Fatty liver disease is increasingly common worldwide, and while it may start off without noticeable symptoms, ignoring it can lead to serious complications. The liver plays a vital role in processing nutrients, detoxifying the body, and managing fat. When fat accumulates in liver cells faster than it can be metabolized, it can disrupt these crucial functions—potentially leading to hepatitis, cirrhosis, or even liver cancer if left untreated.

Fortunately, fatty liver in its early stages is often benign and reversible. Through a combination of medical care and simple but consistent lifestyle changes, many people can manage or even reverse the condition. One of the most important lifestyle changes? Your diet.

Experts emphasize that reducing the intake of certain foods can significantly slow or even stop the progression of fatty liver disease. Here are four food groups that should be limited or avoided if you’re managing this condition.

Sugary Foods

Consuming too much sugar—especially added sugars—can be particularly harmful for people with fatty liver. Excess sugar contributes to weight gain, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, all of which are major risk factors for liver fat buildup.

When your body consumes more calories than it can use for energy, it stores the surplus as fat, particularly in the form of triglycerides. If these triglycerides aren’t broken down efficiently, they begin to collect in the liver. Furthermore, a sugar-rich diet can cause insulin resistance. When this happens, your body produces more insulin, which can further encourage fat storage in the liver.

People with fatty liver or high blood sugar should limit desserts like cakes, ice cream, candies, and sugary beverages. Even fruits high in natural sugar—such as lychees, grapes, bananas, and apples—should be consumed in moderation.

Fried and High-Cholesterol Foods

Fried foods and items rich in cholesterol may seem indulgent, but they can be a direct hit to your liver. These include animal fats, red and processed meats, organ meats, egg yolks, butter, cheese, sausages, and bacon.

Diets high in these foods raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, which adds extra stress on the liver. They also increase overall fat deposits in the body, exacerbating fatty liver disease.

Instead, opt for heart- and liver-friendly alternatives like using plant-based oils (olive or canola), increasing your intake of leafy green vegetables, and incorporating fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel into your meals. These fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help reduce liver fat.

High-Sodium and Processed Foods

Too much salt can quietly worsen fatty liver disease. Pickled vegetables, canned goods, fast foods, and processed snacks are often loaded with sodium. Consuming these regularly can increase water retention, blood pressure, and fat accumulation in the liver.

Excessive salt intake has also been linked to higher leptin levels (a hormone involved in fat storage), inflammation, and insulin resistance—all of which contribute to liver damage over time.

To protect your liver, aim to keep daily salt intake under 6 grams. Try flavoring your meals with herbs, spices, and lemon juice instead of relying on salt, soy sauce, or other sodium-heavy seasonings.

Refined Carbohydrates

Foods like white rice, white bread, crackers, instant noodles, and rice cakes may not taste sweet, but they break down quickly into sugars in the body. This leads to insulin spikes and, eventually, increased fat storage in the liver.

Choosing whole grains instead—such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, oats, and quinoa—can provide your body with fiber, improve digestion, and help regulate blood sugar levels. These changes can go a long way in easing the liver’s workload and reducing fat accumulation.

Diabetics and anyone managing blood sugar levels know the rule: eat clean, balanced meals and avoid sugar-laden junk. But what if even your healthiest meals—rich in nutrients and free from processed carbs—still send your glucose monitor beeping? That’s exactly what happened to actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who recently opened up about her experience with “unusual spikes” in her blood sugar levels.

“I was wearing a glucose monitor just to check my spikes, and I realised that even though my meal was extremely healthy, there were some unusual spikes, which shouldn’t really happen with the kind of food I was eating,” she said. The culprit wasn’t the food itself, but the order in which she was eating it. “Just by changing the food on my plate and switching it around—eating my vegetables first, eating my protein second, and then the carbs—it kind of reduced the straight-up spikes,” she shared.

What Samantha stumbled upon is known as food sequencing—a method that can make a big difference in how our bodies respond to food.

What is food sequencing and why does it matter?

Food sequencing refers to the practice of eating different food groups in a specific order: first vegetables, then proteins and fats, and finally carbohydrates. This simple shift can significantly influence how your body processes glucose.

Here’s why: vegetables, especially raw ones, are rich in fiber, which slows down digestion and reduces the speed at which sugar enters the bloodstream. This delay helps prevent sudden spikes in glucose levels right after a meal.

When carbs are eaten at the end of the meal, they are digested more slowly and absorbed more gradually—especially when preceded by fiber and protein. This helps the body maintain a steadier blood sugar curve rather than experiencing a sharp peak followed by a crash.

The science behind the sugar curve

When you eat carbohydrates, your blood glucose typically rises within 30 to 60 minutes. The extent of that spike—and how long it lasts—depends on multiple factors: the kind of carb you ate, whether you ate it with fiber or protein, and your body’s insulin response.

Sudden or prolonged glucose surges aren’t just temporary blips; they can contribute to long-term inflammation and affect hormones and proteins in the body. Inflammation, in turn, is linked to a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.

By sequencing your meals to start with fiber-rich vegetables (like cucumber, tomatoes, or spinach), followed by proteins (like boiled sprouts, tofu, or paneer), and finishing with carbs, you can naturally flatten the glucose curve. Adding small elements like lemon juice or a spoonful of seeds can enhance both taste and nutrient absorption.

