15 ways to detox your liver
The liver is the heaviest and most important organ in the human body, performing over 500 important functions.
Its main job is filtering the blood to remove harmful toxins like food additives, alcohol, drugs, pesticides, and other chemicals that are toxic for the body.
It also helps the body to utilize and store important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
If the liver becomes damaged from consuming too many toxins, it is unable to filter the blood properly and it becomes inflamed and damaged.
A damaged liver can lead to fatty liver disease, hormone imbalances, diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, weight gain and liver cirrhosis.
In today's video we will share with you 15 ways to detoxify your liver. These methods will rapidly improve liver function and protect your overall health long term.
1. Cruciferous Vegetables
In the modern world the liver is constantly bombarded with chemical toxins from our environment and the junk foods that we eat.
These chemicals damage the liver cells leading liver disease, hormone imbalances, brain fog, sleep apnoea, insulin resistance and other problems in the body.
To help the liver remove these harmful toxins, you should eat organic cruciferous vegetables every single day such as kale, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, watercress and cabbage.
These nutrient dense vegetables are packed full of natural bio-active compounds like sulfur which trigger phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification in the liver. This means that the liver can break down toxins into small particles and get rid of them quickly.
2. Exercise (HIIT)
Many people suffer with a fatty liver for years without noticing any symptoms, which leads to health problems down the line.
HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is the best form of exercise when it comes to preventing and repairing a fatty liver.
This form of exercise speeds up fat burning and helps to strip away fat from the hepatic liver cells. HIIT is effective in reversing both alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) and none alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) when combined with a healthy eating plan.
3. Turmeric
Turmeric is an ancient spice used in India for thousands of years as a natural medicine. Modern studies show that turmeric is rich in a natural compound called curcumin.
Curcumin has been shown in studies to reverse fatty liver disease and rapidly reduce inflammation in the liver cells.
You can purchase turmeric as the fresh root, in powdered form or capsule form. Be sure to take this with a little black pepper, which helps the body to absorb curcumin.
4. Glutathione
Glutathione is one of the most important antioxidants used in the body to protect, detox and restore liver health.
Boosting your levels of this can reduce damage caused by alcohol abuse, excessive sugar and junk food, hepatitis and environmental toxins.
We highly recommend consuming bone broth as this contains three important ingredients and amino acids that the body uses to make glutathione.
Avocados, broccoli, garlic, radishes, wild caught salmon, kale, walnuts, asparagus and watercress all help the liver to produce more glutathione.
5. Avoid Soy
Foods containing soy can be disastrous for the health of the liver. These are often grown genetically modified (GMO) and are coated in glyphosate, a dangerous herbicide toxin that the liver cannot remove easily.
Soy is also one of the leading causes of hormone imbalance in both women and men along with other foods grown with herbicides and chemicals.
Look for organic foods and stay away from foods which contain soy protein isolates. The Japanese consume Natto, a fermented form of soy beans which are much healthier for the liver.
6. Choline
This is one of the key nutrients needed to maintain normal liver function, and is needed when detoxifying the liver. It helps the organ to strip away unwanted fatty deposits.
You can get choline into the diet by consuming beef liver, pasture raised egg yolks and Brussels sprouts.
We also recommend taking a supplement of at least 400mg choline daily to speed up liver cleansing if you have liver problems.
7. Fruit
Many of the sweeter fruits can be found higher on the glycaemic index. The fructose sugar in these fruits is sent directly to the liver through the portal vein and can cause damage when eaten in large amounts.
Switch to low glycaemic healthy berries, like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.
These fruits contain more fibre which help to buffer the damage caused by fructose and protect the liver. The Vitamin C in berries and phytonutrients also reduce inflammation in the liver cells.
8. Keto
A healthy ketogenic diet is very popular for reversing liver damage and improving the health of the entire body.
This is a low carb, moderate protein and high fat diet. This form of eating lowers the stress on the liver by reducing insulin resistance and inflammation.
It also ensures that you receive the most nutrients that are needed for healing and detoxification.
9. Enzymes
Taking a daily supplement with digestive enzymes helps your stomach to break down foods and absorb more nutrients which are needed to detox and repair the liver.
We highly recommend formulas which include ox bile, or purified bile salts. These aid the gallbladder and liver in breaking down and using fat properly.
10. Methionine
Methionine is an essential amino acid needed by the liver to perform many important functions. A lack of this can lead to fatty liver disease (NAFLD) so we must get this in our diets.
This can be found in beef, chicken, pork, nuts and eggs. Always look for organic grass-fed animal products, as these are the purest and healthiest sources of protein for the liver.
11. DIM
People who have a fatty liver will often suffer with hormone imbalances, as the liver is unable to regulate important hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
You can take a daily supplement of DIM (Diindolylmethane) to aid the liver in balancing hormones by removing harmful toxins called endocrine disruptors.
12. Intermittent Fasting
Eating all of your calories in a short window during the day forces your body to burn up extra sugars.
This creates a sort of vacuum, where the body starts burning fat as a fuel source, helping to strip visceral fat from the liver.
This will improve the function of the organ and help it to naturally detoxify itself and continue to filter out toxins from the blood.
13. Apple Cider Vinegar
Drink a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water before each meal to strengthen digestion.
This stimulates bile production in the liver and gallbladder, which helps to dissolve fat and clean out and heal the liver.
14. Chemicals
Whenever the body comes into contact with unnatural chemicals it has the potential to absorb them. The liver must clean out these toxins however small they may be.
Try to wear gloves when in contact with cleaning products, and avoid inhaling antiperspirants and potent aerosols.
Limit your exposure to spray tans, hair dying, bleaches and other products and use natural products to protect your long-term health.
15. Green Tea
Last but not least, matcha green tea is a herbal drink rich in a green pigment called chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll supports stage 2 detoxification enzymes in the liver which breaks down stored toxins into small particles to expel.
The tea also has a potent anti-inflammatory effect and can protect the liver from scarring and cirrhosis.
As you can see there are many things to think about when it comes to detoxifying the liver.
Following the methods in today's video will help to detoxify the liver so that you can live a fuller, healthier and longer life.
With a fully functioning liver, your body is able to maintain itself throughout the years and continue its process in filtering 1.7 litres of blood per minute.
Drink a good quality mineral water each day from a volcanic source to supply important trace minerals which are needed in many liver functions.
You can also eat a small handful of walnuts each day to supply zinc and selenium which further improve the metabolic processes in the liver.
In our other videos, we discuss a list of foods that fight fatty liver disease, foods that damage the liver and hidden symptoms of liver problems. You can see these by selecting the "liver health" playlist at the end of today's video.
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