Note: This article is based on my personal experience and research. I am not a doctor or a dietitian, and this content is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
There are a few very specific types of food you should avoid or stop eating completely if you want to speed up the healing of your fatty liver.
The bad news is that it will most likely feel like everything you enjoy eating is on this list. The good news? It’s not as bad as it seems, and if you do manage to stick to avoiding these foods and switch to a healthy diet instead (like the one I followed to reverse my condition), you will get healthy faster.
And even though multiple approaches work diet-wise, there are a few food categories that nearly every doctor and study agrees you should avoid – and once you do, your liver has the chance to heal.
This is what I’m sharing below, so read carefully, take notes if needed (or bookmark this page for subsequent visits) and take action NOW by getting rid of any of these food items from your menu.
1. Fried / deep fried foods
I have a personal rule that goes like this: if you have a fatty liver, don’t even smell fried foods! That’s how bad they are for your overall health and especially for NAFLD aka MASLD.
French fries, fried chicken, hamburgers, battered fish, even “lightly” fried vegetables – everything that’s fried in oil (no matter how much) should be eliminated from your diet as they load your body with unhealthy fats your liver can’t and shouldn’t handle.
I know how insanely difficult this is: before being diagnosed, I loved to eat fried foods, and everything that had at least one fried ingredient tasted better. And while it’s true that some foods won’t taste the same, it has to be done because your health is on the line.
You will see that it’s easier than it first seems. In my case, after I was diagnosed with a fatty liver, I managed to go on a lengthy run of more than one year without eating any fried foods (not even sauteed). This not only helped me reverse my fatty liver, but also taught me to eat healthier overall and, despite the initial shock, feel better and be happier.
Right now, my taste buds are used to non-fried foods, and I no longer get any cravings when I smell what I once considered tasty. On the contrary, I find that smell gross now. So yes, cooking without oil is doable and actually recommended, as long as you follow a healthy diet that still feeds your body the healthy fats it needs.
Want to learn everything I did to reverse my condition? Grab my book from Amazon: From Fatty Liver to Healthy Liver (affiliate link). It also has recipes, motivation, and personal tips you won’t find elsewhere!
Why should you avoid fried foods with fatty liver?
Fried foods soak up fats, especially saturated and trans fats, which are directly linked to liver fat buildup. When your liver is already struggling, the last thing it needs is more fat to process.
If you don’t want to completely eliminate oil when cooking (like I did), you can use tiny amounts instead. Use less than any recipe calls for – basically, just add enough to give a bit of taste to the food you eat.
For example, use spraying oil and spray once on your portion of vegetables if you believe you have to (you don’t!).
Never add more than a teaspoon of oil when cooking (for two servings), but don’t delay trying to cook without added oil. You’ll be surprised to see how many dishes still taste perfectly fine without added fats.
Even more alternatives to frying fats:
Try roasting your vegetables or meat in the oven instead of cooking them in a pan. They generally taste better when cooked without oil! Alternatively, use an air fryer for a “fried” texture without drowning your food in oil.
If you need the base, simply replace cooking oil with water to sauté vegetables, meat, and anything else. Just make sure to add more water when it evaporates: a couple of tablespoons will vanish almost instantly from a pot at medium/high heat.
2. Highly processed foods
Highly processed foods, although delicious and easy to eat, are also extremely bad for your overall health and especially for your liver. Also called ultra-processed foods, they usually have tons of unhealthy fats, sugar, preservatives and all sorts of additives, making them real bombs for our liver.
Packaged snacks, instant noodles, frozen pizza, sugary cereals, crackers, deli meats – they all fall in this category.
However, even foods that you might consider healthy (or at least neutral) are included here: white grain flour (here are some better alternatives to bread), white rice, flavored drinks, store-bought coffees (at least as long as there’s more than just coffee and water and maybe a splash of milk).
Basically, if it comes packaged, it’s bad for you (this is a slight exaggeration, of course, but it proves a point!) If there are 40 ingredients on the list, it’s most likely bad for you.
If the content of fat or sugar/carbohydrates is too high, it’s bad for you. Preservatives, flavorings, and all sorts of additives: all of these are highly processed and bad for you!
So always check the label or, even better, stay away from all these products and learn to snack on healthy stuff like fruits, veggies, or nuts. Here’s my list of healthy, liver-friendly snacks to try.
3. Alcohol
While it’s not typically included on lists of “foods,” alcohol is non-negotiable. It is toxic to the liver, and even small amounts can cause more harm or, at the very best, slow or reverse progress you’ve made.
Even if your condition is “non-alcoholic” fatty liver, alcohol still worsens inflammation and speeds up liver damage. Studies show it can lead to cirrhosis in the long run, even if you only drink socially.
