Foods to Avoid With Fatty Liver: The List, Why, and Swaps

TL;DR

• The foods to limit are the ones that flood the liver with sugar, refined starch, saturated fat, alcohol or extra calories.
• Sugary drinks and fruit juice top the list: a 12-oz cola has about 37 g of sugar, more than a day’s added-sugar budget for most women.
• Every food below has a simple swap, and you don’t have to change everything at once.

The foods to avoid with fatty liver are sugary drinks, fruit juice, sweets and other added sugars, refined grains, fried and ultra-processed foods, processed meats, high-saturated-fat foods like butter and fatty cheese, and alcohol. Sugary drinks should go completely. Alcohol should too if you have significant fibrosis or cirrhosis. The rest are best treated as occasional foods rather than daily ones.

This list comes from the main guidelines for MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, formerly NAFLD). The 2024 EASL–EASD–EASO guideline recommends limiting ultra-processed food, avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages and minimizing processed meat. The AASLD 2023 guidance links excess saturated fat, refined carbohydrates and sugary drinks to fatty liver. Below is the full list, why each item matters, and what to eat instead.

Foods to Avoid With Fatty Liver: The Quick Table

Food	Why it’s a problem	Better swap
Soda, sweet tea, sports and energy drinks	Large dose of fast sugar (fructose + glucose), no fiber, no fullness	Water, sparkling water with citrus, unsweetened tea or coffee
Fruit juice and sweetened smoothies	Sugar of several fruits without the fiber	Whole fruit; a smoothie made mostly of vegetables and plain yogurt
Candy, cookies, cakes, pastries	Added sugar plus refined flour and often saturated fat	Fruit, plain yogurt with berries, a small planned treat instead of a daily one
Sweetened cereals, granola bars, flavored yogurt	Hidden added sugar at breakfast	Oats with fruit, plain yogurt, whole-grain toast with eggs
Honey, syrups, table sugar in coffee and tea	Still added sugar, even when “natural”	Cinnamon, vanilla, gradually less sweetener
White bread, white rice, regular pasta	Refined starch, little fiber, easy to overeat	Whole-wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa, whole-wheat pasta, in modest portions
Fried foods (fries, fried chicken, doughnuts)	Very calorie-dense, often high in saturated fat	Oven-roasted or air-fried versions, grilled chicken, baked potato with skin
Chips, crackers, packaged snacks	Ultra-processed, calorie-dense, easy to eat by the bag	Nuts (a small handful), popcorn, vegetables with hummus
Bacon, sausage, hot dogs, deli meats	Processed meat, saturated fat, linked to MASLD in studies	Fish, skinless chicken, eggs, beans, tofu
Fatty red meat (ribeye, burgers, ribs)	Saturated fat; red meat is linked to higher MASLD risk	Fish, poultry, legumes; lean cuts in smaller portions
Butter, cream, lard, coconut oil	High in saturated fat	Olive oil, avocado, nuts
Full-fat cheese in large amounts	Saturated fat and calories add up fast	Smaller amounts of strong-flavored cheese, plain yogurt, cottage cheese
Ice cream and cream-based desserts	Saturated fat and added sugar together	Frozen berries with plain yogurt, fruit
Beer, wine, spirits, cocktails	Alcohol adds liver damage; cocktails add sugar too	Sparkling water, alcohol-free options without added sugar

Why Are Sugary Drinks the Worst Offender?

Sugar in liquid form is the clearest dietary link to fatty liver. The European guideline recommends avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, not just cutting back. It cites a prospective cohort study in which four or more servings of soft drinks a week was associated with a 45% higher risk of developing MASLD.

The reason is fructose. The AASLD guidance says excessive fructose increases the risk of fatty liver, MASH (the inflamed form) and advanced fibrosis independent of calorie intake. NIDDK advises avoiding drinks high in simple sugars, especially fructose, and names sweetened soft drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea and juices. It adds that ordinary table sugar is quickly split into glucose and fructose during digestion, so cane sugar is no better than corn syrup.

Here is what a single drink adds up to (USDA FoodData Central):

Drink	Serving	Sugar	Calories
Cola, regular	12-oz can	37 g	155
Apple juice, unsweetened	1 cup (8 oz)	24 g	114
Orange juice	1 cup (8 oz)	21 g	112

The American Heart Association suggests keeping added sugar to about 25 g a day for most women and 36 g for most men. One can of cola uses all of it.

Swaps: water, sparkling water with lemon or lime, unsweetened iced tea, coffee, or water infused with cucumber, mint or berries. Our article on whether soda is bad for fatty liver covers diet soda too.

