Your liver processes almost everything you eat, drink and take as medicine. Here is what supports it, and what does not.
Nutrients that support your liver
Vitamin E
An antioxidant that protects cells, including skin cells, from damage.
- How much you need: Small amounts come from food; supplements often give 200–400 mg.
- Best food sources: Nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, green leafy vegetables.
Be careful:
- High doses (400 mg and above) for long periods are not advised.
- On blood thinners: ask a doctor.
Milk thistle (silymarin)
Used traditionally to support the liver; the evidence is limited.
- How much you need: No official allowance; supplements usually 140 mg silymarin 2–3 times a day.
- Best food sources: —
Be careful:
- Not a treatment for liver disease or alcohol damage — yellow eyes or dark urine need a doctor.
- Diabetics on medicines: it can lower blood sugar.
- Allergy to marigold or daisy-family plants: avoid.
Choline
Used by the liver to move fat out, and by nerves.
- How much you need: No ICMR allowance; about 425–550 mg a day is the international adequate intake.
- Best food sources: Eggs, meat, fish, soya, groundnuts.
Everyday habits that help
- Limit alcohol
- Healthy fats
When to see a doctor: Yellow eyes, dark urine or a swollen belly need a doctor today.
Before you take any supplement
- Supplements fill a gap in the diet; they do not treat disease. Anyone with a diagnosed condition (diabetes, kidney, liver or heart disease) or on regular medicines should ask their doctor first.
- Doses here are for ADULTS. Children’s and pregnancy supplements are chosen by the doctor.
- Only products made entirely of nutrients are suggested (vitamins, minerals, probiotics, amino acids, plant extracts) — anything that also contains a drug is left out.
- Daily amounts are the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances where one exists; more is not better.
- Products are listed focused-first (1–3 ingredients), then multivitamins, each by how often our shops sold it — a multivitamin may carry only a small amount of a given nutrient.
Not sure what suits you? Ask our pharmacist at any FirstShield store, or message us on WhatsApp.