7 Amazing Foods That Cleanse Your Liver Naturally

Today’s blog is republished from my friends at PaleoHacks, a leading publisher of daily health tips that I personally read every day… Here is the link back to the original article

By Samantha Gladish, PaleoHacks.com

Do you need a liver detox? Here are the best natural foods that will cleanse your liver naturally!

Have you been slugging through your day, extremely exhausted? Are you struggling with your digestive and gut health? What about extra sensitivity to perfumes and smells? If you checked yes to any of these questions, this could be a sign that your liver is on overload.

As your main detoxifying organ, your liver is impacted by everything you come in contact with. It works hard to detoxify toxic chemicals and carcinogens naturally, but did you know common detox kits aren’t enough to maintain your liver’s productivity?

Heading out to your local health food store and buying a 10-day detox kit just won’t gonna cut it! As much as those kits can be effective in “cleaning you out,” they really don’t address the biggest and most important issue, which is food! So, how do you cleanse your liver?

Tweet – “When it comes to detoxification, it’s all about the food, or more specifically, the nutrients needed to support detoxification on a daily basis.”

It’s true, we detoxify daily, which is why only 10 days won’t cut it. Toxins can be found in the food we eat, our environment, household cleaning products, and even our furniture! Our bodies are in a constant state of toxic overloaded.

There are numerous ways to gently and safely detoxify our bodies. For example, eating more herbs, consuming more supplements, and choosing clean organic whole foods are all things we can incorporate into our daily lives.

But before we dive into what to eat, let’s first understand what detoxification is all about.

What is Detoxification?

Detoxification is about resting, cleaning, and nourishing the body from the inside out. By eliminating toxins and nourishing your body, detoxification can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimal health.

In other words, we’ve got to eliminate toxins and feed our bodies natural foods to help us feel at our best. The foods you choose to eat play a vital role in eliminating toxins from your body, as well as supporting different organ systems.

Your Liver

As your main detoxifying organ, your liver has over 500 functions in the body. Consequently, your liver is constantly ridding your body of waste, metabolizing hormones, and assisting in digestion.

Tweet – “Combining vitamins A, B, and C with minerals such as zinc, magnesium, calcium and selenium are all important for supporting detoxification and the liver.”

Several amino aids are also important for improving detoxification and eliminating chemicals from your body. Cysteine and methionine in particular help to prevent oxidation and bind to heavy metals such as mercury to help flush them from your system.

An incredibly powerful and important antioxidant needed for detoxification is glutathione. This antioxidant works to decrease toxins accumulated from smoke, radiation, auto exhaust, chemicals, drugs, and many other carcinogens.

Since your liver is your main detoxifying powerhouse, it is important to eat foods that optimize the health of the liver and supply you with many of the vitamins and minerals mentioned above.

7 Foods That Cleanse Your Liver:

Garlic

Contains sulfur compounds that are essential for supporting the liver and activating liver enzymes that are responsible for flushing out toxins and waste from the body. Garlic also contains selenium, an important mineral and nutrient that assists in detoxification and supports the thyroid gland.

Citrus Fruits

Lemons, limes and grapefruits are all natural sources of vitamin C and contain many potent antioxidants. Like garlic, citrus fruits have the ability to boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes.

Broccoli

Along with other brassica vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower, broccoli contains sulfur compounds, just like garlic, that help to support the detoxification process and the health of the liver. In fact, these fibrous veggies can help flush out toxins from your gut, and they contain compounds that help support the liver in metabolizing hormones.

Avocado

This incredible fruit contains glutathione, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect the liver from incoming waste and toxins. It also assists the liver in eliminating these chemicals from your body and protects against cellular damage.

Leafy Vegetables

The bitterer, the better! Your liver loves bitter, so load up on dandelion, rapini, arugula, mustard greens and chicory. These leafy greens contain numerous cleansing compounds that neutralize heavy metals, which can slow down the liver’s ability to detoxify. Plus, they help to stimulate bile flow.

Turmeric

This incredible herb contains a boatload of antioxidants that help to repair the liver cells, protect against cellular damage and assist in detoxification. Turmeric is particularly good at helping the liver detox from heavy metals and assist in hormone metabolism. Turmeric also boosts the production of bile and improves the health of the gallbladder.

You can make an array of yummy eats using turmeric, ranging from pumpkin and turmeric soup to “golden ice.”

Walnuts

These oddly-shaped nuts contain high levels of l-arginine, glutathione, and omega-3 fatty acids, all of which help to detoxify the liver and support toxin elimination. Plus, they are great for fighting inflammation and supporting the health of the brain.

A simple and delicious way to include many of the above liver-loving foods is to juice them. If you don’t have a juicer, you can make the recipe below using a blender.

Here is a potent detoxifying juice you can make at home to cleanse your liver and overall health.

Total Time:
2 MINS
Cook Time:
1 min
Prep Time:
1 min
Serves:
1 jar

Mean Green Detox Juice

Detoxification is a daily process. It is essential that we support our liver and all elimination organs with high-quality foods and specific nutrients. This will increase our body’s ability to eliminate the toxins and chemicals it comes in contact with, and will help to support our health and overall longevity.

Tools

Juicer or blender

Ingredients

4 large dandelion leaves
4 cups arugula
3 celery stalks
2 large broccoli stalks
2 carrots
1 lemon (with peel on)
½ a grapefruit

Instructions

Process all ingredients through a juicer. Alternatively, if you have a high-speed blender, you can make this into a smoothie.

Be sure to add enough water to blend your ingredients, and feel free to pour the mix through a sieve to strain out the fiber.