7 products that harm your liver revealed

What harms the liver the most?

The liver is primarily harmed by overeating, specifically excessive amounts of certain ingredients and the products that contain them. Unfortunately, these unnatural proportions apply not only to processed foods but to the entire modern diet.

The consequences of unhealthy habits accumulate over time and can lead to liver dysfunction and associated diseases.

Symptoms of liver disease include:

• Digestive disorders
• A feeling of fullness and heaviness after eating
• Poor tolerance for fats and alcohol
• Increased sensitivity to smells
• Nausea, bloating, and pain in the upper right abdomen
• Malaise
• Sleep problems

The liver is the largest internal organ and the only one that can fully regenerate. It not only processes everything that enters the body but also produces essential compounds for life. The issue is that modern diets, lifestyles, and medications do not help; in fact, many daily habits contribute to the development of liver diseases over the years.

Experts today agree that when it comes to maintaining liver health, there is no truly effective treatment aside from diet (though autoimmune diseases and certain viral infections are exceptions).

Painkillers

How many of us carefully read the leaflets that come with the medications we use almost daily? Most still contain a long list of potential side effects, including liver dysfunction.

However, it is important to know that many of them, including over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are extremely toxic—not only in combination with alcohol!

Even a single dose can cause harm, especially with substances like acetaminophen (paracetamol), ibuprofen, naproxen, or ketoprofen. Therefore, instead of mindlessly swallowing pills, it is better to look for alternative pain relief methods.

For headaches, this includes identifying potential allergens or lifestyle errors, while for muscle pain, a better diet rich in plant-based antioxidants and physical activity that strengthens the body is recommended.

St. John's Wort

(Hypericum perforatum) is a product used in folk medicine as a mild antidepressant and mood enhancer. While it is often said to sensitize the skin to sunlight (making it prone to discoloration or sunburn under UV radiation), it is also important to know that it disrupts liver function.

Moreover, since St. John's Wort accelerates the elimination of medications from the body, it diminishes their effects. This includes, among others, contraceptive pills, which may become ineffective. Therefore, it is advisable to consult your doctor about the use of this herb and, if possible, opt for other plant-based ingredients that support your mood, such as saffron extract.

Artificial sweeteners

Despite appearances, sweeteners are not a better solution than sugar. Shocking findings from research indicate that the consumption of diet soft drinks can lead to greater weight gain than sugary ones!

Weight gain is just a visible symptom of liver diseases. Sweeteners affect the body's energy management, and many of them are toxic to human cells.

It is also important to remember that synthetic and semi-synthetic sweeteners (which include not only aspartame, saccharin, cyclamates, and acesulfame K but also sucralose) disrupt the natural gut microbiome, which significantly impacts metabolism. Instead of synthetic sweeteners, it is advisable to choose fruits, a small amount of real sugar, stevia, or increasingly popular natural sugar alcohols like xylitol or erythritol.

Fructose

Although fructose is naturally present in fruits, its excess is sent to the liver, where it is converted into fat. This causes oxidative stress, which gradually damages liver cells.

Therefore, it is best to consume fruits in moderation and choose them over fruit juices. However, industrial products that contain sucrose as an additive should be minimized, particularly those made with artificially derived glucose-fructose syrup.

These include primarily sweetened beverages, as well as sweets, breakfast cereals, and other highly processed foods. A better choice is natural foods, such as small portions of fruits, unsweetened cereals with fruit, and dark chocolate.

Grapefruits

All fruits are beneficial, but excessive consumption of grapefruits (for instance, as part of trendy weight loss diets) can harm the liver. They contain furanocoumarins, which inhibit the organ's natural ability to eliminate certain medications.

This creates a risk of overdose, and this interaction affects at least 50 types of pharmaceuticals (as well as unknown compounds, including pollutants, that we encounter daily).

Therefore, even without taking medication, it is advisable to limit grapefruit consumption, preferably to one piece per week.

Bad fats

The liver dislikes not only excess fat but also harmful types of fat. These include not only processed fats that have been overheated (for example, through frying) but also rancid fats (such as less-than-fresh meat) and, most importantly, artificially transformed fats, such as chemically altered vegetable oils that contain trans fatty acid isomers.

Hydrogenated fats are found not only in baked goods but also in solid margarines (which are still used for baking), industrial candies (mainly with fillings, but not exclusively), and frozen foods. Instead of industrial fats, it is better to choose fresh natural fats, ideally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have a protective effect on the liver. These can be sourced from high-quality fatty fish as well as plant oils (including canola and camelina oil) and oilseeds such as flaxseed and hempseed.

Alcohol

The harmful effects of alcohol on the liver are well known. However, it is less frequently mentioned that the organ can be damaged not only by excessive alcohol consumption but also by regular drinking, even in small amounts.

The liver needs time — breaks from alcohol consumption — to repair the damage done to it. It is not only ethanol that is harmful, but also the ingredients contained in alcoholic beverages, particularly sugars found not only in sweet drinks but also in beer.

For individuals with liver diseases, even non-alcoholic beverages containing up to 0.5% alcohol and maltose — a sugar with a higher glycemic index than table sugar — are not recommended. This means that maltose can accumulate extremely easily in the liver, causing chaos there. In the absence of liver diseases, it is advisable to choose varieties with low sugar content (such as dry or semi-dry wines), take breaks of several days between consumption, and limit the amounts considered safe.

For women, this is 140 grams (14 standard servings), and for men, it is 280 grams (28 servings) per week. A standard serving is approximately 10 grams of pure ethanol, equivalent to about 250 ml of 5% beer, approximately 100 ml of 12% wine, and about 30 ml of spirits.

Also read: How many calories to consume at dinner to lose weight.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.