9 Natural Liver Detox Methods To Try

11.9.2021 0 comments

Author: Trisha Houghton, CNS, ASIST

Your liver does SO MUCH work keeping toxins and harmful chemicals from damaging your body.

Your digestive system serves as the first line of defense to protect against bacteria, germs, and microbes that could cause you harm. Unfortunately, the digestive tract isn’t perfect, so some toxins—such as alcohol, drugs, and chemicals in the food—do slip past and get into your bloodstream. That’s when it’s up to your liver to filter your blood and get rid of anything harmful. [1]

But how much do you know about what your liver really does? What do you know about the detoxification process in your liver and how it protects your overall health?

That’s what we’re going to find out in this blog post.

Below, we’ll look at why liver detoxes are important, and how toxins build up in your liver in the first place. Then we’ll get into the really critical stuff: the simple but highly efficient natural detox methods that will boost your liver health.

And keep reading to the end, because we’ve got an absolute game-changer liver detox solution you need to know about coming up.

Introduction: How Your Liver Detoxifies the Body

Your liver is a soft, spongy organ located just below your lungs on your right side. It’s made up of two separate lobes: the (smaller) left lobe and the (larger) right lobe.

Your liver is a deep red color because it’s filled with blood. The average liver will contain around 1 pint of blood at any given time. That’s around 13% of your total blood volume.

The liver’s soft, spongy tissue acts as a filter for the blood that runs through it. It’s estimated that around a liter of blood is filtered every minute. That adds up to quite a lot: 22 gallons of blood per hour, or 250 gallons per day.

With the average human body containing anywhere from 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood, that means all the blood in your body is filtered hundreds of times every day.

The way it works is:

• Blood enters your liver via the portal vein and the hepatic artery. These distribute blood to the right and left liver lobes.
• The blood vessels branch into smaller vessels, which deliver blood throughout the liver lobules (smaller sections of the liver).
• In the lobules are cells that process the blood and ducts that transport bile and empty the filtered blood into the veins that lead to the hepatic veins and ultimately the inferior vena cava.
• Blood exits via the inferior vena cava and bile flows out the hepatic ducts to head to the gallbladder for storage or the small intestine for use.

The liver filters blood and removes toxins like alcohol, caffeine, drugs, and chemicals. It neutralizes some for the bloodstream and sends harmful ones to be expelled via urine and feces.

Over time, toxins can accumulate if the liver processes more than it can eliminate, especially with excessive alcohol, strong medications, or high toxin exposure. This buildup can cause inflammation and damage, reducing liver function and slowing toxin removal.

If left unchecked, impaired liver function can lead to serious conditions like cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or liver cancer.

The good news is that you don’t need to let it go that far! A detox-focused balanced diet can help you get rid of the toxins from your liver, enabling it to repair and restore itself to full function.

Why Liver Detox is Important

Now, we need to be perfectly clear: there is a great deal of mixed opinion and research on whether or not a natural detox for the liver truly works.

For example, one review [2] said, “a handful of clinical studies have shown that commercial detox diets enhance liver detoxification and eliminate persistent organic pollutants from the body, although these studies are hampered by flawed methodologies and small sample sizes. There is preliminary evidence to suggest that certain foods…have detoxification properties, although the majority of these studies have been performed in animals.”

However, we’d argue that a liver detox diet is a good idea for one simple reason: it helps reduce the amount of toxins you consume.

If you drink excessively, take strong medications, eat processed foods your body treats as toxins, and face constant exposure to pollutants, your liver works nonstop—often to the point of overstrain. This continuous burden can lead to liver damage and, over time, chronic liver disease.

But when you undertake a liver detox diet, you actually reduce the toxins in your body.

Maybe you quit drinking for a month or two to give your liver a break. Following the advice of your doctor, you reduce the amount of medications or drugs you take. You actively go out of your way to avoid toxins, artificial foods, and carcinogens. And, most important of all, you eat foods that actively contribute to a healthy liver.

Between reducing the workload on your liver and fueling it with nutrients that improve its function, you can curb the inflammation and slow the damage.

The beauty is that the liver is a rapidly regenerating organ:

• Minor injuries can heal in just a few weeks.
• Low-grade injuries may heal in 6-8 weeks.
• Severe injuries can heal in 4-6 months.
• Cirrhosis or hepatitis can heal in months or years, sometimes with the help of medication.

What matters is that your liver cells can heal. That means that even a few weeks or months of healthy, clean living and a liver cleanse diet can make a world of difference to support liver function.

At the end of the day, taking a few simple measures to detox liver naturally and generally improve your overall wellness is never a waste of time or effort.

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Natural Liver Detox Methods

We’re going to share some easy, natural liver detox methods without going through any dramatic “detox diet.”

All it takes is a few simple steps.

Cut Alcohol Consumption

Cutting alcohol intake entirely for 6 weeks is one of the best natural remedies for liver detox. That’s not impossible, right? Just 6 weeks without drinking.

Alcohol is one of the most toxic substances for your liver and can cause a great deal of damage. Giving your liver a break from alcohol for 6 weeks can allow the liver to regenerate itself and heal from the toxicity of alcohol (unless a permanent scarring has occurred).

Drink Plenty of Water

Also a pretty easy one! Water will help flush toxins from your liver and bloodstream, acting as a natural diuretic to eliminate waste products via your urine.

