Remedies for Inflamed Liver

Written by Kristen Fischer
Medically Reviewed by Melinda Ratini, MS, DO on February 05, 2025
8 min read

Inflammation is the body's way to heal an injury or damaged cells. In the liver, this injury can be caused by many things, including an infection, toxins, or the buildup of fat. This inflammation can lead to changes in the liver if it persists. Changes like fibrosis, or scarring of the tissue in the liver, may lead to cirrhosis.

“Liver inflammation is common and can be related to many causes that are not serious,” says Meaghan M. Phipps, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. “Identifying the cause of the inflammation is the most important step, as this helps determine necessary treatment and hopefully prevent recurrent issues.”

Phipps adds, “If the inflammation is severe, does not improve (or worsens), or if it is associated with liver dysfunction, then further care is needed to determine the cause.” 

Symptoms of an inflamed liver can include:

  • Feelings of fatigue
  • Jaundice, which causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to appear yellow
  • Feeling full quickly after a meal
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Pain in the abdomen (belly area)

There are many reasons why your liver may become inflamed. Basically, some viruses (like viral hepatitis), excessive drinking or other toxins, or too much fat can cause liver inflammation, which can cause changes in the liver if it persists. 

For example, having too much alcohol can cause liver inflammation. The liver can also become inflamed from processing too many other toxins, such as excess amounts of acetaminophen or other medications and supplements. This can sometimes lead to swelling and an enlarged liver. An enlarged liver may also be seen with congestive heart failure or cancer, among other conditions.

Alcoholic or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Fatty liver disease happens when the organ begins storing excess fat. Alcoholic fatty liver disease can result from heavy drinking, while metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which was formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, may happen in those who drink little to none. 

While most people don’t have noticeable symptoms with either type of fatty liver disease, others may have an inflamed liver as a result of the extra fat. You may also end up with fibrosis, where scar tissue forms around areas of damage on the liver and interferes with its functioning. 

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which used to be known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, is an advanced stage of MASLD. MASH can lead to fat and inflammation buildup in the liver.

Other causes of inflamed liver

Besides viral infections like hepatitis, long-term alcohol abuse, and fatty liver, there are other conditions that can cause inflammation in the liver. 

Amyloidosis. This rare disorder of the liver is caused by the buildup of an abnormal protein called amyloid. It prevents the liver from performing its normal functions. These proteins aren’t commonly found in the body, but they can form from a combination of other types of protein. Symptoms of this disease include an inflamed liver. 

Liver cysts. Around 5% of the population has liver cysts, and only 5% of people in that group have symptoms like an inflamed liver. These cysts are fluid-filled structures with thin walls. 

Though symptoms from liver cysts are very rare, if the cyst is large, you may have pain, discomfort, and feelings of fullness in the abdomen. Rarely, a cyst can start bleeding, leading to severe pains in the shoulder and upper body. Your doctor may recommend surgery to remove them.

Other reasons why you may have an inflamed liver include: 

  • Wilson's disease
  • Hemochromatosis
  • Gaucher's disease
  • Noncancerous liver tumors such as hemangioma and adenoma
  • Obstruction of the gallbladder or bile ducts
  • Toxic hepatitis
  • Cancer that spreads to the liver
  • Leukemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Budd-Chiari syndrome
  • Heart failure
  • Pericarditis

The good news is that you may be able to reverse the damage. In many cases, simple lifestyle changes like losing weight and eating better can help reduce liver inflammation.

Some causes of inflamed liver are reversible, while others may mean it’s something more serious like cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis is the formation of scar tissue in the liver that can be the result of inflammation. It is most often the result of excessive alcohol, viruses such as hepatitis, or fatty liver. This scar tissue makes it hard for the liver to function normally. 

This illness can be life-threatening when it reaches an advanced stage. It’s difficult to undo the damage from cirrhosis, but medical treatments may be able to limit further damage to the liver. 

Chronic or untreated liver inflammation can also lead to liver cancer or liver failure.

Treatment for an inflamed liver depends on what caused your liver to be inflamed. A medical doctor typically decides on the remedies for an inflamed liver, depending on their final diagnosis. 

You can see your doctor if you suspect that you have an inflamed liver. In other cases, routine bloodwork or imaging studies performed for other reasons may help detect an inflamed liver. 