While I wasn’t a heavy drinker before being diagnosed, I did enjoy the occasional glass of wine or beer. The day I was diagnosed, I decided to cut it out completely. That was nearly 10 years ago, and I haven’t had a sip since. It’s definitely doable and easier than you might think.
Some people say that you can still drink a bit of alcohol if you have a fatty liver, but what if they are wrong? What if that one glass of wine turns into cirrhosis ten years from now, because you couldn’t say no? Are you willing to take that risk?
I am not, and you shouldn’t either. As difficult as it might seem, living without alcohol is not that hard! You will see that you can still have fun, have a social life and generally feel well without drinking a drop of alcohol.
So if you have a fatty liver, just say no to alcohol!
4. Foods high in sugar
They usually are part of the “highly processed foods” category, but I want to make sure that you understand how dangerous these are. Store-bought sweets, cakes, cookies, candy, and even sweetened yogurt are all bad for your liver.
You can still eat fruits because the human body is used to handling the sugar intake from them (since it’s been doing this for millions of years), and they also enter your body slower because of all the other nutrients fruits have, mainly the fiber.
So even though fructose (the “sugar” found in fruits) is bad for your health when you find it in your energy bar, it’s healthier when eating the fruit itself because it’s absorbed more slowly. However, moderation remains key. In other words, don’t eat 5 pounds of bananas each day, that’s not healthy!
Also, don’t add sugar to your coffee, don’t use sugars that you think are healthier (like brown sugar) because they are generally not. If you really, really can’t stop adding it to some foods (or coffee), try to go for a sugar alternative that’s better for fatty liver but use at most half of the amount you normally would.
But again – speaking from my own experience – it is doable. Probably cutting off sugars will be the most difficult thing for you and you will have incredible cravings, but it is doable.
Eat fruits and if you really, really can’t cut these out completely, use only a fraction of what you normally would (so turn a teaspoon into a 1/4 of a teaspoon). You MUST do it!
To help out a bit, I wrote an article about dealing with these sugar cravings, and I also have a list of healthy sweets for fatty liver.
5. Red Meat
I am talking here mainly about the processed red meats (bacon, sausages, etc), but fatty cuts of beef or pork should also be avoided as they’re no friends of the liver – especially one that’s already suffering.
Red meats are high in unhealthy saturated fats and, when processed, they usually have added nitrates and even sugars, which increase liver fat and inflammation.
Plant-based proteins such as beans, lentils, and tofu are excellent swaps, but you can also get animal protein from lean meats like chicken breast or turkey, and even some pork cuts or beef (aim for a maximum of 10% – ideally lower).
What About Grey-Zone Foods?
There is a bit of wiggle room with most foods. Also, some alternatives to the ones listed above can also become unhealthy if consumed in large quantities.
While I touched on them in the dedicated sections above, I want to mention a few specifically – these are foods that I consider in the “grey zone”:
- Whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread, oats) are much better than refined grains and refined carbs overall, but don’t overeat. Try to stick to a maximum of 3 slices of whole-grain bread per day.
- Healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado) are fine in moderation, but portion size matters – even those healthy fats can harm your diet, because they come with plenty of calories.
- Coffee is actually good for the liver in moderation – studies show it may reduce inflammation (read about it here). The problem is that many of us add coffee creamers and various other ingredients (sugar, syrups, fatty products) to the coffee, making it unhealthy.
Conclusion
I know that, at first glance, this list feels like a ban on everything delicious. We’re so used to consuming all of these foods, that it seems we won’t be left with anything to eat once we eliminate them.
But here’s the truth: your taste buds adapt, your cravings fade, and you discover that there’s still plenty of food that tastes amazing without the stuff that’s hurting your liver.
I have completely changed my eating habits since being diagnosed, I am using very low amounts of fat or no fat at all when cooking and no sugar at all either and I can assure you that you won’t starve, you won’t eat the same things over and over again and your life will get much better.
The first month is the most difficult – probably after two weeks or so, when your brain starts asking you for the unhealthy foods it’s used to. Say no and you’re on a path to a better, healthier life! You can do it! Do it for yourself and your family!
I’ve been doing this since 2014 now, even after having reversed my fatty liver. Once you get used to it, you will see that it’s actually easy and you won’t want to turn back to the old, poor eating habits.
I was diagnosed with fatty liver in 2014 and successfully reversed it by mid-2015 using a natural diet and lifestyle changes. Since then, I’ve dedicated over a decade to researching this condition and helping others navigate their own recovery. I am the author of ‘From Fatty Liver to Healthy Liver’ and the founder of this community. My goal is to translate complex medical studies into practical, real-world advice that actually works, combined with my personal experience on the matter.
