You should monitor all your food intake to keep your liver healthy.
Photo Credit: istockphoto
While alcohol is widely known to harm the liver, everyday substances like pain killers, herbal supplements, added sugars, NSAIDs, and anabolic steroids can be equally or more damaging. These toxins often go unnoticed until severe liver disease develops. Awareness, moderation, and consulting doctors about supplement and medication use are crucial to protect liver health.
We all have been lectured about the negative effects of alcohol consumption on liver. What most people don’t know, however, is that the most harmful substances for the liver aren’t the hard drinks you can get at the local pub.
Some of them are lying in your medicine cabinet, stocked in your kitchen and are in the supplements you take each morning, thinking they will do you good.
For some people there is no issue with taking supplements such as immunity boosters, fat burning ones or wellness tonics. People think natural is synonymous to safe, and that is somewhat true. However, it is not entirely true as the word itself does not guarantee safety.
Research was done on herbal supplement intake published in the JAMA Network Open journal in 2024, revealing that roughly 15.6 million Americans took hepatotoxic botanical supplement. Some of these such supplements included turmeric, green tea, ashwagandha, Garcinia cambogia, and red yeast rice, which can cause liver damage.1
What's more critical, is that people do not even discuss these with their doctors thinking that these supplements are natural and so pose no danger.
Unlike other drugs dietary supplements have not been tested for their safety, and are potentially hazardous due to possible interaction with your existing medications.
Always inform your doctor about any herbal or dietary supplement that you are taking.
Paracetamol is the pain-reliever found in every Indian and is available under many brand names like Crocin and Dolo. It appears to be harmless, or is it?
Overdose of paracetamol can be dangerous. In fact, the gap between a safe dosage and a harmful dosage is much narrower than most people think.
Acute liver failure has paracetamol over usage as its main cause. When the body receives more paracetamol than it can process, it can cause an overdose. This creates a by-product in the liver that is too much for the body to cope with. As a result, direct damage is inflicted on cells. 2
Be careful and do not take too much in one go or even over a period of days because too many toxins can build up, which body can not handle.
Taking paracetamol, the morning after a night of heavy drinking is much more dangerous than people realize.
Maybe you do not consider sugar to be a liver toxin but the science is rapidly starting to demonstrate otherwise.
Fructose can be commonly found in soda, processed juices, biscuits and all processed food items. Most of these foods are processed purely in the liver. High amount of Fructose intake is converted into fat and is thus collected gradually.
The research by the Journal of Hepatology revealed that high sugar intake, in particular, high fructose corn syrup and sucrose, increases the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This can lead to its more severe and aggressive form of (NASH) and cirrhosis.3
Consuming too much fructose in drinks can be bad for the liver. The liver damage occurs in a similar way to that of alcohol and in people who never drink at all.
The liver damage includes fat accumulation, inflammation, and scarring. Currently, NAFLD is one of the most common liver diseases in the world. One of the best things you can do for your liver is to cut down on sugary drinks and snacks.
The liver has to endure the full brunt of the effects of NSAIDs. Regular use of NSAIDs results in the elevation of liver enzyme levels, hepatitis, and even liver failure in patients with liver diseases or in those taking NSAIDs regularly to relieve pain in diseases like arthritis.
Ibuprofen and diclofenac are commonly in use and are frequently taken. It is quite popular due to its analgesic and febrile characteristics. However, a higher or regular intake does have a strain on the liver.
When NSAIDs are taken in conjunction with alcohol, the danger of liver failure is much higher, as both substances compete with each other in the liver.
There are many people who think that ibuprofen is a relatively milder pain reliever compared to paracetamol. In a way, both of these pain relievers have the potential to cause danger.
However, in case you find that you are needing both of these pain relievers regularly, it would be a good idea to have a chat with your doctor regarding the alternatives available to relieve your pain.
More and more people who are going to the gym to achieve quicker results are starting to use anabolic steroids and performance enhancing compounds. The damage they do to the liver is serious and documented.
Oral anabolic steroids are poisonous to liver cells. The consequence can lead to cholestasis, which is a fatal buildup of bile in the liver. It can also occasionally cause blood-filled cysts to form in the liver. If used for a long time, liver tumor is likely.
An analysis published in Discover Oncology in 2025 employing Global Burden of Disease data, found that drug use, including legal performance-enhancing substances, constitutes a significant and under-recognized risk factor for liver cancer. A lot of people do not think of these substances as drugs.4
Alcohol is rightly known as a danger to the liver. But painkillers, herbal remedies, sugar, anti-inflammatories, and performance-enhancing drugs can all be just as damaging to the liver, or even more so.
The liver has a remarkable ability to recover from damage. The risk exists because liver impairment develops without symptoms until it reaches its final stage.
You should monitor all your food intake because contents in your cabinets require special attention. People need to read product labels and share all information with their physician while avoiding the assumption that over-the-counter medications are completely safe.
Disclaimer: This content is for general informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with any questions about your health or treatment options.
JAMA| Exposure to 6 Potentially Hepatotoxic Botanicals in US Adults
Harvard Health Overdose of paracetamol can harm liver
National Library of Medicine | High fructose intake can cause NAFLD
National Library of Medicine| Drug use is a under-recognized risk factor for liver cancer
At marvelof.com, we spotlight the latest trends and products to keep you informed and inspired. Our coverage is editorial, not an endorsement to purchase. If you choose to shop through links in this article, whether on Amazon, Flipkart, or Myntra, marvelof.com may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
