Foods that combine to help keep your liver healthy

The role of the liver in health

The article on Medaltec General Hospital website has professional advice from Dr. Pham Khac Khiem - Tam Anh General Hospital - Hanoi, saying that stable liver function will contribute to maintaining overall health.

This organ plays an important role in producing bile, metabolizing drugs, metabolizing bilirubin, metabolizing vitamins, filtering blood, and fighting infections. Therefore, taking measures to protect a healthy liver is really necessary.

The liver is the largest organ in the body, accounting for about 2% of total body mass, about 1.5 kg in adults. The liver performs many important functions for the body, typically including: filtering and storing blood, metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins, fats, hormones and foreign substances, forming bile, storing vitamins and iron, synthesizing blood clotting factors. Specifically as follows:

- Bile secretion

- The main functions of the liver in carbohydrate metabolism include:

• Glycogen storage
• Conversion of galactose and fructose to glucose
• Gluconeogenesis
• Generates compounds from intermediate products of carbohydrate metabolism.

- The liver is where blood is stored.

The liver is an organ that can expand, so a large amount of blood can be contained in the blood vessels of the liver. The normal amount of blood in the liver is about 450 ml and is distributed in the hepatic veins and in the hepatic sinusoids, accounting for about 10% of the body's circulatory volume. When the blood pressure in the left atrium increases, increasing the pressure in the liver, the liver will expand and can contain about 0.5 - 1 liter of blood.

This condition occurs in patients with heart failure with peripheral circulatory stagnation. Therefore, functionally, the liver can be a reservoir for blood in cases of circulatory volume overload and can also provide additional blood in cases of circulatory volume depletion.

Foods that combine to help keep your liver healthy

The following snacks are recommended to be combined to benefit the liver.

Watermelon and lemon

Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Times Entertainment (India) as saying that according to Dr. Joseph Salhab, a gastroenterologist in Florida (USA), he often squeezes a lemon into watermelon to have a refreshing snack that can also support the liver.

The combination of sweet watermelon and sour lemon enhances the flavor while providing many health benefits. Watermelon is rich in citrulline - an amino acid that supports blood circulation. Both watermelon and lemon provide antioxidants and vitamin C, which help the liver fight oxidative stress - a major factor in liver damage - thereby promoting effective detoxification.

Walnuts and almonds protect liver cells

A handful of walnuts and almonds is an ideal snack recommended by gastroenterologists. These nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E, both of which have been shown to reduce liver fat and protect liver cells from oxidative damage.

Additionally, they provide healthy fats that support overall cellular health and promote optimal liver function. Therefore, almonds and walnuts can be considered nutritious snacks that support long-term liver health.

Sweet potatoes and kimchi

Next on Dr. Salhab’s list of recommendations is kimchi combined with sweet potatoes. Kimchi is a fermented food that provides probiotics to promote gut health. Meanwhile, resistant starch from sweet potatoes—a type of starch that is beneficial for digestive health—feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

The combination of sweet potatoes and kimchi can aid digestion and help maintain a balanced microflora. When eaten together, they reduce the risk of fat accumulation in the liver, thereby reducing the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Apple and cinnamon

Sprinkle some cinnamon on apple slices and enjoy a delicious, healthy snack. Apples are high in fiber and antioxidants, and studies have shown that apples can reduce the accumulation of fat in the liver. Additionally, cinnamon has anti-inflammatory compounds that help protect the liver.