix through food would be a safer option. For this, you can include sunflower seeds, almonds, and peanuts in your diet. If you’re allergic to nuts, go for beet greens, spinach, collard greens, and pumpkin. Even red bell peppers are loaded with vitamin E.
9. Eat a liver-friendly diet
This is hardly a surprise. Your diet can play a key role in detoxing your liver and keeping it healthy in the long run. You can start a liver-friendly diet by eating a variety of healthy foods like whole grains, lean protein, and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, grapefruit, and nuts are particularly good for your liver. You also need to get enough fiber, as it helps your liver function smoothly. Also, make sure you stay hydrated all day to keep your liver in tip-top shape. Limit foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. For the same reason, you need to skip regular meals at fast food joints. Detoxing your liver is a great idea. But maybe you should also know about the warning signs that it isn’t in the best shape. Prevention is certainly better than cure.
Let’s keep the conversation going with a couple more liver-related videos. Shall we? Read 19 SUPERFOODS That Naturally Cleanse Your Liver Learn more about how your liver works. Have you tried detoxing your liver before? Let us know in the comments below!
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. You should never use content in my writing as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or another qualified clinician. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if indicated for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog. Thank you.