Written by Anne Jacobson, MD, MPH | Reviewed by Katie E. Golden, MD
Key takeaways:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) happens when too much fat builds up in the liver and damages it. Eating certain kinds of food can increase the risk of developing NAFLD.
Foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt put extra stress on the liver. Fast food, packaged foods, and processed foods tend to contain a lot of these elements.
Other kinds of food can prevent or slow down liver damage. Sometimes a healthy diet can even reverse it.
Table of contents
Food and the liver
Bad foods
Reversing damage
Bottom line
References
FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images
Your liver works together with every organ and system in your body. A healthy liver is important for digestion. It stores needed vitamins and minerals. Your liver keeps cholesterol levels in check and filters toxins from the blood. It even supports a strong immune system.
It turns out that what you eat has a big effect on how well your liver works for you. So, if you’re concerned about your liver health, it helps to know the most important dietary do’s and don’ts.
Why are certain foods bad for your liver?
What you eat affects your liver health in two ways. First, consuming too many calories can lead to excess weight. And extra weight — especially around the middle — is a risk factor for conditions, like metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes, which put extra stress on your liver.
Second, eating too much of certain kinds of food stresses your liver even faster. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is when too much fat builds up in the liver. It’s sometimes also called metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD). That’s because it’s a form of liver disease that occurs with other conditions like:
High blood sugar (prediabetes and diabetes)
Metabolic syndrome
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Some people have genes that make them more likely to have NAFLD or complications from it, such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). That’s when fat builds up in the liver over time and leads to inflammation. When NASH gets worse, the liver can develop scar tissue, known as cirrhosis. Sometimes, cancer develops in the liver, too.
You can’t change your genes. But changes in your diet — even small ones — can help keep your liver healthy.
What foods are bad for your liver?
A nutritious diet is the best way to keep your liver in great shape. Even if you’ve already developed NAFLD or NASH, good nutrition can keep those conditions from getting worse. It can even reverse them.
Let’s start by taking a look at foods that stress the liver. When deciding what to eat, here are eight types of food to keep to a minimum.
Fast food
It’s quick, it’s cheap, and sometimes you really crave it. While fast food isn’t an absolute no-no, most people in the U.S. eat too much of it. And other restaurant food isn’t off the hook, either.
Restaurant food tends to contain more sugar, salt, and fat than your liver can handle. A 2023 study found that people who eat fast food for 20% or more of their meals collect too much fat in their liver. And the damage is worse for people who have diabetes or carry excess weight.
Ultra-processed foods
Ultra-processed foods have been preserved, changed, or refined well beyond their natural form. Foods are processed or ultra-processed for a number of reasons:
For taste or appearance
To make them easier to mass produce and transport
For a longer shelf life
So they are convenient to prepare or to eat on the go
To spot ultra-processed foods, check the list of ingredients. If there are a lot of chemical names that are hard to pronounce, it’s heavily processed. And that means the liver has to process these additives and preservatives on top of the sugar, salt, and fat that’s in the food. Eating too many ultra-processed foods is linked to fat buildup in the liver.
Common ultra-processed foods include:
Packaged cakes, cookies, and sweets
Chips and other snack foods
Packaged breakfast bars, rolls, and buns
Ready-to-eat, microwavable, and instant foods
Sweetened foods
Some people have more of a sweet tooth than others. Sweet foods are also a common craving, especially when feeling stressed or tired.
Even when you’re not specifically seeking a sweet treat, you might be eating more sweetened foods that you realize. Many foods have lots of added sugar. When the body has to work hard to process these extra sugars, it puts stress on the liver. It can also lead to weight gain, which is a risk factor for NAFLD.
It helps to know how to identify added sugars on a nutrition label. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that fewer than 10% of your daily calories come from added sugars — but many packaged and processed foods contain more than that in just one serving.
The names of added sugars you might see on a list of ingredients include:
Corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup
Dextrose, fructose, sucrose, glucose, lactose, or maltose
Brown sugar or raw sugar
Fruit nectars
Honey, maple syrup, or molasses
Cane juice or malt syrup
Sugary drinks
Drinks with added sugar are bad for the liver for the same reason as sweetened foods. But sweetened drinks come with an extra risk: You won’t feel full as fast. So, it’s easy to drink a lot more sugar than your body needs.
