Foods that combine to keep your liver healthy
Liver health is crucial for overall health, and here are some food combinations that help keep your liver healthy.
The role of the liver in health
An article on the Medaltec General Hospital website, with expert advice from MSc. Dr. Pham Khac Khiem - Tam Anh General Hospital - Hanoi, states that stable liver function contributes to maintaining overall health.
This organ plays a crucial role in bile production, drug metabolism, bilirubin metabolism, vitamin metabolism, blood filtration, and infection control. Therefore, implementing measures to protect liver health is essential.
The liver is the largest organ in the body, accounting for approximately 2% of total body weight, or about 1.5 kg in adults. The liver performs many vital functions for the body, including: filtering and storing blood; metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins, fats, hormones, and foreign substances; forming bile; storing vitamins and iron; and synthesizing clotting factors. Specifically:
- Bile secretion
The main functions of the liver in carbohydrate metabolism include:
- Glycogen reserves
- Convert galactose and fructose into glucose.
- Glucoseogenesis (new production of glucose)
- Creating compounds from intermediate products of carbohydrate metabolism.
- The liver is where blood is stored.
The liver is an expandable organ, allowing a large amount of blood to be contained within its blood vessels. The normal blood volume in the liver is approximately 450 ml, distributed in the hepatic veins and hepatic sinusoids, accounting for about 10% of the body's circulating volume. When blood pressure in the left atrium increases, this increases pressure in the liver, causing it to expand and potentially hold an additional 0.5-1 liter of blood.
This condition occurs in patients with heart failure and peripheral circulatory stagnation. Therefore, functionally, the liver can store blood in cases of circulatory volume overload and can also provide supplemental blood in cases of circulatory volume depletion.
Foods that combine to keep your liver healthy
The following types of snacks are recommended to be combined to benefit the liver.
Watermelon and lemon
According to Thanh Nien newspaper, citing Times Entertainment (India), Dr. Joseph Salhab, a gastroenterologist in Florida (USA), often squeezes a lemon into watermelon to create a refreshing snack that can also support liver health.
The combination of sweet watermelon and sour lemon enhances the flavor while offering numerous health benefits. Watermelon is rich in citrulline, an amino acid that supports blood circulation. Both watermelon and lemon provide antioxidants and vitamin C, helping the liver fight oxidative stress—a major factor in liver damage—and thus 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 boost gut health. Meanwhile, the resistant starch from sweet potatoes—a type of starch beneficial for digestive health—nourishes these beneficial gut bacteria.
The combination of sweet potatoes and kimchi can aid digestion and help maintain a balanced microbiome. When eaten together, they reduce the risk of fat accumulation in the liver, thereby lowering the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Apples and cinnamon
Sprinkle some cinnamon on an apple slice and enjoy a delicious and healthy snack. Apples are high in fiber and antioxidants, and many studies have shown that they can reduce fat accumulation in the liver. Additionally, cinnamon contains anti-inflammatory compounds that help protect the liver.