How to Cleanse your Liver
The liver is an important organ of the body that performs a wide range of functions from removing toxins to producing and excreting bile to activating enzymes. The human body comes in contact with different kinds of toxins throughout the day – thus the need for a serious detox. You will be able to enjoy a good and healthy life only when your body will remove the toxins effectively.
Your liver is one of the mediums through which toxins move out of your body. It works hard and round the clock to digest food, break down hormones and store essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals. This is why it is important to know all the ways to detox your liver and remove toxins more easily.
What is a liver cleanse?
Also called a “liver detox” or “liver flush,” a liver cleanse is an intentional reset of the liver’s natural detoxification pathways.
While liver cleanses are typically advertised as short-term solutions in the form of pricey juice cleanses or intense detoxification diets, we believe that a truly effective and sustainable liver detox involves the implementation of strategic nutrition and lifestyle shifts (e.g., tailored supplementation, sweating regularly, managing daily stress, and adopting a liver-friendly diet) that support your liver’s ability to remove unwanted toxins.
Are liver “cleanses” necessary?
The liver is a workhorse. It’s your body’s primary filtration system—it converts toxins into waste products, cleanses your blood, metabolizes a wide range of compounds (from nutrients and alcohol to medications), and produces proteins and bile. And while a healthy liver naturally cleanses itself, dietary stressors and environmental and toxins can get in the way of optimal liver function.
More than ever before, our bodies are bombarded with environmental toxins, from pollution to chemicals in our everyday products, preservatives in the foods we eat, and plastics, well, everywhere. These stressors can deplete nutrient stores, cause a buildup of unwanted compounds in the body, like contaminants, and lead to health implications down the road—all of which give our livers more work to do.
So, helping this vital organ only seems fair—whether you call it a liver “cleanse,” “detox,” or just a healthy lifestyle, prioritizing your liver health will have whole-body ramifications. Even though we can’t necessarily control 100% of our exposure to pollutants and chemicals, we can make strategic diet and lifestyle shifts that counter their effects by supporting the liver’s detoxification pathways and lightening our overall toxic load.
Signs of an Unhealthy Liver
Think back to the time in your life when you felt the healthiest. How does your current state compare? If you don’t feel as full of vitality, then it could be a sign that your liver needs some support or that your diet and lifestyle need a general overhaul.
Listed below is a list of symptoms that you might experience when suffering from impaired liver function.
- Constipation
- High blood pressure
- Dark urine
- Bloating & gas
- Acid reflux & heartburn
- Inability to lose weight
- Chronic fatigue
- Easily get bruised
- Poor appetite
- Moodiness, anxiety or depression
- Rosacea
- Sweating excessively
If you hold extra weight, consume too much refined sugar, drink more alcohol than recommended, have a high toxin burden, or struggle with gut health issues, your liver may be impacted.
What damages liver function?
There are plenty of factors that can put an unnecessary burden on your body’s main detoxifying organ, all of which you should take steps to remedy (and we’re here to help):
1. Holding extra weight
Back in the day, our fat cells were thought of as static. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Indeed, excess adiposity, aka body fat, is linked to a wide range of issues with metabolic dysfunction, and the liver is not immune to these aberrant pathways.
The storage affinity for toxins in fat cells poses a real problem. And most environmental chemicals like pesticides and plastics are stored in your fat tissue. To ensure optimal liver (and overall) well-being, prioritizing healthy body composition is key.
2. Excessive sugar
One of the many roles of the liver is to make fat out of fructose. When you consume too much refined sugar, it can affect lipogenesis in the liver and lead to health concerns. “Lipogenesis” comes from the Greek words “lípos,” meaning “fat,” and “gignesthai,” meaning “to be born,” and is defined as the metabolic formation (i.e., the “birth” or origin) of fat.
While fats are healthy and beneficial in the other parts of the body (think omega-3s for the cardiovascular and central nervous systems), fat accumulation in the liver (e.g., from consuming too much refined sugar) is something to be avoided, as extra fat in this workhorse organ gets in the way of its efficiency.
3. Too much alcohol
The liver is charged with processing a lot of things, including alcohol. Anything in excess is typically not associated with overall well-being, and alcohol would likely make the top of the list of things we should refrain from indulging in. Women should aim for no more than one drink per day, and men no more than two.
To be clear, one for women and two for men is a max level, not a daily recommended need. Some people treat it like the latter. At the end of the day, alcohol is a toxin. And as the science indicates for cardiovascular and overall long term health, limiting alcohol intake is just common sense.
