Liver Diet 14
VITAMINS FOR A HEALTHY LIVER
Our Human body requires various types of vitamins on a daily basis to keep functioning at its best. The Liver, in specific, needs almost all these vitamins to remain healthy and to carry out its everyday routine functions. There are also some precautions to be taken while choosing these vitamin supplements, as they do more harm than help. Let us discuss about each of these Vitamins and the vital role they play in the wellness of the liver.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a very good antioxidant. An antioxidant is very important for the body because it prevents free radicals (that are generated from normal metabolic processes, sun light, etc.,) from damaging the organs. Antioxidants are a boon that binds with these free radicals, neutralize them, thus preventing damage to the organs.
In the case of liver, free radicals in the body cause liver scarring. Hence, an antioxidant is required to prevent the free radicals from scarring the liver. Vitamin A does the job.
Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) also detoxifies the liver.
But caution needs to be taken while consuming Vitamin A. People who already have liver cirrhosis should be more cautious about the dosage of Vitamin A. But Vitamin A can be taken in the form of Beta Carotene.
Vitamin A is found in carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, fish, liver and tropical fruits.
Vitamin B
Vitamin B-12 is a non toxic vitamin and has no contraindications or negative effects. It helps in the detoxification process. Vitamin B-12 is also used to treat Jaundice and viral Hepatitis. But Vitamin B-12 is more effective in the form of injection rather than oral supplement as it is not well absorbed due to gut flora.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also a very good anti oxidant that prevents the free radicals from destroying the healthy liver tissues. In fact, Vitamin C protects the liver. Even very low doses of Vitamin C help to prevent fat from building up in the liver. Normal dose of Vitamin C helps to flush the fats from the liver. It has also been studied that high doses of Vitamin C helps in eliminating Jaundice. But the doses are determined by a doctor depending on the Bowel tolerance.
Vitamin C is also recommended for people with problems related to toxicity and oxidative stress (due to free radical).
Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits like oranges and berries.
Vitamin D
Though Vitamin D is not directly used to treat Liver problems, it has been found that more than 90% of the people with Liver disease have Vitamin D deficiency. Hence, Vitamin D is prescribed for those with advanced liver disease to prevent osteoporosis and other bone related problems.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is also an antioxidant used to neutralize free radicals. Vitamin E also protects cell membranes, softens the existing scar tissue of liver, which in turn helps in the regeneration of fresh tissues. Another job of Vitamin E is to protect Vitamin A from damage by free radicals.
But care should be taken on the dosage of Vitamin E. Also, usage is natural Vitamin E Is essential.
Vitamin E is naturally found in Pumpkin, Sunflower oil, Sesame Oil, Mangoes, Papaya, tomatoes.
Vitamin K
People with chronic liver conditions are more prone to bruising and bleeding as the liver cells are unable to produce enough of clotting factors. Vitamin K is prescribed for such kind of problems as it helps to reduce the deficiency of clotting factors and helps in reducing bruises and bleeding.
Vitamin K is found in dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, mint, wheatgrass and alfalfa sprouts.
Choosing the right Vitamin and the correct dosage is very important for keeping the liver healthy and managing the liver problems.
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DIET FOR A HEALTHY LIVER
Our Modern Lifestyle, complete with air pollution, food additives, and high amount of stress ensure that the liver has plenty to do. A mere three pounds liver works hard for you everyday than you could imagine, such as converting the food rich in carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy, detoxify blood as so on and thus in other words known as a “Gatekeeper” of your body.
Being the second largest organ in the body, it is least cared for till something really goes wrong. It performs N number of functions in the body; you may not be aware of and keeps you away from many nasty health diseases.
Strengthening our liver is one of the ways to boost energy, balance weight and for overall strengthen health.
One of the best we can do is by having a health plan based diet as it is rich in antioxidants, natural cleansing agents like fiber and water and contains non – acidic proteins that are friendlier to our body than the animal sources. Here are few healthy foods recommended for a healthy liver.
- WALNUTS – It is high in glutathione and omega 3 fatty acids, which helps support our lives through the cleansing process.
- TURMERIC – It is used majorly as a spice but it is known to help our bodies digest fats and stimulate the production of bile. It can also act as a natural detox for the liver.
- LEMONS – All citrus fruits like lemons are full of Vitamin C, but lemons also help our body cleanse out toxic materials and aids digestion process.
- AVOCADOS – Adding more avocados in your diet, helps your body to produce a type of antioxidants called glutathione, which is needed for our liver to filter out harmful materials.
- GREEN TEA – This tea contains a lot of plant antioxidants known as catechins, which is known to improve the functions of the liver.
- LEAFY GREENS – Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce have the ability to neutralize metals, chemicals and pesticides that maybe in our food, and act as a protective mechanism for the liver.
- BEETS – It is high in plant flavonoids, which will improve the overall function of the liver.
- GRAPEFRUIT -Either eating or drinking grapefruit juice helps flush out toxins and carcinogens. It is also high in Vitamin C and antioxidants.
- GARLIC- It helps to activate enzymes that can flush out toxins from liver. It has a high amount of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds heeds in liver cleansing.
- APPLES – They are rich in pectin, which is a soluble fiber which helps to remove toxins and cholesterol from the blood, which helps the liver. They are also rich in malic acid a natural cleansing nutrients which removes toxins.
- LENTILS They are rich in fiber which assists in cleansing process and are a natural source of plant based protein. Too much protein is not good for liver but lentil provides the right amount of protein for the body, which is not harmful and is the easiest legume to digest.
