Our livers are vital to our overall health. It is responsible for detoxifying our entire system from everything we put in it and the things we are exposed to. In our society today, there are toxins everywhere and avoiding them is harder and harder to do. While we can do our best, our liver still works hard to keep our body’s clean.
One of the main responsibilities our liver has is to purify our blood of toxins. These toxins could actually be produced by our body. When our body breaks down protein, it produces toxins that enter our bloodstream. This is normal and our liver is made to deal with it, but our diets today consists of large quantities of meat which can cause our liver to work overtime,
10 Best Liver Detoxes
With our livers working so hard from all the meat we consume and the ever-growing level of toxins around us, it’s important that we keep it as healthy as possible. Here are the 10 best ways to ensure your liver is strong and up to the challenge of detoxifying our bodies.
Herbal Bitters
Bitter medicines are an herbalist’s favorite remedy. The bitter taste stimulates digestive processes, including the liver’s production of bile. Bile is made up partially of digestive juices and part waste product. It is made by the liver and excreted via the bowel along with toxins that come in through the intestine walls.
St. Mary’s Thistle
St. Mary’s thistle works to protect liver cells from the dangers of alcohol or carbon tetrachloride. It also serves to regenerate liver cells that have already been damaged.
Lemon Juice
Having a big glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon is known to be a great way to start the day, for multiple reasons. One of them is what it does for your life. The sourness of the lemon triggers nerve and hormone activation to the liver and digestive system. This also helps for those suffering from constipation.
Brussel Sprouts
Like other vegetables in the brassica family (think cabbage and broccoli), Brussel sprouts contain glucosinolates. Glucosinolates contain sulfur, a compound that protects the liver from damage and improves its ability to eliminate toxins and excess hormones.
Turmeric
The spice that gives curries their yellow color and used to dye the robes of Hindu priests is also one of the most powerful natural healers in the world. It has incredible anti-inflammatory abilities, especially for the liver helping protect it from diseases and viruses. We love these turmeric capsules by BioSchwartz.
Crab Apple
Also known as the Bach flower, crab apple works for those who put unnecessary stress on their body, making themselves toxic. Although mostly used for emotional purposes, Crab Apple is great as a natural detox for your body.
Water
Maybe obvious, drinking sufficient fluids such as water, tea and herbal tea, improves the flow of nutrients to, and waste products from, the liver. Not drinking enough water could lead to gallstones, which occurs when there is a buildup of bile in the gallbladder.
Zinc
Zinc is important to many enzyme reactions in the body, particularly the liver enzyme. It is used to break down alcohol into less toxic substances that can be moved through the body. We suggest these zinc supplements by Garden of Life.
Dandelion Root
Dandelion root coffee is black and bitter which makes it an excellent coffee alternative if you are keen on improving your liver health.
Methionine
Methionine is an essential amino acid that is vital for different detoxification processes performed by the liver. It is also part of a compound called glutathione that is an antioxidant that protects liver and other cells from damage.
Anyone of these methods is great for liver health, and a healthy liver means a healthy body!
