Detox Your Liver: Some Easy Tips
Every person’s health and well-being depends on how well her body removes and purges toxins. With exposure to environmental toxins, toxic body care products and processed foods, most people are in desperate need of a serious detox! A liver cleanse is a great way to do this.
One of the main ways that the body rids itself of toxins is through the liver. In fact, the liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body. It works tirelessly to detoxify our blood, produce the bile needed to digest fat, break down hormones, and store essential vitamins, minerals and iron.
When liver function is not optimal, we cannot digest our food properly, especially fats. That’s why it’s so important to avoid fatty liver and follow a liver cleanse diet to remove toxins from the body.
What Does the Liver Do?
Some of the essential functions of the liver include:
Processing nutrients absorbed by the intestines so they are more efficiently absorbed
Regulating blood composition to balance protein, fat and sugar
Destroying old red blood cells
Producing essential chemicals to help blood clot properly
Breaking down and metabolizing alcohol and medications
Producing essential proteins and cholesterol
Removing toxins from the bloodstream, including bilirubin, ammonia and others
Storing of minerals, iron and vitamin A
Risk Factors for Liver Health
Today, we are faced with so many environmental toxins occurring in our homes, places of work and in our food supply. It is essential for our general health and well-being to maintain good liver health.
Below are some of the risk factors associated with impaired liver function.
Low potassium levels
Heavy alcohol abuse
Intravenous drug use
Blood transfusions prior to 1992
Exposure to certain industrial chemicals and environmental toxins
Unprotected sex
Obesity and a diet high in saturated fats, and processed foods
Tattoos or body piercings
High levels of triglycerides in the blood
Prescription medications including acetaminophen
Viral infections
Autoimmune diseases
Signs of an Unhealthy Liver
If you have recently noticed any of the symptoms listed below, you could be suffering from impaired liver function. It is particularly important to consider these researched symptoms if you identify with one or more of the risk factors mentioned above.
Bloating and gas
Acid reflux and heartburn
Constipation
Skin and/or eyes that are yellowish (a symptom of jaundice)
Inability to lose weight
High blood pressure
Moodiness, anxiety or depression
Dark urine
Rosacea
Chronic fatigue
Excessive sweating
Bruise easily
Poor appetite
Fortunately, you can help improve your liver’s functioning. Through a thorough liver cleanse, you can start to feel better in a matter of a couple of weeks.
Liver Cleanse Diet
Follow this natural liver cleanse diet to help boost your health and vitality:
1. Remove Toxic Foods from Your Diet
If you are eating a diet high in processed foods, you are putting the health of your liver at risk as these foods basically work against liver health. Hydrogenated oils, refined sugar, convenience foods and lunch meats are notoriously toxic to your system.
Hydrogenated oils, also known as “trans fats,” have higher levels of saturated fat. The chemical structure of the oil itself has been altered to increase shelf life. Consumption of trans fats dramatically increases the risk for heart disease by 25 percent or more. In addition, it is believed that trans fats cause problems with our immune system and can lead to inflammation throughout the body.
Added nitrates and nitrites, commonly found in convenience foods, fast foods and lunch meats, have been linked to serious health conditions. These chemicals are used to preserve foods to make them last longer, inhibit bacteria growth and preserve color. Replace these foods immediately with liver friendly healthy choices. Healthy foods taste great, and, with a bit of creativity, you can create healthful meals for your family that will support liver health.
Roast your own organic chicken breast and turkey breast to replace deli meats for quick lunches and after school snacks. Replace chips and other processed snacks with fresh fruit, carrot sticks, nuts and homemade granola bars.
In addition to eating a healthy diet, it’s important to be sure your digestive enzymes are functioning properly. Problems with liver enzymes can also contribute to liver disease and may be related to other digestive illnesses such as Crohn’s disease.
2. Drink Raw Vegetable Juice
It can be nearly impossible to eat all of the raw vegetables you need to make your liver cleanse effective. However, by juicing a variety of raw vegetables, you can easily get the 4–5 servings of fresh, organic vegetables you need. Even vegetables that aren’t your favorites can be disguised and enjoyed in a fresh vegetable juice!
With impaired liver function, juicing vegetables has the added benefit of making the vegetables easier to digest and more readily available for absorption.
Vegetables ideal for liver cleanses include cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. While that combination may not sound very enjoyable, you can add other vegetables that you enjoy to the mix including carrots, apple, cucumber, beets, ginger, parsley, lemon, mint and leafy greens.
3. Load Up on Potassium-Rich Foods
Are you getting the recommended 4,700 milligrams per day of potassium? Chances are, you aren’t. Potassium-rich foods help to lower systolic blood pressure, lower cholesterol and support a healthy cardiovascular system, in addition to helping cleanse your liver. If you have been tempted to take potassium supplements, instead add these healthful foods to your diet.
