How can you support your liver? What really helps

Short answer: your liver processes fat, sugar, alcohol and medicines every day, and it copes best when you keep belly fat in check, move most days, drink little or no alcohol and eat a Mediterranean-style diet. In people with fatty liver and excess weight, losing 5% of body weight reduces liver fat. Nutrition can support that routine: choline contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function, and Golden Tree Liver Complex provides it with vitamins B6 and B12.

Below: what your liver does, what puts pressure on it, how liver health links to tiredness, fat and bloating, and which nutrients support it.

Where to start: a quick guide

What does your liver do?

Your liver is the body's main processing plant. More than 500 vital functions have been linked to it, and all the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through it, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. That makes it the first stop for nutrients, alcohol and medicines. Among its best-known jobs, it:

•         makes bile, which helps break down fats in the small intestine;

•         stores sugar as glycogen and releases glucose when you need energy;

•         takes up, burns, makes and exports fat;

•         breaks down alcohol, medicines and other substances so their by-products can be cleared through the bile or the blood.

Because it handles so much, your liver feels how you eat, drink and move, and it responds when those habits change.

What puts pressure on your liver?

Most fatty liver traces back to three everyday pressures: excess fat around the waist, blood sugar problems and alcohol. They act independently and can amplify each other, according to the 2024 European clinical practice guidelines from the liver, diabetes and obesity societies (EASL, EASD and EASO).

Belly fat and fatty liver

Fatty liver means fat building up inside liver cells. When it comes with a cardiometabolic risk factor, such as excess weight, raised blood sugar or high blood pressure, it is called MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, previously NAFLD). Its estimated global prevalence has risen from 25% in 2016 to more than 30% of adults.

Where you carry fat matters. Visceral fat, packed around the organs inside the abdomen, drives most of the metabolic risk, and the guidelines use a waist of 94 cm or more in men and 80 cm or more in women (for Europeans) as a risk marker. Type 2 diabetes and abdominal obesity most strongly influence how fatty liver progresses, and the odds of MASLD are about 2.4 times higher after menopause.

Fatty liver usually causes no symptoms and is often found during tests for something else, says the NHS. A tape measure is a simple first check.

Alcohol

Your liver breaks down the alcohol you drink, and regular heavy drinking damages it in three stages: fatty liver, alcohol-related hepatitis and cirrhosis. According to the NHS, the first stage often causes no symptoms and the liver can usually recover if you stop drinking, while the scarring of cirrhosis usually cannot be reversed. Alcohol-related liver disease develops faster and at lower drinking levels in women.

Alcohol and belly fat also work together: the European guidelines find their effects on the liver can be synergistic, and the evidence does not support a protective effect of light to moderate drinking, particularly in people with cardiometabolic risk factors.

With alcohol, less is better. Slovenia's public health guidance sets the lower-risk limit at no more than 7 units a week for women and adults over 65 (at most 1 a day) and 14 a week for men (at most 2 a day), with at least one alcohol-free day a week. One unit is 10 g of alcohol, roughly 1 dl of wine or 2.5 dl of beer (NIJZ).

Food, movement and coffee

The European guidelines recommend a Mediterranean-style diet, limiting ultra-processed food and avoiding sugar-sweetened drinks. Sugary drinks and red and processed meat have been linked with a higher risk of developing MASLD. Coffee, by contrast, has been linked with less liver damage in people with MASLD, although only in observational studies, which cannot prove cause and effect.

Exercise helps even before the scales move. A meta-analysis of controlled trials found that regular exercise reduced liver fat with minimal or no weight loss, although it did not lower the liver enzyme ALT (Keating 2012). The guidelines suggest more than 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.

Can your liver make you tired?

