The liver is the largest gland the body has and is responsible for more than 500 different bodily functions. The liver is in charge of storing iron and vitamins, converting sugar storages into sugar that can be used to replenish blood sugar levels when they get low, make bile which is used to pull apart and digest fats, destroy old red blood cells and so much more.

The liver’s most important function, however, is acting as a filter of sorts. The liver works to clean out our blood from toxins and harmful substances. Most of the toxins the liver takes care of coming from things like alcohol, illicit drugs, tobacco, processed food and beauty products, particularly when larger quantities are used.

For the liver to be capable of taking on all these complex tasks, it needs a whole lot of nutrients in the form of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

The liver is, thankfully, fantastically good at regenerating and fixing itself. If you give the liver a chance to rest from things it has to constantly filter out, it can do a whole lot of work just on its own to renew itself and get back to working at full capacity.

The word “detox” is often associated with lemons, cayenne pepper, and other strong substances mixed into a blend to make some kind of cleansing concoction. However, detoxing the liver doesn’t need to be such a radical process. A detox generally means cleaning the body out from toxins and to do this for your liver you don’t need much.

How to Detox Your Liver

As we talked about above, your liver has the amazing ability to sort of recharge itself. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything to help it, but it does make the process a lot easier.

The first step in any successful liver detox has got to be reducing or removing from your life the things that are providing your body with toxins. Common things that need to be cut out include tobacco, refined sugars, excessive coffee, and most importantly: alcohol. Once you’ve taken this step, the next thing to do will be introducing certain foods and/or vitamin and mineral supplements into your daily diet.

Here are a few great foods you can incorporate into your daily diet that will assist in detoxing your liver:

  • Tea is, and has long been, known to be good for your health. Green tea, specifically, is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body and cells from oxidative damage and stress.
  • Cruciferous vegetables, like kale, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli, are an excellent source of glutathione. Glutathione is an antioxidant that kick starts the liver’s toxin cleansing process. Ingesting these types of vegetables will boost how much glucosinolate your system makes. This will flush other toxins like carcinogens out of your system.
  • Turmericis not just a spice and a pigment. It has been used for centuries in India due to its medicinal properties. It contains curcumin and antioxidant properties that help the enzymes flush toxins out of the system, speeding up the process of healing for the liver.
  • Citrus is the strongest source of vitamin C you’ll find and contains two important antioxidants—naringenin and naringin—which can protect the liver from harm by protecting cells in the liver and decreasing inflammation.
  • Garlic has long been known as nature’s own antibiotic. It has got loads of Sulphur, used to activate liver enzymes that work to flush toxins out. Selenium is another micronutrient in garlic that boosts levels of antioxidant enzymes in the liver.
  • Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, amino acid arginine, and glutathione, all of which are useful in detoxing the liver, particularly when detoxifying from ammonia.
  • Olive Oil is counted amongst the healthy fats. Other cold-pressed organic oils like flaxseed and hemp, provide the liver with a liquid base that absorbs a large number of toxins before they can reach the liver.
  • Beetroots are another vegetable that is high in vitamin C and fiber, both of which are natural digestive system cleansers. Beets can also quickly break down toxic waste, speeding up the excretion process.

how to detox your liver

How to do a Liver Cleanse

As previously mentioned, the liver is the body’s main filtration system. It cleans out toxins and helps metabolize medications and nutrients for the body and so much more. Because it’s such an important part of our bodily functions, it’s only logical that we’d want to keep our livers in good shape and avoid overloading our livers with toxins through overindulgence.

Some say that liver disease is unavoidable and that no matter what you do it’s bound to happen. This is, however, not true, and there are a couple of things you can do to keep your liver as clean as possible and likely stay away from any serious liver problems.

Liver-GI
Liver GI

The first and most important thing is to make sure not to drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Keep your alcohol consumption down to three drinks a day and you’ll be giving your liver plenty of space for regeneration and cleansing.

Through eating healthy food and exercising you can avoid unhealthy weight gains, which can cause the development of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Avoid risky behavior, such as having unprotected sex or taking illicit drugs, as these things can both, directly and indirectly, send toxins to your liver.

If you contract a real liver disease—such as hepatitis A, B, or C—it’s imperative that you visit your physician and get yourself proper medication to deal with the problem.

how to do a liver cleanse

Liver Cleanse Tablets

Over the past few years, more and more products for liver cleanses have come to the market. It’s important to make sure that the liver detox supplements you’re using are not used as a type of hangover cure, as this is not what they’re meant for.

Some people have tried using liver cleanse products as a way to achieve weight loss. While this might make you lose some extra weight, it’s not a healthy way to get there and you can end up doing more damage than good. Make sure you’re getting the proper nutrition if you’re going to use liver cleanse tablets, and don’t starve yourself!

All in all, there’s a lot you can do to provide yourself with good liver support and avoid liver diseases. Through providing your liver with sufficient vitamins and minerals through foods or dietary supplements, getting proper exercise, and limiting the number of toxins you take into your body, you can keep your liver safe and stay away from serious damage.