Not just for diabetics

While the method is especially useful for those with insulin resistance or diabetes, food sequencing benefits nearly everyone. It helps you feel fuller for longer, reduces post-meal fatigue, and stabilizes energy levels throughout the day. Protein, when consumed early in a meal, slows the breakdown of carbs, leading to a more gradual release of glucose and fewer cravings afterward.

As Samantha’s experience shows, even those who eat clean can benefit from this small but powerful tweak. Simply reordering the contents of your plate could help you take control of your blood sugar—without giving up any of your favorite healthy foods.

Researchers from Tufts University analyzed health and dietary data from over 46,000 American adults collected between 1999 and 2018. They wanted to understand how different types of coffee — from black to heavily sweetened — might relate to overall mortality, including deaths from heart disease and cancer.

Their findings were revealing: people who drank at least one cup of caffeinated coffee daily had a 16% lower risk of dying prematurely from any cause. The sweet spot appeared to be two to three cups a day, which was linked to a 17% lower risk of early death. Interestingly, the study found no significant connection between coffee and cancer-related deaths.

The Role of Additives

So, what made the difference? According to the study, the key was how people took their coffee. Those who enjoyed their brew black or with just a little added sugar and saturated fat saw the most benefit. Once the coffee was loaded with sweeteners and rich creams, the protective effect faded.

To put it into perspective, “low” sugar was defined as about half a teaspoon per 8-ounce cup, and “low” fat meant around 1 gram of saturated fat — roughly the amount in five tablespoons of 2% milk or one tablespoon of light cream.

“Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk,” said lead author Bingjie Zhou, a recent Ph.D. graduate from Tufts. “Our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added.”

Decaf vs. Regular

While the study mostly focused on caffeinated coffee, it also looked at decaf. Fewer participants drank decaf regularly, making it harder to detect a clear pattern. As a result, no strong association was found between decaf coffee and reduced mortality risk.

A Word of Caution

It’s important to note that the study relied on self-reported food intake, which isn’t always precise. People may underreport how much sugar or cream they actually use, and other lifestyle factors might also play a role.

Still, the findings offer helpful guidance for coffee lovers. Senior author Fang Fang Zhang of Tufts University summed it up well: “Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world… it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health.”

Your daily coffee habit could support a longer life — just keep it simple. Stick to black coffee or go easy on the sugar and cream. It turns out that when it comes to your morning brew, less really is more.

Thanks to medical practitioners on social media who take it on them to spread awareness among people, we know a lot more things now than ever before. We are also way more medically sound. Among many such creators is Dr Karan Rajan, a UK-based surgeon, MRCS, MBBS, BSc, with 1.9m followers on his Instagram account @drkaranrajan. Recently he posted a video where one sees chia seeds under the microscope. While the images are nothing less than amazing, Dr Rajan reminds us why is it important to eat the seeds a certain way.

The video starts with chia seeds being shown under the microscope first without water, then with water. Both the times the images look quite different. The reason is, as Dr Rajan notes, chia seeds contain special nutrients which needs to be unlocked. This is because chia seeds are made of 85% of insoluble fiber and only about 15% of soluble fiber.

"It is the soluble fiber your gut bacteria love to ferment and feast on," he says. He also suggests that in order to optimize access to chia seed soluble fiber, you should hydrate it before eating."

He explains that hydrating chia seeds, by soaking them in water activates the chia's mucilage layer, which is a very potent soluble fiber. "In my opinion it is the most beneficial compound of the chia seeds," he says. The microscopic images too show the release of the layer once water has been poured on it.

What soaking does is, as Dr Rajan explains, it slows down digestion, leading to a stable blood sugar, it also prolongs satiety, which means it makes you feel fuller for a longer period of time. It also acts as a prebiotic, which then feed beneficial gut bacteria.

The soluble water also helps in drawing water into the colon to bulk up the stool and also helping in unlocking your "biological drain pipes".

What Happens If You Eat Chia Seeds Dry?

Dr Rajan says, "If you eat them dry, they will absorb water from your stomach and your intestines, they will still gel. [However], you might not get the full benefits because it depends how hydrated you are. So the prebiotic and laxative effects are less consistent."

"To get the full effect, soak the chia seeds, even if it is just for a few minutes. Make sure you are hydrated yourself well, and for optimal gel formation, use a ratio of chia seeds to water of 1:6. Or you can just blend them into smoothies, yogurts, and oatmeal so they can hydrate while they sit," he explains.

What Are Chia Seeds?

Chia seeds come from the Salvia hispanica plant, a flowering herb native to Mexico and Guatemala. A member of the mint family, this plant produces clusters of small blue-purple blooms where the tiny seeds are found. With their mild, slightly nutty taste, chia seeds blend easily into a variety of recipes without overpowering other flavors.

What truly sets chia seeds apart is their impressive ability to absorb liquid. “Chia seeds can soak up to 10 times their weight in water,” says Maya Brown, chef-instructor at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. This results in a unique gel-like texture that’s often used to thicken dishes or make puddings.

Nutritional Benefits

Chia seeds are among the richest plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids—healthy polyunsaturated fats that help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, both key contributors to heart disease. They also offer a boost of plant protein, gut-friendly fiber, and powerful antioxidants that help protect the body’s cells from damage and reduce disease risk.