Is Fruit Juice Bad for Fatty Liver?

Juice is a trap because it looks healthy. A cup of orange juice has about 21 g of sugar and 0.5 g of fiber. A whole medium orange has about 12 g of sugar and 3.1 g of fiber (USDA). The fruit comes with fiber, takes time to eat and fills you up. The juice doesn’t.

The European guideline makes the distinction explicit: its list of minimally processed foods to eat more of includes “fruits (not juice)”. Whole fruit is fine and belongs in a fatty liver diet. Juice, sweetened smoothies and fruit “drinks” belong with soda. If you’re worried about the sugar in whole fruit, read is fruit bad for fatty liver?

Swaps: eat the fruit instead of drinking it. If you love juice, dilute a small splash into sparkling water.

Which Added Sugars Should You Cut?

Beyond drinks, added sugar hides in foods that don’t taste like dessert: breakfast cereals, flavored yogurts, granola and protein bars, bottled sauces, ketchup, salad dressings, flavored coffee drinks and “healthy” baked goods.

“Natural” sugars count too. A tablespoon of honey has about 17 g of sugar (USDA), and maple syrup, agave and coconut sugar are all still added sugars. Your liver doesn’t care whether the sugar came from a bee or a factory.

How to find it: US Nutrition Facts labels have an “Includes Added Sugars” line. Compare brands and pick the lower number, and look for 0 g in foods like yogurt, oatmeal and pasta sauce.

Swaps: plain yogurt with fresh fruit, unsweetened oatmeal with cinnamon, homemade dressing with olive oil and vinegar, fruit for dessert. Cut sugar in coffee gradually so your taste adjusts.

Are Refined Grains Bad for Fatty Liver?

Refined grains like white bread, white rice, regular pasta, pastries and most crackers aren’t poison, but they’re easy to overeat, and they are the “refined carbohydrates” the AASLD links to fatty liver. The AASLD recommends diets with limited carbohydrates and more fiber when possible.

The fiber gap is easy to see (USDA):

Grain	Serving	Fiber	Calories
White bread	1 slice	0.8 g	77
Whole-wheat bread	1 slice	1.9 g	81
White rice, cooked	1 cup	0.6 g	205
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup	3.2 g	249

Calories are similar, so switching grains is about fiber and fullness, not a calorie discount. Portion size matters as much as the type. For the details on specific staples, see is bread bad for fatty liver?

Swaps: whole-wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa, barley, oats, whole-wheat pasta. Keep grains to about a quarter of your plate and fill the rest with vegetables and protein.

Why Limit Fried and Ultra-Processed Foods?

Ultra-processed foods are industrial products made mostly from refined ingredients: chips, packaged snacks, fast food, frozen ready meals, sweetened cereals, packaged cakes and most processed meats. The European guideline recommends limiting ultra-processed food, which it describes as “rich in sugars and saturated fat”. It also names the wide availability of cheap ultra-processed, high-sugar food and drinks as an important driver of obesity and MASLD.

Fried foods fall in the same bucket. Deep-frying soaks food in fat, which multiplies the calories of whatever you fry, and fried foods are among the easiest to overeat. A 1-oz bag of plain potato chips has about 150 calories (USDA), and few people stop at one ounce.

Swaps: roast or air-fry at home with a teaspoon of olive oil; choose grilled over fried when eating out; keep a bag of unsalted nuts or some fruit handy for snacks.

Is Processed and Red Meat Bad for Fatty Liver?

Processed meat is on the “minimize” list in the European guideline, alongside ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks. The guideline notes that several observational studies link high intake of red and processed meat with MASLD, and a 2020 meta-analysis of 24 observational studies found red meat intake was associated with higher odds of fatty liver.

Processed meats also carry a lot of saturated fat for their size (USDA):

Food	Serving	Saturated fat	Calories
Bacon, pan-fried	3 slices	4.1 g	162
Beef hot dog	1 frank	5.6 g	154

Swaps: fish (especially salmon, sardines or trout), skinless chicken or turkey, eggs, beans, lentils and tofu. If you eat red meat, choose lean cuts, keep portions to about the size of your palm and have it less often.

Which High-Saturated-Fat Foods Should You Cut Back On?

The European guideline notes that saturated fat has worsened liver fat in several short-term trials, and NIDDK recommends replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats. Butter, cream, lard, coconut oil, full-fat cheese in large amounts, fatty meats and cream-based desserts are the main sources.

