15 Best Foods for Your Liver

If you want to live a healthy life, one of the most vital organs you must take care of is your liver. The liver cleans our blood, processes different nutrients, and turns contaminants into waste products. Having a healthy liver means you’ll have better chances of avoiding type 2 diabetes, liver damage, and chronic disease.

While factors other than diet can certainly contribute to poor liver health, there are beneficial foods known to nourish and protect the liver and assist with liver function. Let’s take a look at 15 of the best foods for your liver.

(Keep in mind that if you have an allergy or sensitivity to any of the foods listed below, you should seek medical advice before eating them. You have a wide variety of foods to choose from, so if one isn’t right for you, then its probably best to avoid it.)

1. Nuts

Nuts are abundant in antioxidants, vitamin E, and unsaturated fatty acids. These compounds are known to be beneficial to overall health, including the liver.

A study of U.S. adults confirmed that adding a daily serving of nuts (and thus these beneficial compounds) to one group’s diet reduced the occurrence of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) among the group, compared to a group that didn’t consume nuts daily. NAFLD is the most common liver disease, affecting adults all over the world.

Nuts also contain a higher proportion of “good” cholesterol (LDL), which also helps rid your system of harmful cholesterol (known as LDL) by bringing it down to your liver for processing.

2. Quinoa

An assortment of wheat free nuts each in their own triangle shaped dish.

Whole grains include all three parts of the grain (the outer shell or bran, the endosperm that makes up the body of the grain, and the germ or seed), and are chock-full of liver-friendly fiber. Although quinoa is technically a seed

Fiber decreases the amount of sugar stored in your liver.

3. Garlic

A bulb of garlic with the cloves exposed.

Garlic is another good-for-the-liver food, thanks to the sulfur and selenium it contains. Sulfur aids in the recovery of organs damaged by heavy metal poisoning while selenium seems to prevent some forms of liver damage from happening in the first place.

Heavy metal poisoning sounds somewhat extreme, but exposure to heavy metal toxins is actually pretty common. Cadmium is a heavy metal found in tobacco smoke and some plastics, and is also released during the burning of fossil fuels, so it’s an inadvertent part of almost all our lives. Some people are further exposed to heavy metals through their line of work, particularly in factories or heavy metal production plants.

Selenium is found in trace amounts in garlic, and it seems that the selenium contained within garlic may be even better at preventing organ damage than just selenium on its own. In one laboratory study where rats were injected with selenium or garlic and then injected with a toxin, the garlic injection was proven to be more effective than the selenium injection at protecting the liver and kidneys from the toxin.

4. Cruciferous Vegetables

Cabbage shreds in front of sliced cabbage.

The liver produces glutathione, a compound comprised of three amino acids, which is utilized to make chemicals and proteins used by the body. It’s also involved in tissue growth and repair, as well as an immune system function.

Glutathione is abundant in cruciferous vegetables. Crucifers are veggies from the cabbage family like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and collard greens.

5. A Variety of Fruits & Dark Berries

Various fruits like banana, apple, and lemon sit on a table.

Fruits including oranges, lemons, grapes, and apples have enzymes that aid in liver detoxification.

Polyphenols, found in apples, grapes, and dark berries like cranberries, raspberries, and blueberries, are powerful free-radical scavengers that can help reduce inflammatory liver damage.

6. Olive Oil

A small dish with olives next to a bottle of olive oil.

Free radicals are a normal biproduct of the body’s metabolic processes, but when our cells contain an excess of free radicals a state called oxidative stress occurs. According to Medical News Today, oxidative stress can damage our cells, proteins, and DNA.

Extra virgin olive oil contains monosaturated fatty acids that lower oxidative stress, protect the liver from oxidative damage, and aid in liver function.

7. Fatty Fish

Consuming fatty fish can be very good for your diet, especially for the liver. Fatty fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in the prevention of excess fat buildup, reduce inflammation, and help maintain liver enzyme levels.

Sardines, mackerel, tuna, and anchovies are among the fatty fish with the highest Omega-3 content.

8. Leafy Greens

We all know that eating leafy greens vegetables (LGVs) is important for overall health, so naturally they’re beneficial for the liver as well. Like many of the foods on this list, LGVs are rich in antioxidants, which help to eliminate free radicals that might harm your liver cells. They’ll also keep you safe from metabolic illnesses like type 2 diabetes.

Scientists have specifically studied the relationship between a diet high in LGVs and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. While results of one study were not deemed significant, they did conclude that there was an inverse correlation between high LGV intake and NAFLD, particularly in female participants.

9. Ginger, Turmeric, & Ginseng

Various spices sit in their own hand made clay bowl.

Technically vegetables, turmeric, ginger, and ginseng are three roots we in the west typically use as spices, and all three have been linked to improved liver function.

Each contain bioactive ingredients that protect liver cells from harm. They also aid in the reproduction of liver tissue and prevent inflammation.

10. Prickly Pear

Nopal cactus is another name for the prickly pear, a plant full of beneficial compounds that has been a staple of Mexican folk medicine as it’s believed to cure all kinds of ailments.

Aside from its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities, studies on mice have shown that prickly pear can prevent oxidative liver damage specifically linked to alcohol consumption.

Prickly pear has shown promise in reducing hangover symptoms as well.

11. Artichokes

halved and whole fresh artichokes on rustic cutting board

Scientific findings suggest that the beneficial compounds in artichoke leaves may prevent the progression of both Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. In one study it was observed that supplementation with artichoke leaf extract suppressed cell death and inflammation caused by lab-induced oxidative stress, suggesting that the same could be true for slowing down the development of ALFD and NALFD.

12. Grapefruit

A whole grapefruit next to a sliced grapefruit.

We’ve covered a lot of foods that are believed to help prevent or reduce the severity of NAFLD, but Non-Alcoholic isn’t the only kind of Fatty Liver Disease. Alcoholics also experience a buildup of lipids in their liver that when left unchecked leads to – you guessed it – Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (also called hepatic steatosis).

Naringin is a flavonoid found in grapefruit that scientists are finding promising in reducing liver lipid buildup, potentially prohibiting alcohol-induced liver steatosis.

13. Coffee

A cup of coffee on a table with a window in the distance.

Paraxanthine is a chemical biproduct produced by our bodies when we metabolize coffee. This metabolite is has been shown to slow the growth of scar tissue associated with fibrosis (advanced forms of liver fibrosis lead to cirrhosis and liver failure, often requiring a liver transplant).

Coffee has also been linked to an increase in beneficial antioxidants in the liver and a decrease in fat accumulation. So, if you’re a coffee drinker, cheers to you!

14. Green Tea

A cup of green tea next to green tea herbs.

Tea is one of the most popular beverages on the planet, and green tea is considered by many to be the most healthy variety of tea.

Green tea is high in antioxidants that aid in detoxification and the reduction of free radicals, which can contribute to a lower the risk of contracting liver cancer and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.