Hello Lynn,
Is it okay to add honey instead of sugar? Also I roast my vegetables and add only 1 table spoon of olive oil is this okay? also I like omelettes and only put one yoke when I use 3 eggs, but only use a small amount of oil? I have also started to eat tofu which does require some oil. I was diagnosed with Fatty liver over 1 year ago but did not really change my diet until about 2 months ago when the bloating and pain above the ribs became too much. I was always walking around with this uncomfortable swelling around my mid- section. I struggled to change my diet straight away but I have really begun to eat veg and fish and I have started to have green smoothies which can be a bit bitter hence why I asked if I could add honey. I found your website when I was looking for information and it has been so useful. I am really determined to change for the sake of my health. I have already lost some weight and I have more energy. I still have the odd chocolate but not everyday. Thanks for your help
Hello Theresa,
Honey is better than sugar – but not a lot. I wrote about it and sugar alternatives on this blog, you can perform a site search to find out more. But the conclusion is that honey is a better option, although you should still consume it in quantities as small as possible. You can try pure stevia powder (read the ingredients to make sure it’s 100% stevia) in smoothies as a sweetener.
Regarding the oil, remember that 1 tablespoon of oil equals about 14 grams of fat. For a healthy person, 44 to 78 grams of fat are considered OK on a daily basis. With this in mind you can decide if it’s OK to use the oil or not, depending on what else you eat. But as a rule of thumb, you can always try to reduce the amounts used, no matter what.
Recently diagnosed with FLD and a cyst on my liver. Doctor said it was not terribly concerning, and I have to have another ultrasound in 6 months. I love my fruits; clementines, apples, bananas, berries (for fruit smoothies), and read somewhere that they are too high in sugar, and have been ‘tweaked’ over time to be bigger and sweeter 🙁 I do not cook anything in oil, all meat is baked or broiled, so is it okay to still eat it? My guilt is sugar, specifically related to chocolate. Grocery shopping today picked up more veggies for me; now I have to work on my willpower to quit the cocoa bean!
Janet, it is OK to eat fruits. As long as you are eating their pulp as well (so not just juices), they are safe. It is indeed better to cut down a bit on the sweetest fruits like bananas, melons or grapes – but all in all, they are still a healthy, solid food.
Regarding the meat, it depends what type of meat you are consuming. If the meat itself is fat, you should switch to low fat one like chicken or turkey breast and white lean meat. As for sugar, it must unfortunately be completely wiped out of your diet. If you want to make the transition easier, look for chocolate sweetened with Stevia but don’t overdo it either as it’s still high in calories, even though it has no sugar.
I just put two large tsp of cocoa in my 0 fat Fage yogurt with Sweey Leaf Stevia and wild blueberries. You can also add unsweetened vanilla almond milk, protein powder, or whatever else you like.
I have a constant pain under my right rib and have been feeling dreadful for months. I am awaiting a ultra sound scan after my doctor looked at my blood results. He suspects fatty liver. I have been reading that good fats, improve liver function. Should I stay off fats altogether ..like olive oil, coconut oil and, salmon and avocado ?
Also I find exercise really helps with the pain is this normal ?
Hello Matt,
You can still get some fat in your body – healthy fat, that is – like extra virgin olive oil, or avocado. Regarding exercise, it’s perfect if it helps with the pain because exercising is one of the most important things – together with changing the diet – when it comes to reversing a fatty liver.
I found that a heating pad really helped with that pain.
Hi,
Can you fry vegetables (courgettes & aubergine etc) in a frying pan with extra olive virgin oil? Likewise can you fry qourn in it also?
Thanks.
C
No, as I said in the article, you shouldn’t fry anything. If you really, really can’t do it without oil (try preparing them in the oven, both aubergines and courgettes taste great in the oven without oil), add half a teaspoon on a paper napkin and rub the pan with it before cooking.
My husband was recently diagnosed with fatty liver. Since I do most of the cooking, I have questions. Can I boil ground beef for his meals? I won’t be buying any more, but there’s loads in the freezer. (I’ve prepared meals with boiled ground beef before. Looks a little gray so I put it in spaghetti, etc.)
This is the man who makes fun of me for eating veggie burgers and putting chickpeas on my salads. Still, I haven’t yet said I told you so.
Beef is usually high in fat and should be avoided. If you really want to make the transition a bit easier, you can use a bit of it – but lower amounts than you usually do and gradually eliminate it from the diet (or have it on rarely). And of course, if this is not a viable solution, boiling it instead of frying is better.
Hello. Here i am. A 21 year old with chronic fatty liver. Im not even that overweight. Life just hates me… anyways i wanted to know if substituting usual cooking oil with avocado oil makes any difference. Like if i wanted to fry an egg in avocado oil, would it benefit me more or be the same. Thanks!