Studies have shown that the more sugar-sweetened beverages you drink, the higher your risk for NAFLD. Popular drinks that often include a lot of added sugar include:
Regular soda (not diet or sugar-free)
Sports drinks
Sweetened coffee or tea drinks
Energy drinks
Fruit drinks
Sweetened water
Artificial sweeteners
If sweetened foods and drinks are too sugary, are diet or sugar-free items the solution? Unfortunately, the answer is more complicated.
Artificial sweeteners don’t provide extra calories. But studies on their risk for NAFLD have had mixed results so far. Some show that these sugar substitutes may not be good for your liver and may negatively affect the healthy bacteria that lives in your gut. That has consequences for your digestion and metabolism.
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended against the use of artificial sweeteners as a way to lose weight. The WHO also noted that there may be harmful effects when using them over time. Until more is known, it’s best to limit your intake.
Common artificial sweeteners include:
Aspartame
Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)
Sucralose
Neotame
Advantame
Saccharin
Refined grains
Refined grains are processed to change their texture, appearance, or taste. Foods made with refined grains also have a longer shelf life. But fiber and important vitamins and minerals are removed during the refining process. And when the fiber is removed, grains lose their benefit for gut bacteria, which is important for keeping your gut healthy.
When you eat refined grains, versus whole grains, your blood sugar goes up faster. You also might eat more because you don’t feel as full. These factors can increase the risk for fat deposits and inflammation in the liver.
Common foods made with refined grains include:
White bread
Cakes, muffins, and pastries
Corn grits
White rice
Flour tortillas
Foods made with white or all-purpose flour
Red meat and processed meats
Red meat and processed meats are high in saturated fat. Eating a lot of these foods is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and risk of fat in the liver. They’re also associated with some forms of cancer, especially colorectal cancer.
Foods in these categories include:
Beef, lamb, and pork
Organ meat
Hot dogs and sausages
Bacon
Lunch meats
Alcohol
Drinking excess alcohol can also cause liver damage. And drinking too much along with eating the foods mentioned above can speed up the damage.
You are at a higher risk for liver disease if you consume the following:
For men: more than 14 drinks per week, or more than 4 drinks at a time
For women: more than 7 drinks per week, or more than 3 drinks at a time
For people over 65: more than 7 drinks per week, or 3 drinks at a time
One alcoholic drink is:
Beer: 12 oz
Malt liquor: 8 oz
Wine: 5 oz
Liquor (whiskey, vodka, rum): about 1.5 oz
Can food help you reverse liver damage?
Now for some good news: Eating nutritious foods can decrease liver stress. And people who already have NAFLD or NASH can slow down the disease. You might even be able to reverse it.
The Mediterranean diet is a good place to start. Despite the name, this approach to eating can be applied to a wide variety of foods and preferences. Some of the liver-healthy elements of this way of eating include:
Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables
Fish
Nuts
Olive oil
Whole grains
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
Drinking certain beverages — including coffee, green tea, and lemon juice — benefit the liver. And drinking plenty of water helps your body’s metabolism, which will cause less fat to settle in the liver.
Certain herbs, spices, and supplements may also help to slow or reverse liver disease. Some of these include:
Turmeric, especially when taken with black pepper
Ginseng
Licorice
Dandelion
Garlic
Even natural foods and supplements can interact with some medications, and some may not be right for people with certain health conditions. Talk to a healthcare professional before taking supplements or adding large amounts of herbs or spices to your diet.
The bottom line
Your liver is a hardworking organ that supports your entire body. Eating too much of certain kinds of food can lead to liver damage — and that has serious consequences for your health. But other foods support your liver. Some liver damage can even be reversed with a balanced diet. Eating foods that are good for your liver will benefit every other part of your body as well.
References
American Gastroenterological Association. (2023). Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Anania, C., et al. (2018). Mediterranean diet and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World Journal of Gastroenterology.
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