Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in your body. It helps with digestion, stores nutrients, filters toxins, and supports your immune system. And what you eat can affect how well it works.
Some foods can overload your liver and raise the risk of liver disease — while others can help heal it. We’ll review which foods may be harmful to your liver, and what the science says about the most important dietary dos and don’ts.
What foods are bad for your liver?
Some foods can stress your liver — especially if they lead to fat buildup in the liver. This can raise your risk for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This used to be known as fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
But diet changes can help stop or even reverse fat buildup. Here are some foods to limit for better liver health.
1. Fast food
While fast food isn’t an absolute no-no, most people in the U.S. eat too much of it. 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.
Other restaurant food isn’t off the hook, either. Restaurant food tends to contain more sugar, salt, and fat than your liver can handle.
2. Ultra-processed foods
Ultra-processed foods are foods that have been preserved, changed, or refined well beyond their natural form. 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.
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
3. Sweetened foods
Another way to support liver health is to limit foods with 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 fatty liver disease.
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
4. Sugary drinks
Sweetened foods are bad for the liver. 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 MAFLD. 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
5. Artificial sweeteners
If sweetened foods and drinks are too sugary, are diet or sugar-free items the solution? Unfortunately, the answer is probably not.
Artificial sweeteners don’t provide extra calories, but researchers are learning that their ingredients may still be harmful. The studies on artificial sweeteners and the risk for MAFLD have had mixed results, but experts are increasingly concerned that may be harmful to the liver. And some show these sugar substitutes negatively affect healthy gut bacteria in a way that leads to fat buildup in the liver.
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
6. 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.
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
7. 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
8. Alcohol
Drinking excess alcohol can also cause liver damage. Alcohol-associated liver disease is a major cause of liver disease worldwide. Drinking alcohol regularly for years can increase the risk of fat deposits in the liver, scarring and inflammation, and liver cancer.
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 years: more than 7 drinks per week, or 3 drinks at a time
9. Fried foods
Fried foods are high in saturated and trans fat. Frying foods doesn’t just change the textures and taste — it changes the nutritional content of the food.
Eating fried foods is also linked to an increased risk for fat buildup in the liver. People who eat more fried foods are more likely to be diagnosed with MAFLD.
If you love the crispy texture of fried foods but want to be mindful of liver health, try making these changes:
Use an air fryer.
Bake on high temperatures.
Fry foods in unsaturated fats like olive oil.
10. Salty foods
Salty foods may not seem like a liver concern, but research also shows a link between high salt intake and liver disease. People who regularly add extra salt to their food are more likely to develop fat buildup in the liver. Salty foods are also linked to conditions such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Lowering your salt intake can boost your heart health as well. Try reaching for other salt alternatives — like garlic or lemon zest. And learn to read nutrition labels carefully to lower the amount of sodium you consume from packaged foods.
Why are certain foods bad for your liver?
What you eat affects your liver health in several ways. First, consuming too many calories can lead to excess weight. And extra weight — especially around the middle — is a risk factor for conditions that put extra stress on your liver. Common examples include metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes.
Also, as discussed above, certain foods can lead to fat buildup in the liver, or MAFLD. This form of liver disease often occurs with other conditions like:
High blood sugar (prediabetes and diabetes)
Some people with MAFLD develop more severe complications from it, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). That’s when fat builds up in the liver over time and leads to inflammation. When MASH gets worse, the liver can develop scar tissue, known as cirrhosis. Sometimes, cancer develops in the liver, too.
Can food help you reverse liver damage?
Yes, some foods can help reverse liver damage from fatty liver. And healthy nutrition may help stop the progression of more severe liver disease.
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 (including peanut butter)
Olive oil
Whole grains
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
Drinking certain beverages — including coffee, green tea, and lemon juice — can also benefit the liver. And drinking plenty of water helps your body’s metabolism, which will cause less fat to settle in the liver.
Supplements for fatty liver
Certain herbs, spices, and supplements may also help to slow or reverse liver disease. The supplements that have the strongest evidence supporting liver health are:
Milk thistle: A large review study found that taking milk thistle may be good for your liver. Taking milk thistle lowered signs of liver inflammation in people with fat buildup in the liver.
Turmeric: Turmeric might be especially helpful for liver health when you take it with black pepper.
Korean ginseng: Some clinical studies suggest it may be helpful for people with chronic liver disease.
Probiotics: Probiotics are often used to improve gut health. They may also help lower liver inflammation in people with fatty liver disease.
But some supplements might be harmful to the liver. And since supplements are not regulated, it might be hard to know what ingredients or doses you are getting. Avoid any supplements with 'proprietary blends', or supplements with a long list of ingredients.
Even natural foods and supplements can interact with some medications, and some may not be right for people with certain health conditions. Talk with a healthcare professional before taking supplements or adding large amounts of herbs or spices to your diet.
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