According to the American Liver Foundation, at least 30 million people — that’s 1 in 10 of us — have some form of liver disease. Yet, most folks don’t even realize their liver health is compromised.
Poor liver health has become a hidden epidemic here in America because your liver is under constant assault from…
- Pollution in the air your breathe–As many as8.8 billion pounds of toxic pollutionhave been pumped into the atmosphere in the last 25 years. Your liver is your body’s first line of defense against these as you unknowingly breathe them into your body day in and day out.
- Additives in the foods you eat–Dr. Robert Lustig, of the University of California, San Francisco, warns, “Of the 600,000 food items currently in the American grocery store, 80 percent of them have added sugar”.Some of the worst offenders are so-called health foods like yogurt, fat-free salad dressing and frozen diet dinners that tend to be LOADED with sugar. Experts like Dr. Lustig warn that all this sugar is as toxic to your liver as hard alcohol.
- Dangerous over-the-counter drugs–Do youpop Tylenol to manage aches and pains? If so, you could be putting your liver at SERIOUS risk. The FDA recently cautioned that the acetaminophen in Tylenol and OTC drugs can cause liver damage. Frighteningly, accidental acetaminophen overdose sends 78,000 Americans to the emergency room every year, resulting in thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Your liver (working in partnership with your kidneys) is the most powerful detoxification system on the planet.
As our world has become increasingly toxic, however, your liver becomes overworked and struggles to do the job it was designed to do.
When your liver is overworked you experience symptoms like fatigue, skin rashes, yellow eyes (jaundice), weakened immunity and, especially, rapid and stubborn weight gain.
Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do from the comfort of your own home that will help to detox your liver and get it back to functioning at full power.
Let’s look at 11 tips you can use to detox your liver:
1. Drink Green Tea Daily
Kick off your day with a steaming cup of green tea. Your liver will thank you for it!
Green tea containscatechins, which help to support healthy liver function and in addition to that, it’ll also help to boost your metabolic rate as well.
It’s a win-win.
2. Take Milk Thistle
Next, consider using a supplement that contains milk thistle as an active ingredient. This powerful supplement has been proven to help fight oxidation in the body as well as reverse the process of cirrhosis.
It’s a great way to boost liver health in a hurry.
3. Spice Up Your Meals With Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a sweet tasting spice that you may want to start incorporating into your diet a little more often.
This spice can help to regulate blood glucose levels very well, which then can reduce the chance of glucose conversion into triglycerides in the body and reduce your risk of fatty liver disease.
4. Get Regular Exercise
Exercise really is the cure-all for almost everything.
Even when it comes to your liver, sustaining a regular exercise program is a great way to help stimulate digestion and help to assist with proper liver function.
5. Sip On Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a fast way to neutralize the toxins that clog up your liver and make you sick.
In addition to powerful detoxification properties, apple cider vinegar could help stabilize blood sugar levels and fight diabetes. Lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. And promote weight loss by controlling appetite.
For a simple, delicious recipe try our Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Elixir.
6. Eat Artichokes Regularly
One vegetable to start taking in more regularly is artichokes. These are going to have very good benefits for the liver cells as they can improve its function, support proper bile production, as well as improve the digestion of foods to deliver nutrients throughout the body.
Anyone who is concerned with heart disease will also benefit from including artichokes in their diet as well as they can help to reduce the amount of triglycerides in the body as well.
7. Chew Food Thoroughly
It sounds like common knowledge, but most people are not taking the time to chew their food thoroughly enough to really maintain good liver health.
Chewing your food stimulates digestive enzymes in the body, so this can help the liver perform more optimally.
Make sure to take only bite sized amounts in as well as that will also support a healthier liver.
8. Enjoy a Juicy Slice of Watermelon
Watermelon is one of my favorite summertime sweet treats. Not only is watermelon delicious, it’s also very good for your liver health.
Watermelon is a detox champ because it’s loaded with the organic compound citrulline, an amino acid that helps the liver and kidneys flush out ammonia.
Enjoy watermelon by the slice, or try it in our thirst-quenching Watermelon Detox Water recipe.
9. Avoid Processed Foods
Taking a pass onprocessed foodsis another wayto treat your liver with TLC.
Processed foods will really put you at a higher risk of obesity as well as liver malfunction, so you need to keep them out of your diet at all costs.
