you have to love your liver. The second largest organ in the body (behind the skin) works hard behind the scenes to keep you alive. You probably know that its main job is to remove toxins from the body, but it also processes nutrients from food, filters your blood and metabolizes medications you take, stores glycogen, produces chemicals that help your blood clot, produces bile and aid regulate blood sugar. Yes it is much.
Look, your liver deserves your attention and a regular dose of the healthiest fruits for good liver health. But you’re not a big drinker, you say? What is there to worry about? You may have heard of NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, affecting a quarter of the US population, according to the Mayo Clinic. NAFLD is not related to alcohol consumption, but is characterized by inflammation of the liver and can cause the same damage caused by excessive alcohol consumption: scarring of the liver known as cirrhosis.
NAFLD is a fat problem. Fat deposits form in the liver usually due to being overweight or obese, high blood sugar, and high levels of triglycerides, a fat in the blood. Avoiding NAFLD means doing all those things that support an overall healthier body: losing weight, eating less sugar, exercising, and keep cholesterol levels under control.
One thing you can do today to protect your liver is to eat foods that fight liver inflammation. Arguably the best fruit you can eat for good liver health is blueberries.
“Wild blueberries have the highest concentration of anthocyanins – a natural pigment that gives berries that beautiful blue hue,” says registered dietitian nutritionist. lauren managerMS, RDNwho is a member of Eatthis.com medical advisory board and the author of The new mom’s pregnancy cookbook. “Data shows that anthocyanins can counteract oxidative stress that can occur in the liver and reduce liver-related inflammation.”
Anthocyanins are found in the skin of red, purple, and blue fruits; vegetables; and cereal grains. Research shows that its content is proportional to the color density. Therefore, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, currants, and strawberries are good sources of antioxidants: the deeper and richer the color, the better.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Manaker points out that you don’t want to consume huge bowls of blueberries. “Eating too much fruit can cause your body to consume excessive amounts of fructose, which can negatively affect your liver,” he says. But reasonable portions are fair game.
“Add wild blueberries to your smoothieyogurt parfait or just eating them plain may be one of the best foods to include in your diet if you want to keep your liver health in check,” says Manaker..
jeff csatari
Jeff Csatari, a contributing writer for Eat This, Not That!, is responsible for editing books and magazines for Galvanized Media and advising journalism students through the Zinczenko Center for New Media at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. read more
