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The liver is a crucially important organ. It detoxes our blood, helps us store energy and much more. Keeping it healthy can be crucial to longevity and chronic disease prevention. However, about40% of US adultsexperience what is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This is when fat accumulates around your liver for reasons other than drinking alcohol, and can lead to health consequences such as cirrhosis and cancer, which can be life threatening. Lucky for us, what you put on your plate can help protect you from developing NAFLD, and also reduce disease progression if you already have it. Researchers from Texas A&M University took a deeper dive to see just what foods can lead to a happier liver and why they’re helpful.
Check Out:What Is Fatty Liver Disease?
What They Found
A new study published inHepatology,shed light on the relationship that vegetables have with liver health. But they weren’t looking at just any vegetable, they focused in oncruciferous vegetables. This is a class of vegetables that includes cauliflower, kale, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.
To back up these findings, they split lab rats into two groups: a high-fat diet group and a low-fat diet group. In the high-fat diet group, half were fed an indole supplement. Though all of the mice had similar body composition, the mice on a high-fat diet and an indole supplement had the most significant decreases in fat around the liver, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, which can be risk factors for diabetes as well. Lastly, at the cellular level, indole made liver cells (called hepatocytes) less likely to accumulate fat and inflammation-related damage.
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What It Means
Bottom Line
Our liver is critical for overall health and longevity, from clearing out toxins to helping our body manage energy stores. Indole, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, may help keep fat from building up on your liver and help reduce inflammation in your body. More reserach is needed, but we already know that cruciferous vegetables are good for us—so it can’t hurt to chow down.
Prioritizing healthy fats and aiming for a healthy weight for your body are other ways to help keep your liver healthy. More research is needed to give specifics on how many cruciferous vegetables are the sweet spot for liver health, the recommendation of at least 1 1/2 cups per week is a good starting point. If you need us, we will be munching onRoasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate.
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