Food	Serving	Saturated fat
Coconut oil	1 tbsp	11.2 g
Rich vanilla ice cream	½ cup	11.1 g (plus 22 g sugar)
Butter	1 tbsp	7.3 g
Cheddar cheese	1 oz	5.4 g
Heavy cream	1 tbsp	3.5 g
Olive oil (for comparison)	1 tbsp	1.9 g

Values from USDA FoodData Central.

Cheese doesn’t need to vanish. A sprinkle of parmesan or feta adds a lot of flavor for little saturated fat, and plain yogurt and cottage cheese are lighter options.

Swaps: cook with olive oil, spread avocado or hummus instead of butter, use plain yogurt in place of sour cream, and make fruit your default dessert.

Is Alcohol Off Limits With Fatty Liver?

Alcohol is the one item where the advice can be absolute. The AASLD guidance says people with clinically significant fibrosis (F2 or higher) should abstain from alcohol completely. The European guideline says all alcohol should be stopped completely and permanently in advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, and recommends discouraging alcohol in everyone with steatotic liver disease.

It also says emerging evidence does not support the idea that light-to-moderate drinking protects health, particularly in people with cardiometabolic risk factors. Cocktails, hard seltzers with juice and sweet wines add sugar on top of the alcohol. If you don’t know your fibrosis stage, ask your doctor before assuming any amount is safe. More detail in is alcohol safe with fatty liver?

Foods You Don’t Need to Avoid

Fatty liver advice sometimes spreads into needless fear. These foods are generally fine in normal portions:

• Whole fruit. Part of the Mediterranean diet; juice is the problem.
• Coffee. Linked to less liver fibrosis in studies; keep it unsweetened.
• Eggs. A 2020 meta-analysis found no significant link between egg intake and fatty liver.
• Olive oil and nuts. Calorie-dense, so measure them, but they are the recommended fats.
• Potatoes and rice. Fine in sensible portions, ideally with skin or as whole grain, and not fried.

For the foods to lean into, see the best foods for fatty liver.

What Should You Skip When Eating Out?

Restaurant and takeout meals are where most of these foods cluster: the drink, the fried side, the creamy sauce and the dessert often arrive together. A few rules of thumb cover most menus:

• Order water, sparkling water, unsweetened iced tea or coffee. Free refills of soda or sweet tea are the easiest way to take in a day’s sugar without noticing.
• Choose grilled, baked, roasted or steamed over fried, crispy, battered or breaded.
• Swap the side. Ask for a salad, vegetables or a baked potato instead of fries or onion rings.
• Watch the sauces. Cream, cheese and butter sauces add saturated fat; sweet glazes, barbecue and teriyaki sauces add sugar. Ask for them on the side.
• Skip the bread basket or take one piece, and pick brown rice or whole-grain options when they exist.
• Share dessert, or have fruit. Restaurant desserts often combine added sugar and saturated fat in large portions.
• Keep alcohol in line with your doctor’s advice, which is none if you have significant fibrosis or cirrhosis.

How to Cut Back Without Feeling Deprived

• Start with drinks. Swapping every sugary drink for an unsweetened one is the fastest, easiest win, and you won’t miss the calories.
• Change one meal at a time. Fix breakfast this week, lunch next week.
• Don’t keep trigger foods at home. It’s easier to skip chips at the store than at 9 p.m.
• Plan treats instead of banning them. A planned slice of cake on a birthday is fine; daily pastries aren’t.
• Read labels for added sugar and saturated fat, and compare two brands before choosing.
• Find your hidden sources. Sauces, coffee drinks and “healthy” snacks often add up to more than the obvious sweets. An app like Liverly can scan your meals and flag the added sugar and saturated fat, which makes these patterns easier to spot.

The Bottom Line

The foods to avoid with fatty liver are the ones that load your liver with sugar, refined starch, saturated fat and alcohol: sugary drinks, juice, sweets, refined grains, fried and ultra-processed foods, processed and fatty meats, and high-fat dairy in large amounts. Sugary drinks should go completely, and so should alcohol if you have significant fibrosis or cirrhosis. For everything else, think “less often and smaller”, and swap in the olive oil, fish, legumes, whole grains, vegetables and whole fruit that make up the Mediterranean-style fatty liver diet.

Sources

• EASL–EASD–EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of MASLD (Journal of Hepatology 2024)
• AASLD Practice Guidance on the clinical assessment and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (Hepatology 2023)
• NIDDK: Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for NAFLD & NASH
• He K et al. Food groups and the likelihood of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis (British Journal of Nutrition 2020)
• USDA FoodData Central

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or hepatologist about your specific situation.