Aim to drink 3-5 liters of water per day for the 30-day no-alcohol period and your liver will thank you.

Warm water may enhance digestion and promote better lymphatic system function, both of which help to keep your liver healthy. Add in some lemon juice to give your body the health benefits of Vitamin C, an antioxidant that can reduce oxidative damage in the liver.

Improve Your Diet

Cut back on fried and unhealthy fatty foods to support liver health. Instead, focus on eating organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fish, lean proteins, and healthy fats like minimally processed oils (such as virgin coconut or olive oil).

And make sure to get more fiber in your healthy diet! Fiber plays a huge role in preventing toxins from being absorbed into your bloodstream and purging existing toxins to protect your liver.

Incorporate Liver-Friendly Foods

Try to eat more liver-friendly foods, including [3] almonds, raw vegetables like leafy greens, apple cider vinegar, green tea (and green tea extract), beets, salmon, lentils, fermented foods, citrus fruits, berries, and artichokes.

Cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts, asparagus, raw spinach, and avocado are all liver detox foods, too. They help your body to produce more glutathione, an antioxidant that binds with toxins and flushes them from your liver.

Use Spices Like Turmeric

Support your healthier eating habits by adding turmeric to your meals. Turmeric is rich in curcumin, an antioxidant that can decrease oxidative stress and protect against liver injury.

It also stimulates the production of bile, which helps your liver digest absorbed fats. It and black pepper are two highly effective spices for a natural liver cleanse detox.

Exercise Regularly

Exercise plays a huge role in improving the function of all your organs, including your liver. It will stimulate blood flow to and through the liver, making it better able to flush out garbage and toxins and combat inflammation.

Plus, it will aid in healthy weight maintenance, which will lower your risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Try Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting involves eating during a specific period of time followed by a period of fasting with no calorie consumption, or a day or two each week of fasting (0-500 calories).

Intermittent fasting for liver cleanses may enhance the body’s natural ability to detoxify itself, as it increases the production of detoxifying enzymes [4] and can directly benefit the liver [5].

Manage Stress Levels

Stress is among the known risk factors in a broad range of health problems, including liver diseases. It also increases the presence of free radicals in your body, which can contribute to oxidative stress that accelerates liver degeneration.

Take steps to manage your stress, and your liver function will improve.

Additional Dietary Supplements for Liver Health

It’s also worth taking a look into liver support supplements if you have already been exposed to many toxins and your toxic build-up is quite high. Going the extra mile and choosing a quality formula can make a difference in supporting your bodys natural detoxification pathways. There are many products available, but it’s essential to carefully consider all options and make the right decision on the best supplement.

A good supplement should support not only liver function, but also other vital processes, such as maintaining healthy insulin levels, having anti-inflammatory properties, and even flushing out heavy metal poisoning from the system. For best results, we recommend picking a product with all-natural ingredients  herbs and extracts.

We know that finding such a formula can be challenging, so we partnered with environmental toxin specialists and supplement formulators to create our very own. By selecting only science-backed, natural ingredients, we formulated an herbal remedy that supports your liver and kidneys detox and is safe to use. And we called it Restore Detox.

How does it work? We selected the most potent 6 detoxifiers, which have been used for centuries. To your surprise, you’ve probably heard most of them before

Click here to learn more about Restore Detoxand find out how it can change your future for the better by boosting your bodys natural detoxification pathways and helping you to live your best, youngest, and healthiest life!

Conclusion: Embracing Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier Liver

Your liver is one of the hardest-working organs in your body, and one of the most important. Without it, you’d be vulnerable to the many environmental toxins and chemicals that your body is exposed to on a daily basis.

Because your liver works so hard, it’s also susceptible to damage and injury. Thankfully, it has incredible regenerative properties and can restore itself—it just needs time and a break to do so.

A liver detox diet will do exactly that: give your liver time to make repairs and to let the inflammation decrease. Spending a few weeks (or even months) eating liver-friendly foods, taking liver supplements, and avoiding alcohol and other damaging substances can be just what it takes to restore your liver to optimal health.

FAQs

What are the three worst things for your liver?

Alcohol, processed foods, and trans fats/hydrogenated oils are toxic foods that can inflict significant damage on your liver, increasing inflammation, and reducing liver function.

What is the number one food for your liver?

There is no “number one food” that will be a game-changer for liver health. However, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and antioxidant-rich foods in all colors and varieties will contribute to healing your liver and restoring full function.

How do you know when your liver is healing?

A few signs that your liver is healing include better digestion, healthier skin tone and color, improved appetite, increased energy levels, better immune system health, and fewer weight fluctuations. In cases of more serious liver damage, a decrease in abdominal pain and decreased jaundice (yellowing of your eyes and skin) will be excellent signs of improved

How do liver enzymes indicate detox efficiency?

Liver enzymes serve as biomarkers of liver function and reflect how well the organ processes nutrients and eliminates toxins. When the liver is functioning properly, enzymes like ALT, AST, and GGT remain within normal ranges, ensuring efficient toxin elimination. However, elevated enzyme levels may indicate liver stress or damage.

Resources

The Healthy Liver

The liver is a filter

In brief: How does the liver work?

Liver: Anatomy and Functions

Liver

[1]https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/toxic-liver-disease

[2]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25522674/

[3]https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/cleanse-your-liver-naturally

[4]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6314618/

[5]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3591652/

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