Your Liver: A Vital Organ

Your liver is one of the most vital organs in the body, performing over five hundred functions. It is crucial to keep your liver- and more importantly, your liver mitochondria- healthy.

What Does Your Liver Do?

Your liver helps in digesting everything you eat and drink. It also detoxifies the body, regulates fuel supply, produces proteins, balances hormones, regulates cholesterol, and produces bile.

Study: Sugar and Fat Damage Liver Mitochondria

Researchers found that a diet high in fructose inhibits the liver’s ability to properly metabolize fat. Glucose, on the other hand, helps the liver burn fat.

Fructose and Your Mitochondria

High levels of fructose in the diet lead to damaged mitochondria, which affects the liver’s ability to burn fat properly. Adding glucose to the diet did not produce the same negative effects.

Eat to Support Your Liver

A balanced diet rich in whole, nutritious foods is important for liver health. Foods that are particularly good for supporting liver health include coffee, tea, grapefruit, fish, seafood, berries, nuts, leafy green vegetables, beets, cruciferous vegetables, olive oil, eggs, dark orange vegetables, and certain herbs and spices.

A Word on Detox Diets

Detox diets do not work because your liver detoxifies all the time. The best way to remove toxins from your body is to provide your liver with all the nutrients it needs to function properly.

By avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, processed foods with added fructose, excessive saturated fats, and trans fats, and by eating a healthy diet, you can support your liver and allow it to function optimally.