Try These 7 Herbs to Protect Your Liver Health

1. Milk thistle — One of the most famous herbs for liver health, milk thistle has a long history of use, dating back to over 2,000 years. According to an article published in StatPearls:³

“Milk thistle exhibits its hepatoprotective properties by 3 major mechanisms: an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory, and an antifibrotic substance. The anti-inflammatory properties of milk thistle are attributable to its ability to regulate cytokines responsible for inducing inflammation. Milk thistle has been shown to down-regulate and inhibit the expression of COX-2, a key mediator of inflammatory pathways.”

2. Turmeric — An ingredient essential to making curry, this powerful spice contains curcumin, which research shows to possess antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

While turmeric is easy to incorporate in most dishes, here’s a handy tip to improve its bioavailability — pair it with black pepper. It contains a bioactive ingredient called piperine, which synergizes with curcumin.

3. Barberry — While not a popular herb, The Hearty Soul notes that it’s one of the most powerful options for liver support. It contains a polyphenol called berberine, which “helps shield liver cells from oxidative damage and inflammation.”⁴ A meta-analysis⁵ in the Journal of Translational Medicine supports this hypothesis.

4. Dandelion root — Despite being classified as a backyard weed, this herb also contains antioxidants and other compounds that promote bile production. According to a study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine:⁶

“The anti-inflammatory effects of dandelion, the prebiotic effects of its oligofructans, inhibitory effects against the release of lipopolysaccharides and fasting induced adipose factor, digestive enzymes, and enhancing effects of lipogenesis, reduce lipid accumulation and liver inflammation, which directly or indirectly improve the liver functions.”

5. Ginger — One of the most diverse herbs used in cooking, ginger also has therapeutic qualities that benefit liver health. In a 12-week randomized clinical trial, researchers noted that ginger benefited patients diagnosed with fatty liver disease.⁷

6. Green tea — Research shows that this popular drink is rich in catechins that help lower liver fat levels. In a 12-week study performed by researchers, they noted that participants had better liver lipid profiles in addition to a reduction in body fat.⁸

7. Panax ginseng — Best known as an adaptogen, this herb also has hepatoprotective properties. In a 2023 meta-analysis, the researchers noted that bioactive compounds in panax ginseng reduced inflammation responses in the participants, which led to lower fat production. The gut microbiome also benefited from panax ginseng, which led to better liver fat metabolism.⁹

• The standout herb was green tea — Again, green tea was noted for its catechins content. In one clinical trial reviewed, patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who took 1,080 milligrams (mg) of green tea catechins every day had a 42.1% drop in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a well-known biomarker liver inflammation.

Alongside that, patients had a 31% reduction in urine 8-isoprostane, which is a chemical byproduct of oxidative stress that damages liver cells. These results didn’t take months or years to appear. The changes in liver enzymes and oxidative stress markers happened within 12 weeks.

• Milk thistle is another top performer — Silymarin, the active extract from milk thistle, was praised by the researchers. Multiple randomized controlled trials showed that silymarin improved liver enzymes like ALT and AST, while also reducing levels of malondialdehyde, another marker of oxidative stress.

In patients with alcoholic liver disease, milk thistle helped stabilize enzyme levels and reduced the rate of liver cell damage. This is especially relevant for people recovering from alcohol use or prescription medication overload, since both are known liver stressors.

• Berberine manages fat buildup in the liver — This herb was shown to not only improve liver enzymes but also regulate fat metabolism. In patients with metabolic syndrome or fatty liver, berberine helped normalize triglyceride levels and reduced liver fat buildup.

Berberine also activates an enzyme called adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which acts like a metabolic switch. When AMPK is turned on, your cells burn fat more efficiently and reduce the accumulation of triglycerides in the liver. This helps reverse fatty liver from the inside out, rather than just masking symptoms.

• A multifaceted approach maximizes benefits — Each of the mentioned herbs affects a different pathway, which means they complement each other. For example, green tea scavenges free radicals before they can do harm, while milk thistle reinforces the liver’s cellular walls and promotes regeneration. Berberine targets the root of fat-related liver damage by balancing glucose and lipid metabolism.

1. Eliminate vegetable oils and alcohol — These two are the top toxins that harm your liver. In light of this, if you’re still using anything labeled “vegetable oil” or eating ultraprocessed foods that contain soybean oil, corn oil, or canola oil on the label, you’re fueling a direct attack on your liver.

Vegetable oils are loaded with linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated fat (PUF) that interferes with your cellular function and encourages fat buildup in liver tissue. The result? Chronic inflammation and a sluggish metabolism. It’s important that you swap them out right away in favor of healthy meals cooked in healthy fat, such as beef tallow, ghee, or grass fed butter.

Now, even if you’re eating a healthy diet, understand that LA is ubiquitous in the modern food supply. To protect your health, minimize your LA intake to less than 5 grams per day from all sources. If you can get it down to less than 2 grams per day, that’s even better for your health. I encourage you to download the upcoming Mercola Health Coach App, as it has a feature called the Seed Oil Sleuth — it will help you calculate the LA in your food up to a tenth of a gram.

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Similarly, avoiding alcoholic beverages is paramount because it wreaks havoc through a process like LA. When your body tries to break down either alcohol or vegetable oils, it ends up creating destructive byproducts — acetaldehyde from alcohol and oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) from LA. These are aldehydes, a class of unstable molecules that damage your cells, trigger inflammation, and disrupt liver regeneration.

If your bloodwork shows elevated liver enzymes or you carry noticeable weight around the midsection, cutting out both alcohol and industrial vegetable oils immediately gives your liver the breathing room it needs to recover.

2. Eat more choline-rich foods — Choline directs fat out of your liver. Without enough of it, fat doesn’t get packaged and sent to other places in your body that need fat and ends up accumulating in the liver. That buildup triggers inflammation and can eventually lead to fibrosis or even cirrhosis. The good news? You can turn this around with the right foods.

Egg yolks from pasture-raised chickens are one of the best sources of choline. Grass fed liver is another choline powerhouse, delivering a form your body absorbs efficiently. For context, choline is what your liver uses to create phosphatidylcholine — a compound required for exporting fat from liver cells.

3. Take a supplement if you’re not getting enough choline — If you’re limiting animal products due to health reasons, your choline intake is likely too low. Cruciferous vegetables offer some choline, but you’d have to eat plenty of them to get what your liver needs. In these cases, supplementing becomes a helpful adjunct to avoid fat accumulation.

While there are several types of choline supplements available, I recommend citicoline. Based on my research, it is one of the most overlooked forms of choline, mainly because previous supplements use ineffective dosages. But used at the right level — between 500 mg and 2,500 mg per day — it does far more than just cover a nutrient gap.

Citicoline helps your liver clear out fat more efficiently and boosts acetylcholine production, which your brain depends on for focus and memory. If you’re experiencing insulin resistance, mental fog, or liver dysfunction, this supplement supports detox and brain performance at the same time.

4. Stay active to shrink your waistline — You don’t need an intense workout routine to improve your liver health. Just move your body every day. Take a walk, do some stretching, or run through a basic bodyweight routine a few times per week. Movement helps lower insulin, increases blood flow to the liver, and supports overall metabolic health.

If your waist size is over 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women, that’s a sign that visceral fat — the dangerous kind that surrounds your organs — is accumulating. Incidentally, this type of fat is also tied to liver scarring and progression toward fatty liver disease.