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5 THINGS THAT MAY DAMAGE YOUR LIVER
You probably are not aware of the huge number of functions your liver does to maintain your overall health. In fact liver is the most important organ in your body and plays a definitive role from digestion to accumulation, generation of blood to secretion of hormones and even in your general immune system.
Almost 500 functions are performed by this football sized organ and hence should be treated rightly to keep you staying healthy throughout your life.
There are some things that you need to keep your liver healthy such as following the right kind of food habits, a good fitness regime, drinking lots and lots of water and having a good night’s sleep.
Well, there are some other things which you should not do, because these deeds of yours would damage your liver. Some such activities which you must avoid are discussed here.
- Fatty Food
10% of the overall fat that is present in your body goes directly to your liver and gets accumulated there. So for every 100 gm increase in fat your liver gets 10gm fat. The total weight of your liver is 1.36 kg; even an increase in 10 grams would mean a 10% increase t its normal weight.
Now imagine if the accumulated fat was the bad cholesterol or the saturated fat, the amount of harm it would cause to your liver and therefore your body would increase many fold almost instantly.
Thus fatty food consumption has to be minimized, concentrate on avoiding processed and preserved food such as pizzas and burgers.
- Processed Food
The main function of liver is cleansing your system; this implies that all the toxins, impurities and the non digestible waste would go to the liver for further filtration.
Preservatives, as the name suggest preserve food substances from the attack of microorganisms. Thsese microorganisms though cause harm to our body, still are living things. So basically the preservatives act against the functions of a loving thing to inhibit it from growing on a food substance. It is thus, a proven toxic product acting against the growth of a living being.
When these toxins reach the liver they cause irreparable harm to the liver and sometimes lead to serious liver conditions.
- Alcohol
Too much of alcohol consumption is considered to affect the functioning of liver directly. This is because when liver processes fats it converts them to sugars and sends it to through the blood to be used as energy. Alcohol hinders this conversion of fat to sugar.
Thus, fat remains as fat in liver rather than being converted to sugar. This leads liver conditions such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and even cirrhosis.
- Drug Overuse
Medications, especially over the counter medications have to be taken only under unavoidable circumstances. The drugs such as painkillers and even vitamin additives do not get metabolized completely in the digestive system.
Some chemicals in them remain circulating further and reach the liver. Here they hinder the normal functions of liver and cause damage to it.
- Artificial Sweeteners
Using glucose is good for your health because it gives energy to perform your normal activities. However artificial sweeteners which are cheaper than sugar and give instant sweetness to juices and food do not give glucose.
They are made of sucrose or fructose. These sweeteners cannot be easily metabolized and hence leave behind toxic impurities that are carried away to the liver. In the liver they affect the bile production and also other hormonal production processes harming liver and its functions.
Some of the above activities seem to be a normal thing you do in your day to day life, and may not have looked so harmful too. However in the long run you would end up with liver conditions if they are not checked.
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HOW TO KEEP YOU LIVER HEALTHY
Liver is an important part in the human body which acts as an inbuilt filtering organ. Liver removes harmful substances from the bloodstream and gives fresh nutrition to the body and helps the body to remain healthy.
Intake of unhealthy foods will damage your liver and leads to serious problems in the body. The important sources to keep your liver healthier are only through consuming healthy nutrients foods and avoiding harmful foods. It helps the liver to do its regular multi functions.
Here are some tips to keep your liver healthy.
- Water
Drinking plenty of water between eight to ten glasses every day is essential. Water helps the liver to flush toxins way from your body.
- Lemon
You know lemons have high amount of Vitamin C. Lemons have a natural cleansing property and hence clean the toxic materials and helps in digestive process. It thus enhances the liver detoxification abilities.
Lemon is recommended for the persons having liver diseases owing to the electrolytic properties of lemon acting as a natural replacement of salt. So drinking plenty of fresh lemon juice in the morning stimulates the liver.
- Garlic
Garlic is one of the best cleaning agents of the liver. It has an ability to activate the liver enzymes which helps the body to get rid of toxins. Garlic has a high amount of allicin and selenium which acts as the two powerhouse nutrients for the liver. Garlic is a liver friendly food. Use whole garlic cloves rather than the processed ones to keep your liver healthy.
- Beetroot
Beetroots are natural cleansers and purify the blood. They are high in plant-flavonoids thereby boosting the overall functions of the liver and nutrient production in the body. They also contain pectin which removes the toxins from the liver.
- Green Tea
Green tea is a rich source of catechins that are believed to improve the functions of liver and thereby keeping liver healthy. Green tea also contains alkaloids that are beneficial for the liver function.
- Apple
Apples are high in malic acid which helps to cleans by removing carcinogens and other toxins in the blood. It is also very rich in pectin. This pectin helps to remove the toxins and cholesterol from the blood.
- Other Food
Avocados – Avocados help the body to produce an antioxidant known as glutathione. Glutathione is one of the important components which help liver in filtering the harmful toxins.
Walnuts – Walnuts aid the liver to detoxify ammonia since they are rich in amino acid arginine. Walnuts also have very high amounts of glutathione and omega – 3 fatty acids which is helps in the liver cleaning process.
Grapefruit – Grapefruit is rich in vitamin C as well as antioxidants. These two components improve the cleansing processes of the liver naturally. They also helps to remove carcinogens and toxins.
- Regular Exercise
It is important to keep your body fit and free of bad cholesterol. Liver has the tendency to accumulate cholesterol and owing to bad lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits if you manage to accumulate cholesterol, most of it would be I the liver.
Once cholesterol accumulates in the liver, its general functions would be affected and also production of bile juice, which is important for digestion of fat, would be produced in lesser quantities. Hence beat the road at least thrice a week and burn the extra fat.
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