Eat Me: Egg, avocado, garlic… 10 foods for a healthy liver

The liver is the largest and heaviest internal organ. It is called the powerhouse of the body because of its many functions needed for a healthy life.

The liver processes anything you eat or drink for your body to use or eliminate it. The liver also stores vitamins and helps detoxify the body.

It plays a crucial role in relieving indigestion, regulating blood sugar levels, and keeping you focused.

For an organ that does so much for you, below are 10 healthy foods to give in return.

Coffee

Coffee increases antioxidant levels in the liver and reduces chances of inflammation. It also lowers the risk of developing liver disease, cancer, and fatty liver.

According to a British Liver Trust report, drinking a moderate amount of coffee lowers the risk of cirrhosis, or permanent liver damage and reduces the risk of progressive disease for those already affected.

Coffee also prevents liver damage caused by too much alcohol or an unhealthy diet.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit contains antioxidants; naringenin and naringin that improve the liver’s ability to metabolise alcohol and counteract some of alcohol’s negative effects.

Blueberry

Blueberries contain nutrients called polyphenols, which help protect you against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

It also contains anthocyanin, an antioxidant that gives berries their distinctive colours. This antioxidant prevents the development of lesions, fibrosis, and scar tissue in the liver.

Olive oil

Olive oil helps to reduce fat accumulation in the liver, improve insulin sensitivity and improved blood levels of liver enzymes.

Water

Water is the second most needed thing by the body, after oxygen. Clean water promotes a healthy liver by flushing out toxins and waste products from the body.

Garlic

Garlic has the ability to activate liver enzymes that aid the body in flushing out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that boost liver cleansing.

Leafy green vegetables

Green vegetables, naturally high in chlorophyll, soak up environmental toxins from the bloodstream.

They have the distinct ability to neutralise heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides we consume in processed food. They also increase the creation and flow of bile, the substance that removes waste from the organs and blood.

Avocados

Avocado helps the body produce glutathione, a compound that is necessary for the liver to cleanse harmful toxins.

Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

High in pectin, apples hold the chemical constituents necessary for the body to cleanse and release toxins from the digestive tract. This, in turn, makes it easier for the liver to handle the toxic load during the cleansing process.

Egg

Egg contains all eight essential amino acids, cholesterol, and the essential nutrient choline needed by the liver to perform detoxification processes.

The choline content in egg yolk aids metabolism, and protects the liver from a wide range of toxic substances.