Hello Zuk… I am sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, frying food is not recommended when dealing with a fatty liver, so it would be best not to do it all. Or use as little oil as possible if you can’t without it.
Regarding the oils itself, while I am not very familiar with avocado oil, what makes an oil type better than the other when fried is their resistance to high temperature (smoking point): the higher, the better.
EDIT: Did some research and it seems that avocado oil has a really high smoking point, so it would be a better option than most. You can check out the various values here on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point
Hit there. What about seltzer products like polar? They say they have 0 sugar, but I have always wondered what the “natural flavors” could mean? Thanks!
I am not familiar with the brand and their products, but a quick search on google was helpful. Indeed… one can only wonder what those natural flavors are 🙂 I would risk it and say that they are probably safer than most other types of drinks, but I would still not have them in excess.
Lynn, I just stumbled upon your site because I’m feeling a little peckish and was looking for a healthy snack that I could eat with fatty liver. Your blog appears to be loaded with info and written in an easy-to-digest way. I’m glad I stumbled upon this blog, and thank you for sharing your experiences with us! My doctor recently told me I have mild fatty liver and that I need to make lifestyle changes to halt its progression and try to reverse it. I am aiming to do just that and will be visiting often. Congrats on your reversal!
Thank you for the kind words, Mark! If I did it, anybody can do it 🙂 You’re on the right track looking for the info you need – so just keep it up and stick to eating healthy!
Hello waiting on US liver enzymes are AST 101 ALT 193 was swollen and pain along with feeling poisoned. I changed diet even more then I was doing. I am over weight but thing don’t seem to budge not able to do major exercise but will be doing something small. Pain is gone and still seems swollen and the crappy feeling comes and then goes. My question is where can I find a good list of foods to eat and not eat or even diet plan. I have been looking and getting so many diff answers. Also supplement to help Like milk thistle? Nac? Chanca Piedra? Or Artichokes extract. Any help is helpful I really need to get back killing this lyme I have.
You will find most of the answers if you use the search function on this blog. For example, I have a recommended diet with things to eat and avoid here: https://www.fattyliverdiary.com/whats-the-best-fatty-liver-diet/
I also wrote about Milk Thistle: https://www.fattyliverdiary.com/best-silymarin-supplement-for-fatty-liver-best-milk-thistle-for-nafld/ and much much more. Just take your time to browse through the articles a bit and you will find all the things you need to know to reverse this!
If our brains need fat to work correctly, then where do we get that? This post seems to suggest we should remove fat from our diets altogether. It has been suggested by other sources that a low fat diet is the leading cause of Alzheimer’s. This is a concern because I have watched my friends and friends parents go through it.
Cooking oils is bad. I get that. Eating fried foods is a bad idea. I get that. But at what point do we allow the fat in our diets so we do not cause other issues beyond NAFLD?
I am only suggesting to stop anything with too much unhealthy fat (like most red meats, bacon and such) and also to stop eating fried foods. Our bodies can get more than enough healthy fat from healthy sources (extra virgin olive oil you can use fresh in salads, fish and low-fat meats, avocados, nuts & seeds and so on).
Our body needs around 40 grams of fat per day and one avocado has around 22. So it’s very easy to get the required amount of fat on a daily basis.
I am/was a heavy drinker of whiskey, as much as a pint a day mixed with water for decades. My first fibroscan test result shocked me. Stage 3 fatty liver with a CAP of 380 dB.m, but a F0-F1 (kpa). With diet changes my CAP went down 310, 238, and up again to 288.
A recent ultrasound show cysts (of fat?) in my liver. I am now 15 days zero alcohol and junk food and getting used to it, and have lost 5 lbs already. Your “no cooking oil” hurt, but I’ll be eating my breakfast eggs boiled from now on. Thanks for making me aware.
I am happy to hear that you’re willing to do what it takes to reverse your condition.
I just had MRI with a low contrast ,because i’m allergic to the IP contrast. The MRI showed a Moderate Hepatic Seatosis and cyst on right side. i’m not a big drinker but am obese. For months now my right side by my ribs have been hurting bad, bad enough to take pain pills that doctors gave me. Doctors did CT, US, X-rays and they say everything looks good. Reading your site open my eyes to a fatty liver, because all the things you talk about is me. Being from Louisiana around New Orleans, we eat a lot of fried food, sugar, flour you name it we eat. Tomorrow i’m going to the doctor and ask for blood test for fatty liver, is there anything else i should ask for?
Robert, I hope my answer isn’t too late. There’s not much more you should ask your doctor at the moment. If the MRI showed a fatty liver, that’s what you probably have. Blood tests can come back OK (which would be a good sign), but you still have to start dieting. It’s pretty much clear what has caused it – the diet. It won’t be easy to switch to eating healthy, but it can be done.