Diet FAQs

In 2023 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the sweetener aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.

This means that some research suggests something might cause cancer. But overall there is not enough evidence to be sure.

In the case of aspartame, the evidence looked at a link to a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC.

The new classification was released alongside an assessment by the World Health Organisation (WHO).  This assessment agreed on the possible risk. But added that you would need to be having a lot of aspartame before your risk of liver cancer started to go up. They recommend a limit of 40mg of aspartame per kilo of bodyweight per day.

A can of diet fizzy drink typically contains 200-300mg of aspartame.

So an average UK man who weighs 13 stones and 5 pounds (85.1kg) would need to drink more than 11 cans a day to be considered at risk.

The average UK woman who is 11 stones and 4 pounds (71.8kg) would have to drink more than 9 cans a day.

The other types of sweeteners available in the UK are not classified as possibly carcinogenic.

There have been some scientific studies that have suggested using sweeteners can have an impact on blood sugars, appetite, or diabetes risk. But other studies have looked for the same problems and not been able to find them.

So at the moment it is a personal choice to have sweeteners or not and it is likely that they would only be a problem if you were having a lot of them most days.

There is good evidence that drinking coffee may reduce your risk of liver cancer. It could also help slow down liver damage in people with liver disease. Or even reduce the chance of developing liver disease in the first place. But the evidence for these things is less clear.

However, the effect of drinking coffee is quite small. It will not help everyone, and you cannot rely on coffee to prevent liver disease.

You can find out more about coffee and your liver here.

There are no supplements that have been proven to keep your liver healthy or to help treat liver disease.

In fact, some supplements can cause liver damage. You are at more risk of this if you already have a liver condition.

If you have a liver condition you must always talk to your doctor before trying any supplements or any medicines or treatments that they have not prescribed for you.

Find out more about supplements here.

Find out more about alternative and complementary treatments here.

In the first few months after a liver transplant you will need to take very strong medicines. These weaken your immune system.

You will need to take special care to avoid food poisoning for the first few months after a transplant.

You can find out about what foods to avoid and other ways to reduce your risk of food poisoning here.

You might also need to avoid some foods that interact with your medicine. For example grapefruit.

You can find out more about grapefruit and liquorice here.

Grapefruit can stop some types of medicines working properly. Or can increase the risk of side effects.

You should be warned about this when you are given the medicine. If you are not sure you can look at the leaflet in the medicine packet or ask your doctor or pharmacist.

You can find out more about grapefruit here.

There is no quick way to cleanse or detox your liver.  But there are things you can do to help it.

Your liver has many jobs and one of these is to get rid of toxins from your body. If your liver is healthy, it does this really well and the toxins will come out in your pee or poo. They do not build up in your liver so there is no need to “detox” it.

But your liver works hard. Things like alcohol and unhealthy food can put a big strain on it. And damage can build up. The best way to look after your liver is to reduce its workload.

Even if you already have a liver condition, making changes can help. Cutting down on alcohol and unhealthy food, or getting treatment for viral hepatitis, means your liver can start to repair the damage.

If you are worried about your liver health, whatever the reason, don’t rely on “detoxing”. Talk to your doctor. If they think you might be at risk they can arrange some simple tests to check on your liver health.

Find more information on eating, drinking and keeping active here.

Find out more about viral hepatitis here.

There are no specific foods that will directly harm your liver if you are eating them in normal amounts. Some things can be dangerous in very high quantities. For example, drinking a few cups of green tea each day is fine but green tea supplements can sometimes cause liver damage.

To help keep your liver healthy, cut down on high fat and high sugar foods. Try to eat a balanced diet with different foods and lots of fruit and vegetables.

If you are worried about your liver, then talk to your doctor and find out if you should have a simple blood test to check on it.

There are no specific foods that will help your liver. Instead, try to eat lots of vegetables, fruit, and lean protein. Only have foods that are high in fat or sugar as occasional treats.

There is some evidence that drinking coffee can be good for your liver. Find out more here.

Find out more about eating a balanced diet here.

Eating liver or liver pate occasionally is fine but in large amounts it can be dangerous.

Liver and liver pate contain a lot of vitamin A. The recommended amount of vitamin A is 700ug a day for men and 600ug a day for women.

If you have too much vitamin A it will be stored in your liver. In very high amounts this can cause liver damage and scarring (fibrosis). But most people would need to have more than 100 times the recommended amount of vitamin A for this to be a problem. It is more likely to happen if you take a lot of vitamin pills and supplements.

Too much liver can also be bad for your bones. Having more than an average of 1,500 ug of vitamin A (slightly more than 2 times the recommended daily amount) every day for many years can make your bones more likely to fracture when you are older.

The NHS recommends only eating liver or liver pate once a week.  If you eat liver or liver pate every week you should not take any multivitamins or supplements that contain vitamin A. This includes fish liver oil.

If you have Wilson’s disease, you might need to avoid eating liver at least while your treatment starts to work. This is because liver is high in copper. Your doctor can advise you.

Lots of us have too much salt in our diet. Most people should try to have less than 6g (about 1 teaspoon) a day. But this can be difficult. Salt is added to lots of foods including packaged foods, breakfast cereal and sauces.

Ways to cut down on salt:

• do not have a salt pot on the table, this will help stop you adding more
• do not add salt to food if you are cooking, try using herbs or Zero salt stock cubes to add flavour
• Use the traffic light system on food packets to look for lower salt options

If you have a condition called ascites (swelling in your tummy caused by a build-up of fluid) you will need to have less salt. But ascites can also make it hard for you to eat enough. It is important that you can get enough energy and protein from your food. Your medical team should be able to help you choose foods that will work for you. Read our diet advice for people with ascites.

Refined or free sugars are pure sugars that are added to foods when they are being made, whether that is at home or in a factory. This could be white or brown sugar in a cake, honey in a sauce, or palm sugar or syrup added to a drink.

This is different to natural sugars, which are found in whole fruits, vegetables and milk. Natural sugars are not added. You eat them as part of the food they come from.

For most people it is best to only eat foods with refined sugar as occasional treats.

Ways to cut down on sugar:

• do not add extra sugar to food or drinks
• use the traffic light labels on foods to look for lower sugar options

If you are very unwell with decompensated liver cirrhosis the advice might be different. You should talk to your medical team and see if you can be referred to a registered NHS dietician. Sugary foods that are usually seen as unhealthy can be a helpful source of energy if you are finding it hard to eat.

Carbohydrates are a source of energy in our diets. Some people find that reducing carbohydrates can help them to lose weight or feel healthier.

However, a low carb diet is not recommended for people with severe liver disease, such as decompensated cirrhosis.

If you have decompensated cirrhosis, it is really important that you have a balanced diet including all the food groups. If you do not have enough energy in your diet, it can lead to further liver damage and fat and muscle mass loss.

Finding the right balance of foods can be difficult. It will depend on exactly what type of liver condition you have. If you have severe liver disease and you are finding it hard to eat, ask your medical team if you can be referred to a specialist dietician.

There is some evidence that eating lots of ultra processed foods can be unhealthy. But this covers a lot of the everyday foods that we eat so it can be very hard to avoid them. The risks for each of them will also be different.

Ultra processed foods have ingredients you wouldn’t find in a home kitchen. Like hydrolysed protein, high fructose corn syrup, emulsifiers and stabilisers. Common examples include mass-produced cereals, pies, sauces, bread and ice cream.

Many ultra processed foods are high in fat, salt, and sugar. So they may well be foods you are cutting down on anyway.

But if you are very unwell then the most important thing is to try and get the energy you need. Some ultra processed foods can be a helpful and easy way to get enough energy and protein.