Leafy Greens for Liver Health: Which Vegetables to Eat
, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 9 min reading time
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, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 9 min reading time
Common knowledge says that most liver diseases are caused by excessive alcohol consumption, but some recent research shows that you are at risk of getting a swollen liver or extraordinary fat deposits even if you are a teetotaler. What is advised is leafy greens for liver health, which have slowly slipped away from our diets.
More prevalent in an urban population, a liver condition called NAFLD - Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - is on the rise. Researchers and medical professionals believe that it is caused due to unbalanced dietary habits and a fast-paced lifestyle. NAFLD has no severe symptoms, because of which it stays undiagnosed in most people. This becomes risky because NAFLD, when undiagnosed, can lead to more severe liver diseases like cancer, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, or cirrhosis.
Even though NAFLD, commonly known as Fatty Liver, symptoms are subtle, there are still generic signs that you can be aware of:
Many people take these symptoms lightly and mostly blame them on a hectic work and life schedule. However, when ignored, these symptoms can transform into something severe like Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Symptoms for which are more profound:
Medical experts are yet to determine the actual cause of NAFLD, but some of the common underlying conditions that can cause fatty liver are:
Growing up, we have all been told to have vegetables and fruits in optimum portions to stay healthy and ward off diseases. But this generic advice is more important in the case of keeping our liver healthy and functioning properly.
With age, molecules in our own body and other external sources like pollution, lifestyle habits, certain medicines, or radiation break down in such a way that they start attacking our body at a cellular level. These are called free radicals. In our youth, our body fights against these free radicals to reinstate and repair the damaged cells. But with time and an unhealthy diet, these free radicals accumulate in different parts of our body, like the liver.
Adding green leafy vegetables in your diet can effectively help in minimising such damage to your liver. The best part is that it doesn’t require you to completely change your diet. You can consume a small amount of 200 g of leafy green for liver health betterment. Here are some recommendations that can prevent excessive fat accumulation and repair liver cell damage:
King of the Greens: SpinachSpinach has antioxidants and polyphenols (compounds found naturally in plants that have the same properties as antioxidants) that break the chain of accumulation of free radicals in our body, preventing any further damage they might cause.
There are various forms in which you can add spinach to your diet; some of them are:
This cruciferous wild leafy vegetable from the mustard family has recently gained popularity after fighting terrible resistance from all quarters of the population. Irrespective of its mustard-like pungent smell, kale has become a symbol of health, finding its space in most salad recipes and vegan diets. It has a high sulphur content that helps the liver function in blood purification. It is also loaded with Vitamin A, which is also an essential nutrient for healthy liver functioning.
If you are a beginner, try these simple kale recipes:
Lettuce is quite an unassuming salad essential, which is never the hero ingredient except for in Caesar Salad, but consuming this leafy green for liver health can be transformative. It helps in restoring liver enzymes that purify our blood of toxins. It also helps in tackling free radicals that damage our liver cells.
Other than obvious salad choices, here are some other tasty ways to add lettuce to your diet:
A popular and tested adage is that precaution is better than cure. If eating just 200 g of leafy green for liver health can save you from feeling tardy all the time and escalating to more severe liver diseases, it is a very small price to pay. Ward off the harmful effects of pollution and other environmental factors that unwittingly affect the functioning of your liver by inculcating a better diet. Add leafy vegetables such as spinach, mustard greens, collards, rocket leaves, etc., to your diet and experiment with many tasty recipes available to keep your liver and body looking healthy and young. Do not let your hectic work schedule or urban lifestyle make you look haggard and age prematurely.
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No, it is advisable that you see a physician immediately. However, once the problem is rectified, change your dietary habits to add leafy greens for liver health betterment.
You do not have to make any radical changes to your diet. You just have to make sure you consume 200 g of leafy greens for liver health to prevent fatty liver disease.
Exercise regularly. Try to cut down on junk foods and refined oils.