10. Get More Garlic in Your Diet
Garlic is a superfood that we need to eat more of here in America.
Garlic contains a certain compound, allicin, that supports the liver’s detoxification performance. It does this by flushing heavy metals, nitrogen, and excess hormones from the liver.
For best results, chomp on a few cloves of RAW garlic. If that taste is too much for you, a high-quality garlic capsule will also do the trick.
11. Add a Touch of Turmeric to Your Life
Turmeric is the spice that gives Indian curry its striking gold color. It’s also one of the healthiest spices you can eat.
This super-spice has been used for generations in Ayurvedic medicine to treat a wide range of conditions including back and joint pain, colds, high cholesterol, IBS, Crohn’s disease, skin rashes, and more.
It also has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that can support liver health by making it easier for your liver to repair damaged cells.
Add a dash of turmeric to your favorite dishes or enjoy it in our rich, creamy Golden Milk recipe.
Love Your Liver
Your liver is responsible for impacting everything from how your body fights off disease to how quickly and easily you shed pounds.
All told, your liver plays a role in more than 500 different bodily processes. It’s your body’s ultimate multitasker.
Follow the simple suggestion in this article to give your liver the support it needs to function at its best.
When your liver is healthy you’ll be amazed at how you surge with energy, how you swat away sniffles and sneezes, and how much easier it is to shed unwanted pounds.
Go ahead and give your liver the TLC it deserves! And if you found this article helpful, please share it by clicking on one of the social share icons (Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) at the bottom of your screen. Thank you!
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Your turn:Which of these liver detox tips are you going to try? Do you have a good liver detox tip we didn’t cover in this article? Share it with us in the comments section below!
Thank you Dr. Livingston for these ways in which you have advised to help detox the liver. However I have been applying all of these changes to my eating/drinking regimen and am suffering severe liver pain again. I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic FLD, in June, 2014. This most recent reoccurrence began after my PCP prescribed valsartan, to my many other med’s. I also have hypothyroidism, & take Synthesis 75mg. 1x in the a.m. Have HBP, for 24 yrs. &have been treated w/Metropolol 25mg 1 & 1/2 tablet, 1 x day. Also due to mental illness, take 200 mg of Lamotrigine 1x day, Sertraline 100 mg 1x day. I also have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, but I choose not to take stating med for that. I do not eat any meat except grilled salmon/fish, & occasionally grilled chicken. Eat lots of organic greens, baby spinach, kale, broccoli, unsweetened almond milk, I usually blend foods so easy to digest, also have heard & have been on omeprazole 40 mg. 2x day, promethazine for inflamed upper digestive tract, & pain. Drink lots of water, filtered, nuts, crushed, walnuts, almonds, unsalted sunflower seeds. Long story I know, but I stopped the valsartan this a.m. have taken 2 of my 300mg Milk Thistle, I use Bragg’s organic apple cider vinegar of the mother, organic sauerkraut, blueberries, avacodos, drink herbal teas, & have cut out caffeine, and use local honey from good shepherd health food store here in Cookeville TN, along w/ginger powder, cinnamon. I’m at my wit’s end. Can you suggest any thing more I might be able to do to get relief? If you have taken the time to read this I am most grateful. Sincerely P. Rittenberry
Hi Peggy, wow, I can understand why you’d be at your wits end. I’d be at my wits end also. You diet seems fine. It sounds like the only issues I could see is that fish contain heavy metals and if you are eating alot of fish, you run the risk of getting more heavy metals in your body. Also, you may not be eating enough calories. When you are eating clean, sometimes this can become a problem because of the fact that clean foods aren’t calorie dense. The biggest culprit in my opinion are the interactions of all the drugs you are taking. If you go and read the side effects of each of those I bet you are suffering from the symptoms listed on those sheets. Not to mention the interactions between the medicines. If this were me, I’d be seeking a second opinion from a functional medicine doctor in my town.
The article was great.
I’m hoping that doing these things will not further harm my liver. I have already been diagnosed with fatty liver disease and autoimmune hepatitis of the liver. I have been trying to lose the weight I put on while on bedrest but having a very difficult time. I am still unable to walk any distance. Hoping these helps.
Hello! So sorry to hear that 🙁 Get rid of wheat and dairy for the next couple months and I bet you will see improvements.
Thank you for these simple yet vital suggestions without charging me. Allison, 52