World Liver Day 2018: Diet Dos And Donts To Maintain A Healthy Liver

Today is World Liver Day 2018 and it's time to talk about the health of this very important organ of the body. In the current scenario, where sedentary lifestyle and increased alcohol abuse has become dangerously common, liver health has regained focus. Close to 10 lakh people are diagnosed with liver cirrhosis annually in India, as per a report by the World Health Organisation. Liver diseases were earlier commonly caused due to Hepatitis B and C. However, nowadays the most common causes of liver ailments have mostly to do with diet and the overall lifestyle of people. The average age of liver cirrhosis patients is between 40 and 45, but a lot of younger people are also getting affected, thanks to lifestyle-related reasons.

Liver is one of the most important organs of the body as it performs a wide range of very vital functions, including metabolising fat and alcohol, regulating the amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates in the body and storing essential vitamins and minerals. If one has an erroneous lifestyle with very little physical activity and a diet that includes excessive amounts of fatty foods and alcohol, then the liver undergoes enormous amounts of stress and contracts diseases.

Also Read: Cleanse Your Liver Naturally: 7 Foods That You Should Include In Your Diet!

Here are some diet Do's and Dont's to protect your liver against diseases:

Do's

1. Consume More Leafy Green Veggies: The greener the vegetables on your plate, the better it is for your liver. These vegetables have cleansing compounds that naturally clean your liver out.

2. Add More Garlic To Your Food: Garlic has Sulphur compounds that activate liver enzymes, which are responsible for flushing the toxins out.

3. Add More Turmeric To Your Diet: Turmeric is one of the best healing spices out there. It's great for the liver as well, as it helps in regeneration of liver cells.

4. Add More Good Fats To Your Diet: Foods with good fat like olive oil, walnuts, avocados are good cleansers for the liver.

5. Add More Vitamin C To Your Diet: Foods rich in vitamin C, like citrus fruits lemons and oranges, help in synthesizing toxic materials, hence healing a fatty liver. 

Don't's

1. Avoid Consuming Too Much Alcohol: Alcohol is one of the main causes for fatty liver. Consuming more than two glasses of alcohol is unhealthy and may lead to liver diseases.

2. Avoid Bingeing On Fatty Foods: Fatty and fried foods are really bad for the liver.

3. Avoid Excessive Salty And Sugary Foods: Eating too many salty foods like fries and too many sugary foods like candies and colas is bad for the liver.

4. Avoid Eating Processed Flours And Grains: Processed carbohydrates can raise your blood sugar levels as these are high glycemic index foods. They result in fat deposition in the liver.

5. Avoid Excessive Consumption Of Red Meats: Lamb, pork and beef are fatty meats and hence, their excessive consumption must be avoided.

Apart from this, drinking a lot of water is essential for detoxification of liver, so make sure you keep sipping on enough water every day. Adding lemon to the water also boosts liver health. So on World Liver Day 2018, let us vow to take care of this vital organ of the body!