Sweet Potatoes
Surprisingly, it is not the banana that is the richest in potassium. It is the sweet potato. A single medium sweet potato contains nearly 700 milligrams of potassium, not to mention the high fiber and beta carotene content.
A sweet potato only has 131 calories, yet is rich with vitamins B6, C, D, magnesium and iron. While naturally sweet, the sugars actually are slowly released into the bloodstream through the liver, without causing a spike in blood sugar.
Tomato Sauces
Potassium, and the other beneficial nutrients in tomatoes, is significantly concentrated as a sauce, puree or as a paste. As an example, 1 cup of tomato puree contains 1,065 milligrams of potassium, but 1 cup of fresh tomatoes contains only 400 milligrams. When selecting tomato sauce, paste or puree, be sure to choose those made only from organic tomatoes.
To make your own concentrated tomato sauce, slice organic tomatoes in half and roast face down in the oven for 30 minutes at 425 degrees F, until the skin has shriveled. Remove from the oven, and let cool. Slide the skins off and gently crush in your food processor or blender. Strain to remove seeds, if you desire. Pour into a Dutch oven, and let simmer until thick, 1 to 2 hours.
Beet Greens and Spinach
Rich in antioxidants, beet greens contain over 1,300 milligrams of potassium per cup. Add beets and beet greens to your fresh vegetable juice recipe; finely chop and add raw to salads; or sauté lightly, like other greens. Beets also naturally cleanse the gallbladder and improve bile flow.
Fresh organic spinach is easily added to your diet, and it’s a good source of potassium, containing 840 milligrams per serving.
Beans
White beans, kidney beans and lima beans are all rich in potassium, protein and fiber. Swap out garbanzo beans for one of these potassium-rich beans in your favorite hummus recipe. Enjoy it with carrot sticks and celery sticks.
Blackstrap Molasses
Just 2 teaspoons of this rich all-natural syrup contains 10 percent of the daily-recommended amount of potassium. In addition to potassium, blackstrap molasses is rich with iron, calcium, manganese and copper.
Incorporate blackstrap molasses into your diet by replacing other natural sweeteners with it. You can use it to create barbecue sauces and to top oatmeal or quinoa porridge in the mornings. Two teaspoons added to coffee intensifies the richness of the coffee, while lowering the acidic taste.
Bananas
And finally, add a banana to your favorite smoothie. While in comparison to the other high potassium foods on this list, the banana’s 470 milligrams of potassium are only part of the story. Bananas assist in digestion, and help to release toxins and heavy metals from the body — all of which are essential during a liver cleanse.
Please note: If you have high levels of potassium in your kidneys, foods rich in potassium should be consumed moderately.
4. Take Liver Support Supplements
Milk Thistle
Milk thistle is considered the “king” of detoxifying herbs, making it ideal for a liver cleanse. Milk thistle helps to eliminate the buildup of heavy metals, prescription medications, environmental pollutants and alcohol in the liver.
In addition, it helps to reduce the negative effects on the liver after chemotherapy and radiation. Research indicates that the active ingredient silymarin helps to strengthen the cell walls in the liver, while supporting healthy regeneration.
Milk thistle can be taken as a supplement or as a liver cleansing detox tea.
Dandelion Root
Most homeowners hate the dandelion, as it populates yards every spring. But, this flower, and its root, is actually packed with vitamins and minerals.
Dandelion root has a natural diuretic effect, allowing your liver to more quickly eliminate toxins. It also helps to strengthen the immune system, balance blood sugar levels, relieve heartburn, and soothe digestive upset.
Burdock root is another option in the same plant family as dandelions that can help detox your system by cleansing the blood, therefore helping to support liver function. Like milk thistle, both dandelion root and burdock root can be taken in both supplement form or as a detox tea.
Turmeric
Turmeric reduces joint pain; is an effective antidepressant, aids in digestion, helps to restore a healthy blood sugar balance, and supports healthy liver tissue and liver metabolism.
Currently, researchers are studying turmeric for a variety of health benefits for diseases and conditions, including: Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, depression, osteoarthritis, breast health, prostate health and chronic pain.
Combination Liver Support Supplement
You can also purchase a liver support supplement that combines many of these key botanicals, such as milk thistle seed, dandelion root, beet root and bupleurum root to help detoxify the liver, assist in healthy liver function and also work as an anti-inflammatory.
5. Eat Real Liver or Take Liver Tablets
Liver from young, healthy, grass-fed cattle or chicken liver is rich with vitamins A and B, folic acid, choline, iron, copper, zinc, chromium and CoQ10. Liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat. If you can’t stomach eating liver, you can take beef liver pills. Seek a supplement that guarantees no hormones, pesticides or antibiotics are used in the feeding and care of the cattle.
*article adapted from Dr. Josh Axe, co-founder of Ancient Nutrtion