It can be one of the links. Tiredness is among the early symptoms the NHS lists for alcohol-related liver disease, and some people with fatty liver feel very tired. In a study of 156 people with fatty liver, fatigue scores were far higher than in people without it (51 against 8 on the Fatigue Impact Scale). The tiredness tracked how active people were and how sleepy they felt during the day, rather than the state of the liver, and people with fatty liver walked fewer steps (7,089 a day against 8,676) (Newton 2008).

That points to the same habits that help the liver: daily movement and good sleep (see our evening routine for better sleep). Tiredness has many other causes too, so if it lasts for weeks without a clear reason, see a doctor: blood tests can check for anaemia, diabetes and thyroid problems (NHS), and liver tests can be added if needed.

Vitamins B6 and B12 contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, which is why Golden Tree added both to Liver Complex alongside choline.

Is your liver stopping you from burning fat?

It is a popular idea, but the research points the other way: excess body fat puts a load on the liver, rather than a sluggish liver stopping you from losing fat.

The liver is the hub of the body's fat traffic. It takes up fatty acids from the blood, burns some for energy, makes new fat from surplus sugar and packs fat into particles called VLDL to send it back out. That export step needs phosphatidylcholine, which the body makes from choline, and when choline runs short, fat builds up in liver cells (EFSA). When 57 adults ate less than 50 mg of choline a day in a controlled feeding study, 77% of men and 80% of postmenopausal women developed fatty liver or muscle damage, against 44% of premenopausal women (Fischer 2007).

In fatty liver, most of the stored fat arrives from elsewhere in the body. In a tracer study of 9 people with fatty liver, 59% of the fat in the liver came from fatty acids circulating in the blood, which are released largely from the body's fat stores, 26% was made in the liver itself and 15% came directly from food (Donnelly 2005).

So the way to take pressure off the liver is to reduce the overall surplus. For people with MASLD and excess weight, the European guidelines set targets of losing 5% of body weight to reduce liver fat, 7 to 10% to improve inflammation and 10% or more to improve scarring. Choline contributes to normal lipid metabolism, but no supplement burns fat or replaces weight loss.

Can your liver cause bloating?

Usually not directly. The NHS says bloating is most often caused by gas in the gut, from some foods, fizzy drinks or swallowed air, or by digestive problems such as constipation, food intolerance or IBS. It suggests regular exercise, smaller meals and fewer fizzy drinks, and a doctor's visit if bloating is regular or does not go away.

The liver's part in digestion is making bile, which helps break down fats. A tummy that swells with fluid is different: together with swollen legs or yellowing skin, it can be a sign of more advanced liver disease and needs a doctor without delay (NHS).

Artichoke leaf is a traditional herbal medicine in the EU for digestive complaints with fullness, bloating and flatulence, at 400 to 1,320 mg of dry extract a day (EMA). Liver Complex contains 100 mg of artichoke leaf extract as part of a combination, so we make no bloating claim for it.

Which nutrients support normal liver function?

Choline

Choline is the nutrient with authorised EU health claims for the liver: it contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function, to normal lipid metabolism and to normal homocysteine metabolism. A product can use these claims only when a portion provides at least 82.5 mg of choline (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012). EFSA sets an adequate intake of 400 mg a day for adults, while average adult intakes in nine European countries ranged from 269 to 468 mg. Eggs, meat, fish, whole grains, vegetables and fruit all provide choline (EFSA).

Milk thistle and other plants

Milk thistle is the best-known liver plant. A 2025 Cochrane review of 17 trials in 2,069 adults with MASLD found that its extract, silymarin, appears safe and may lower liver enzymes, but the evidence is very uncertain and its benefits and harms remain unclear (Cochrane 2025). The European guidelines do not recommend food supplements or herbal products as a treatment for MASLD, because evidence of their effectiveness and safety is insufficient.

The form affects absorption: in 9 healthy volunteers, silybin bound to phosphatidylcholine (a phytosome) reached much higher blood levels than standard milk thistle extract (Barzaghi 1990). Artichoke, dandelion and turmeric are also traditional plants. None of these plants has an authorised EU health claim, so this article attributes no effects to them.

