10 Guidelines For A Liver-Healthy Diet

Why should you eat liver-healthy?

A liver health diet may help protect against illnesses and diseases such as liver disease, diabetes, and heart disease. An unhealthy diet and the lack of physical activity are two main reasons for health risks worldwide. A healthy diet also can reduce or prevent malnutrition. Keep reading to learn 10 quick and easy guidelines for healthy eating.

What are the 10 guidelines for liver-healthy eating?

Add more fruits and veggies to your diet

Depending on how many calories you consume throughout the day determines how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating. Research suggests that if you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, you should aim for 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day. This should increase or decrease depending on how whether you eat more or less. The fiber in produce may help protect against certain diseases and certain types of cancer. In addition, fruits and vegetables provide a ton of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to strengthen the immune system. Learn about the Super 16 Vitamin and Mineral Mix to see how you can get more vitamins with less effort.

Watch your sugar intake

Did you know that the average American consumes roughly 3lbs of sugar a week? That’s over 5 times over the recommended healthy limit! Refined sugar, which is not derived from a whole foods source is correlated with certain diseases such as liver disease, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Refined sugars can sneak up on you where you least expect it, that is why it is so important to learn how to identify them in nutrition labels.

Reduce salt

Salt, also known as sodium, if consumed too much can raise blood pressure and have very harmful effects. Especially those with liver conditions are recommended to limit sodium, and those with cirrhosis should exclude sodium completely from their diet. Keeping salt intake to less than 5g per day helps prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population.

READ MORE: Why is salt so bad for your liver?

Limit bad fats

There are different kinds of fats in the food we eat such as good and bad fats. There are different kinds of fats in the food we eat such as unsaturated, saturated, and trans fats. It is important to remember that leading a liver-healthy diet does not mean limiting all fats altogether. What you need to know is which fats are good for you and are essential for a healthy body function and which fats are bad. Harvard Health Publishing offers a simple categorization of fats which goes as following:

• Good fats (unsaturated fats) are the healthiest form of fats and are found primarily in vegetables, seeds, and fish. Unsaturated fats consist of two types — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
• Bad fats (trans fats) are considered the most harmful type of fats. Foods that contain trans fats include coffee creamers, frozen pizza, certain cakes and cookies. Trans fats can contribute to heart disease, cause stroke, diabetes, and liver disease.
• In-between fats (saturated fats) can be found in vegetable oils, and animal products such as high-fat dairy, eggs, cheese, coconut oil, palm oil, and red meat. It is found in a more solid form than trans fats.

Thus, trans fats should be avoided altogether and saturated fats should be limited in your diet — both of these fat types can increase the risk of heart disease, clog arteries, and increase blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Your liver-healthy diet should however include an adequate amount of unsaturated fats which can support your heart and liver health, lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Add more whole grains to your diet

Make a few changes to your diet like switching white bread for whole wheat bread, and white rice with brown rice. You can even substitute quinoa for rice. When baking, try using whole wheat flour, and incorporating oats. For breakfast, you can also eat unsweetened cereal. If you’re running late, an Amsety Bar is a great option for a nutrient-dense and delicious breakfast on the go.

Don‘t be thirsty

Stay hydrated by drinking enough water throughout the day. Hydration is very important for your body to work properly. Water helps your body to remove toxins, keep its temperature and lubricate your joints.

Prepare your meals

Meal prepping can save a lot of time, money and extra calories. On average, every American eats 1 out of 5 meals in their car. Picking up a meal on the go can seem like a quick and easy option, but when you don’t prepare your meals ahead of time, you don’t know what’s in them.

Pay attention to nutrition labels

Nutrition labels can be difficult to understand. As stated before, learning about nutrition labels can be very beneficial. Read our guide on how to understand nutrition labels.

Don‘t skip meals

Skipping breakfast is very common even though it is one of the most important meals of the day. If you’re missing out on meals because of time, try making breakfast the night before, like overnight oats.

Control your portions

Although you may think big portions are generous, the calories add up. Double check food labels as most of the time the serving sizes are for less than what’s in the package itself so you may have to multiply the calories, fat, sodium etc. Check out Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate for more tips.

98% of Liver Experts Would Recommend Amsety Bars

How can I start eating healthy today?

Get a head start on healthy eating today with Amsety Bars, the first nutrition bar for liver health. Amsety Bars were designed based on the dietary restrictions of those with liver conditions. The bars are very low in sodium, free of refined sugars, organic, non-GMO, and taste delicious!

LEARN MORE: How can Amsety Bars support your liver health?

READ MORE: What is a liver-healthy diet?