4. Exposure to toxins
Higher cumulative exposures over time to compounds and chemicals found in processed foods, pesticide residues, paint, certain plastics (e.g. BPA), heavy metals, aerosols (e.g. benzene), thermal paper like shopping receipts, plus so much more, can place a burden on your liver and the rest of your body’s intricate detoxification pathways and organs (skin, gut, lungs, spleen, lymphatic system, kidneys).
Avoid these types of inputs whenever possible, and if you can’t, it might be a good idea to consider detoxing daily as part of a proactive wellness lifestyle.
5. Suboptimal gut health
Nurturing your gut health is key to promoting sufficient detox pathways in the liver and throughout the body. Your gastrointestinal tract is not just a tube—it’s an active barrier that helps your body digest and absorb nutrients (into your bloodstream), while simultaneously protecting you from and removing unwanted compounds.
When your gut health isn’t top notch, toxins have the potential to enter the blood and unnecessarily tax the liver. While still a growing area of research2, it’s thought the integrity of gut lining is tied to food sensitivities, inflammatory status, and whole-body health (including that of liver).
Best Simple Ways to Cleanse your Liver
A liver cleanse or detox is a lifestyle change. There’s no magic bullet when it comes to a liver cleanse or detox—and anything marketed as such (ahem, a liver flush) is rightfully questioned.
However, there are a number of small, research-backed actions you can take to reduce your liver’s workload and promote overall health. Incorporate some of the suggestions below (preferably under the guidance of your health care provider), and over time, your body and liver will thank you.
1. Consume more water
Starting off easy, water is great and one of the best ways to detox your liver. When the toxins in the liver don’t move, it causes us problems. When we consume more water, the liver is able to move the toxins out more effectively. However, not any water will help with full detoxification. You must drink filtered tap water at specific intervals and it should also be at room temperature.
Drinking water when waking up, in between meals, avoiding too much water 2 hours before bed, not while eating and drinking water in the early evening can be very effective. A pinch of salt or turmeric in your water can do wonders for your detoxification process. While you are at it, avoid carbonated water or water sold in plastic beverage containers.
2. Sweating is the way to go
It is imperative for your body to sweat. If you are sweating simply by walking or due to the weather, it won’t help you much. The sweat coming out of your body as a result of exercise has its detoxifying benefits. If you haven’t been working out, start indulging in a regular exercise regime to allow the toxins to come out of your body. Yoga, going running, hitting the gym or a simple sauna session can also prove effective. Sweating is the way to go if you are looking for simple ways to detox your liver.
3. Say goodbye to toxic foods
Fast food has become a way of life. Without knowing, we consume great quantities of processed foods that put the liver’s health at risk. Refined oils, sugar and convenience foods add more toxins to our system and deprive it of needed nourishment. So, if you are thinking of how to detox your liver, then saying goodbye to processed food is an important change that you must make in your diet. Replace such foods with liver-friendly healthy choices.
4. Raw vegetable juice to the rescue
Including all raw vegetables in your diet can be a bit daunting for most people. However, if you don’t wish to miss out on all the amazing benefits of raw vegetables, you can juice them out. Be creative and mix different vegetables to get a juice that is rich in taste and also cleanse your liver in the wake.
If your liver isn’t functioning at its optimum capacity, vegetable juice will also be much easier to digest and ready for absorption. It will help you to reduce acid levels in the body and reach a healthy pH balance – it’s one of the best ways to detox your liver.
5. You need potassium rich foods
The human body needs the recommended 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day. When your food is potassium-rich, it helps in cleansing your liver, lowering the systolic blood pressure, and cholesterol and supporting a healthy cardiovascular system. Foods like sweet potato, tomato sauces, beet greens & spinach, beans, and bananas are high in potassium. When you start consuming such foods regularly, you don’t have to think about how to detox your liver. These foods will do wonders.
6. Liver support supplements
Sometimes, the simple ways to detox your liver stated above can take a little time to work their charm. To speed up the detoxification process you can take help of liver support supplements. Beetroot and turmeric are some natural supplements, but there are also medications that you can choose from. They will help you detoxify the liver and ensure a healthy liver function.
Conclusion
While a healthy liver naturally cleanses itself, dietary stressors and environmental toxins can get in the way of optimal liver function. Making strategic diet and lifestyle shifts can help counter their effects, support the liver’s detoxification, and lighten our overall toxic load.
If you hold extra weight, consume too much refined sugar, drink more alcohol than recommended, have a high toxin burden, or struggle with gut health issues, your liver may be impacted.
These best ways to cleanse your liver are something that every individual must try to make sure that the body is detoxifying. However, if these methods don’t work then it is imperative that you seek the help of a doctor. The seasoned doctors will help you eliminate any ailment and set you on the path to a better life.