Golden Tree Liver Complex: what is in it and who it suits

Golden Tree built Liver Complex as a daily liver routine around choline, the nutrient with authorised liver claims. Two capsules with breakfast provide 82.5 mg of choline, the amount a daily dose needs for those claims, plus vitamin B6 (2 mg, 143% NRV) and vitamin B12 (2.5 µg, 100% NRV), which contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. The 2 mg of B6 is one sixth of EFSA's upper level of 12 mg a day for adults (EFSA 2023). Vitamin E (6 mg, 50% NRV) contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

The milk thistle is Siliphos®, the phytosome form described above, at 200 mg with 60 mg of silybin, alongside standardised artichoke leaf, dandelion root, turmeric root and BioPerine® black pepper extracts. These plant amounts are below those used in herbal monographs and trials, so they work as part of the combination rather than as stand-alone doses, and they carry no health claims. The capsules are vegan and contain no caffeine or stimulants, and Golden Tree states that the product is made in the EU. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.

Golden Tree Liver Complex at a glance

Prices as shown on goldentree.si on 23 October 2026, in euros, excluding shipping. Delivery is free on orders over €100, which the pack of 6 (€149.40) reaches.

What to check on any liver supplement label

Who should check with a doctor first?

Liver Complex is not for pregnancy, breastfeeding or under-18s, and Golden Tree advises speaking to your doctor first if you take medicines or are under medical supervision.

• Liver, gallbladder or bile duct problems, including gallstones: the EMA monographs for artichoke leaf and dandelion root advise against use, so speak to your doctor before taking any product that contains them.
• Allergy to plants of the daisy family (Asteraceae), such as artichoke, milk thistle and dandelion, or to soy: avoid.
• Blood-thinning medicine: turmeric may interact with warfarin, according to Spain's food safety agency, so check with your doctor first.
• Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or pale stools: see a doctor straight away, as the EMA milk thistle monograph advises. Rare cases of liver injury have been reported with turmeric supplements, mostly high-dose products (Halegoua-DeMarzio 2023).
• A diagnosed liver condition: a supplement is not a treatment, so follow your doctor's plan.
• Heavy drinking: do not stop suddenly without medical help, the NHS advises.

Get medical help without waiting if you notice a tummy swollen with fluid, swollen legs, vomiting blood, black stools or new confusion (NHS).

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a liver detox?

Your liver already processes alcohol, medicines and waste products every day. A critical review found very little clinical evidence for commercial detox diets and no randomised controlled trials of them in humans (Klein and Kiat 2015). What helps the liver is the routine above: a healthy waist, regular movement, less alcohol and a balanced diet.

Which tests check the liver?

A doctor can arrange liver blood tests and, if needed, an ultrasound scan (NHS). For people with type 2 diabetes, or with belly fat plus at least one other metabolic risk factor, the European guidelines recommend that doctors look for liver scarring, starting with a simple blood-based score called FIB-4.

What is the best supplement for liver health?

No supplement treats liver disease, and the European liver guidelines do not recommend supplements for MASLD. For everyday nutritional support, look for authorised nutrients in a meaningful amount, such as at least 82.5 mg of choline per daily dose, and check the label points above. Golden Tree Liver Complex provides 82.5 mg of choline with vitamins B6 and B12 and Siliphos® milk thistle in two capsules a day.

Where to start

Start with the free steps: measure your waist, aim for 150 minutes of brisk activity a week, swap sugary drinks for water and keep alcohol low, with alcohol-free days. If you carry weight around your middle, losing 5% of it is the change with the clearest benefit for liver fat. If you have type 2 diabetes or have been tired for weeks, ask your doctor about liver tests.

To add nutritional support to that routine, Golden Tree Liver Complex provides choline, which contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function, with vitamins B6 and B12 in two capsules with breakfast, backed by a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. See also Golden Tree's liver and kidney range.