The doctor usually does a physical exam, feeling your abdomen to get a sense of your liver’s size, texture, and shape. If your doctor thinks your liver is enlarged, they may recommend other tests to find the cause, see how severe the inflammation is, and get more details on the liver’s size. Other tests and procedures a doctor may perform to figure out what is causing your inflamed liver include:

Blood tests. A doctor may order blood tests to determine levels of various enzymes. They may also check for any viruses that could be causing the inflamed liver.

Imaging. Tests like a computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or ultrasound allow doctors to get a better view of the liver.

Magnetic resonance elastography. This is a noninvasive test that uses sound waves to form a visual map that shows how stiff the liver is. It’s often done instead of a liver biopsy. 

Liver biopsy. Your doctor may perform a liver biopsy to get a sample of your liver tissue to send out for lab testing. The procedure involves inserting a long, thin needle into your liver through the skin.

Your doctor may suggest that you see a gastroenterologist or hepatologist, who specializes in liver care.

Once your doctor understands what is causing your inflamed liver, they can figure out how to treat it. 

For example, amyloidosis is often treated with chemotherapy, heart medication, or targeted therapy drugs like inotersen (Tegsedi) and patisiran (Onpattro). A condition like fatty liver may be treated through lifestyle changes that include losing weight, cutting back or eliminating alcohol, and taking vitamin E. Sometimes, large liver cysts can be treated with surgery.

Because treatments for an inflamed liver can vary so much, you should see a doctor if you have inflamed liver symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis. 

Lifestyle changes can prevent and lower inflammation and swelling, and they are recommended for many people with known liver inflammation.

A few tips for preventing inflammation in the liver include:

  • Eat a diet full of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
  • Limit or don’t drink alcohol.
  • Quit or avoid smoking.
  • Avoid toxic chemicals.
  • Stick to recommended doses of medications.
  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Avoid the herbs black cohosh, ma huang and other Chinese herbs, comfrey, germander, pennyroyal, skullcap, greater celandine, kava, and valerian.
  • Manage high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high triglycerides. 

Your doctor can tell you if you need medication to treat your inflamed liver, and also tell you if medications you’re taking are adding to the inflammation. Some over-the-counter medications and herbal substances may seem harmless but can raise your risk of liver damage.

MASH diet

If your liver inflammation is a result of having MASLD or MASH, healthy eating is especially crucial. That’s because a nutritious diet has been linked to fat reduction in the liver, improved outcomes, and may help reverse the condition. 

Following a Mediterranean diet pattern of eating can reduce fat in the liver and improve insulin sensitivity, making MASLD less severe, specifically. A recent animal study showed that a 5:2 intermittent fasting plan could be promising to stop the development of MASH. When you’re fasting, your body burns stored fat, including liver fat. You eat fewer carbohydrates, which stops your liver from turning glucose into fat. More research is needed to see if this is true for humans as well, experts say.

Under the 5:2 plan, you would:

  • Eat a normal, healthy diet five days a week.
  • Fast the other two days, getting 500 calories if you’re a woman or person assigned female at birth, or 600 calories if you’re a man or person assigned male at birth. 

When you start having any of the symptoms linked to an inflamed liver, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. A health care professional can help you find the root cause or causes of your symptoms and can recommend the proper treatments.

Liver inflammation, or an inflamed liver, has many possible causes. The most common causes include fatty liver disease, long-term alcohol abuse, or viruses such as hepatitis. Liver inflammation can lead to changes in the liver and eventually cirrhosis. While some causes of inflamed liver can be serious, the condition can often be reversible through lifestyle changes like eating well and losing weight. It is very important to see a doctor if you have any symptoms of an inflamed liver so the cause can be found and treatment can be started.

How long does an inflamed liver take to heal? The liver is regenerative, which means that it can heal itself at least to some degree. It’s not clear exactly how long reversing liver damage can take. Whether your liver damage is related to alcohol or not, it may take days to weeks to heal, based on the cause and extent of damage. Severe damage can take several months. The best way to tell if your liver is improving is to monitor bloodwork.

Does drinking water help an inflamed liver? There’s not much research on water intake and its effects on inflamed liver specifically, but evidence shows that drinking enough water prevents dehydration and helps your liver to function at its best. Higher water intake was linked with lower newly diagnosed MASLD in men, a study found. Another report showed that ample water intake was linked to reduced death from multiple causes in people with MASLD.