Fatty Liver Diet
Fatty Liver Diet: Food to Eat and Avoid – Fatty liver is a common condition, and the main cause is the storage of extra fat in the liver.
Fatty liver disease is also known as Hepatic Steatosis. Usually, you will hear this term only from doctors.
What’s unique about fatty liver disease is that it does not have any symptoms, and you will learn about it in laboratory tests. So, getting yourself tested at least once in six months is necessary.
A fatty liver doesn’t cause serious problems, but in rare cases, it can lead to liver damage. The good news is that you can control or reverse fatty liver disease with lifestyle changes.
Heavy drinking makes you a candidate for fatty liver disease. With time, drinking too much alcohol builds up fast inside your liver cells, making it harder for your liver to work.
However, it doesn’t mean you can get this disease only after drinking too much alcohol. There are chances that you can get fatty liver disease even without drinking alcohol.
Your food habits have an important role in getting this disease. It means you can reverse this disease by making changes to your diet. Let’s talk about the food habits you need to implement.
Fatty Liver Diet Food to Eat and Avoid
Fatty Liver Diet Food to Eat and Avoid – What to Eat?
Usually, the diet for a fatty liver disease includes:
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Plants that are rich in fiber, such as legumes
- Whole grains
These are just items that you should include in your diet. However, you should reduce or even avoid taking beverages, especially the ones containing added sugar. Even avoid taking saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, and salt.
Let’s talk about items you should include in your diet to eliminate fatty liver disease.
Food Items to Include in Your Diet
1. Coffee
Coffee is like a morning ritual for many people, starting their day with a cup. For them, it is just a morning ritual; however, it provides benefits beyond energy.
According to a 2019 animal study, it has been found that decaffeinated coffee reduces liver damage, especially for the ones who ate a diet containing high levels of fat, fructose, and cholesterol.
Caffeine in coffee also lowers the number of abnormal liver enzymes in people at risk for liver diseases.
2. Green leafy vegetables
You should include green leafy vegetables in your diet as the compounds found in these lowers the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Spinach is one such green leafy vegetable that contains nitrate and polyphenols.
Even you can include Broccoli in your diet as long-term consumption of Broccoli prevents the buildup of fat in livers.
3. Walnuts
Walnuts contain Omega-3 fatty acids and work wonders for people with fatty liver disease. Research has proven that higher walnut consumption significantly lowers the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease rate.
People who eat nuts have improved liver functioning.
4. Garlic
Garlic is a vegetable that adds flavor to your food, and most people use it for flavor. However, when they know the medicinal properties of garlic, they will never miss out on including it in their diet.
Garlic reduces body weight and fat in people, especially those with fatty liver disease. A 2020 study found patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease took 800 mg of garlic powder per day for 15 weeks and had reductions in liver fat and improved enzyme levels.
5. Oatmeal
Fiber-rich foods like oatmeal reduce the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to a great extent. It has been proved through various studies that a diet rich in fiber foods like oats lowers triglyceride levels and prevents your liver.
6. Turmeric
Turmeric is an essential ingredient; you should make it a part of your diet to protect yourself from fatty liver disease. It may reduce markers of liver damage in people with fatty liver disease.
It is about items you should include in your diet to protect yourself from fatty liver disease. Let’s talk about food items you should avoid if you have fatty liver disease.
Food Items to Avoid When You Have Fatty Liver Disease
1. Sugar and Added Sugar
You should avoid eating sugar directly or indirectly. Avoid sugary foods such as cookies, candies, sodas, and artificial juices. All these items contribute to high blood sugar levels and thus increase fat in the liver.
2. Alcohol
The leading cause of the fatty liver disease is alcohol, and most people with fatty liver disease have a history of drinking alcohol in excessive amounts.
If you are a habitual drinker, it will be difficult to leave this habit. Initially, you can reduce your alcohol intake and slowly remove it from your diet.
3. Meat
Research shows that saturated fat increases the fat around organs, and the liver is no exception. All types of meat are high in saturated fats. So you should avoid meat as much as possible to protect yourself from fatty liver disease.
4. Fried Foods
Eating fried foods increases calorie intake and results in obesity. Obesity is the most significant cause of fatty liver disease. You should avoid salty food as it is not good for your liver.
You can add herbs to your meal to flavor your food without salt. Instead of frying food items, you should consider baking or steaming the same.
Bottom Line:
Fatty liver disease decreases liver functioning and can damage your liver. This post talks about fatty liver disease and foods you should eat and avoid to get rid of this disease.
Additionally, a description of each food item explains what it does to your liver, and hopefully, this will prove helpful to you.
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