Bitter Foods and Liver Health
At the risk of over-sharing, I’ll just mention that my doctor1 suggested I add bitter foods to my diet to encourage liver health. Glancing at this list, I notice that most of these items are already part of my diet – meaning I like them – so eating more of these things won’t be a burden.
- bitter melon
- citrus peel
- unsweetened chocolate
- dandelion greens
- escarole
- quinine (tonic water)
- mustard greens
- cabbage
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- turnip
- Chinese cabbage
- radish
- horseradish
- watercress
- soy products
- cheeses (some)
- miso
- kale
- arugula
- brussel sprouts
- artichoke
- grapefruit
- zucchini
- radicchio
- bread
- asparagus
- kohlrabi
Unsweetened chocolate is on the list, though that food I’m not planning on eating much of. Also uncured olives are mentioned. You’d have to be pretty damn dedicated to eat one of those: when I was hanging out in Tuscany, the Baccis jokingly gave me a olive fresh off of an olive tree. So astringent that my mouth didn’t recover for hours, took lots and lots of good Chianti before my tongue worked again. They laughed and laughed, and I did too.
Meyer Lemons
Not sure why bitter foods help the liver, I’ll have to look into that, but since I enjoy eating these things anyway, I don’t mind making the effort to eat more.
My blood work will be completed by next week.
Footnotes:- Dr. Andrea Rentea [↩]
