The liver is one of the vital organs responsible for removing toxins from our body. Eating the right food helps your liver to be at its optimum health. Here are the top 5 foods you should help yourself with to help your liver.

Grapefruit

This tarty citrus fruit is very rich in a variety of antioxidants that protects the liver, with naringenin and naringin being the most potent. These agents protect the liver cells by reducing inflammation. In animal studies, their use contributed to a reduction in the development of liver cell fibrosis (scar forming of liver cells) due to chronic inflammation. Naringin intake also showed improved liver cell metabolism and reduced the negative effect alcohol in a rat model.

Berries

Berries, especially blueberries and cranberries are rich in anthocyanins. They contain antioxidants that are very powerful in reducing the development of scar cells in the liver. Animal studies demonstrated that drinking blueberry and cranberry juice kept liver cells healthy. Consumption for 4 weeks also protected the liver from damage as well as upregulated the liver immune cell response.

Beetroot

Nitrates and betalains are potent antioxidants abundant in Beetroot. These nutrients can help improve cardiovascular health as well as reduce oxidative damage and reduce inflammation. Animal studies via a rat model showed that beetroot juice not only reduced oxidative damage and inflammation in the liver but increased the natural detoxification enzymes in the liver.

Cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts can increase the level of enzymes responsible for detoxificating the liver and protecting it from damage, as demonstrated in animal studies. For a study in men with fatty liver, broccoli sprout extract improved the liver enzyme level and reduced oxidative stress.

Grapes

Grapes, especially the red and purple variants are rich in a myriad of antioxidants particularly resveratrol. The most studied aspect of this compound is its ability to lower inflammation and increase antioxidant levels in the body. A small sample human study showed that taking grape seed extract for 3 months significantly improved liver function in recruits with non-alcohol fatty liver disease.

References

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2. Domitrovic R, Potocnjak I. A comprehensive overview of hepatoprotective natural compounds: mechanism of action and clinical perspectives. Arch Toxicol. 2016 Jan;90(1):39-79.

3. Madrigal-Santillán E, Madrigal-Bujaidar E, Álvarez-González I, Sumaya-Martínez MT, Gutiérrez-Salinas J, Bautista M, Morales-González Á, et al. Review of natural products with hepatoprotective effects. World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Oct 28;20(40):14787-804.

4. Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients. 2015 Apr 14;7(4):2801-22.

5. Robbins MG, Hauder J, Somoza V, Eshelman BD, Barnes DM, Hanlon PR. Induction of detoxification enzymes by feeding unblanched Brussels sprouts containing active myrosinase to mice for 2 wk. J Food Sci. 2010 Aug 1;75(6):H190-9. 

6. de Moura CF, Ribeiro FA, Handan BA, Aguiar O, Oshima CT, Ribeiro DA. Grape Juice Concentrate Protects Rat Liver Against Cadmium Intoxication: Histopathology, Cytochrome C and Metalloproteinases Expression. Drug Res (Stuttg). 2016 Jul;66(7):339-44.

7. Khoshbaten M, Aliasgarzadeh A, Masnadi K, Farhang S, Tarzamani MK, Babaei H, et al. Grape seed extract to improve liver function in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver change. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2010 Jul-Sep;16(3):194-7.