The Best Foods to Clean Out Your Liver

The liver takes a beating like a red-headed stepchild.

The liver filters all of the body's blood and breaks down poisonous substances, such as alcohol and drugs. It also produces bile, which helps digest fats and carry away waste. The liver is the largest organ within the body and is responsible for metabolism, immunity, digestion, detoxification, and vitamin storage.

The biggest threat to the liver’s health is fatty liver disease, which has been on the rise since 1988.

The good news is that fatty liver disease is reversible.

Thankfully, the liver is a resilient organ. By reducing alcohol, drugs, and processed food intake, the liver will cleanse itself and return to optimal levels. The right foods and diet can speed that process up.

Here are the best foods to clean out your liver.

Healthy Fats

There are three primary fats you want to focus on and incorporate:

-Olive oil
-MCT or medium chain triglycerides
-Grass-fed butter

Olive oil is one of your best friends.

When you consume olive oil, make sure it’s high-quality. Use an extra virgin, cold-pressed brand that comes in glass–not plastic.

However, there is also a different type of fat called medium chain triglycerides or MCT oil.

MCT oil and medium-chain triglycerides are different because they don’t require bile, which makes them less stressful on the liver.

MCT oils or fats also help protect against a fatty liver.

The third choice is grass-fed butter.

Grass-fed butter contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTS) that can help burn fat and support the liver.

Grass-fed butter also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce inflammation and protect against heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also reduce high triglyceride levels in the blood. Grass-fed butter also contains vitamin K2, essential for activating fat-soluble vitamins that help the body absorb nutrients.

Wild-Caught Fish

Wild-caught fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and protect the liver.

Omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against liver disease. Some studies have shown that omega-3 supplements can reduce the risk of developing liver disease, especially alcoholic liver disease.

If you like fish, here are some options to choose from:

-Salmon
-Sardines
-Trout
-Herring
-Mackerel
-Oysters

You want to avoid farmed fish at all costs. It’s trash.

To get the full benefits from fish, always choose wild-caught.

Organic, Pasture-Raised Eggs

Organic pasture-raised eggs are a superfood.

Egg yolks have the highest amount of choline in any food except beef liver.

Choline is great for a fatty liver.

Choline is a nutrient that helps the liver and brain function properly. It's also responsible for transporting fat from the liver to cells throughout the body and helps keep the liver free from fat build-up.  

If you're deficient in choline, you can end up with a fatty liver, but choline helps remove fat from your liver.

Dark, Leafy Green Vegetables

The following food on the list is dark or leafy green vegetables.

Dark, leafy green vegetables are a rich vitamin C and folate source, essential to optimal liver health.

The magnesium, potassium, and phytonutrients have anti-inflammatory properties that are great for the liver.

Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collards are high in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin K, which can help support liver function. They also contain glutathione, an antioxidant that can help your liver reduce oxidative stress.

Now, the only time I wouldn't recommend them is if you have some type of inflammatory gut issue, which you can't deal with with the fiber, but for everyone else, I would suggest eating these vegetables.

If not, see the next option.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Radish is probably the best thing for the liver of all the cruciferous vegetables.

Radishes have a higher sulfur compound that is good for detoxification.

Now, if you don’t like radishes (don’t worry, I don’t like them either), there are other options:

-Arugula
-Bok Choy
-Broccoli
-Brussels Sprouts
-Cabbage
-Cauliflower
-Turnips

These food options are critical for liver detoxification. Cruciferous vegetables are also a source of fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that may help prevent liver cancer.

Probiotic Foods

Probiotic foods are magical for the liver.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that help keep your gut healthy. They are generally considered safe because they contain organisms similar to the human gut.

If you take an antibiotic that destroys the good bacteria within your body, probiotics will restore the good bacteria in your liver.

The liver also suffers if you ingest an abundance of chemicals, such as aspartame or some other synthetic artificial sweetener, that alter the gut microbiome.

These chemicals raise liver enzymes and put you at risk for a fatty liver.

Probiotics may improve liver function, restore gut flora, and improve lipid profile.

The three top probiotic foods for repairing the liver are:

-Sauerkraut
-Kimchi
-Kefir

As always, you want to go for the organic options of these foods.

Getting the cheaper, more generic versions will not solve your liver problems. In fact, it may make the issues worse.

Grass-Fed Meat

Meat has a bad reputation these days.

The science speaks differently.

Grass-fed meat can support liver health because grass-fed cattle are typically exposed to fewer environmental toxins and antibiotics than conventionally raised cattle.

This means their liver is cleaner and less likely to contain harmful residues.

Grass-fed beef contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can help liver function by reducing inflammation, promoting bile production, and improving toxin elimination.

It also contains more antioxidants than grain-fed beef, which can help prevent cell damage that can lead to severe diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's.

The BMM Takeaway

Society’s food choices today are trash.

95% of grocery stores are filled with processed garbage. There’s a fast-food place on every corner. Restaurants cook with the cheapest ingredients and numb their clientele with alcohol.

It’s a hard time for our livers.

This is why we must be conscious of what we put into our bodies.

While buying organic, local, and grass-fed might be more expensive, think of the health costs of a liver transplant.

Buying the right foods–now–is an investment in your health.

Incorporate the food options mentioned above before it’s too late.