Detoxify your liver the natural way!!

detoxify liverOne of the primary ways in which your body expels toxins is through the liver. The liver constantly detoxifies and cleanses your body, by filtering the blood of impurities that enter through the digestive tract, skin or the respiratory system. However, when the liver gets overworked due to stress, and exposure to toxins, your entire system can get upset, and your health may get compromised.

As liver is the organ responsible for bile production, another form of detoxification that is metabolically necessary for breakdown and assimilation of proteins and fats, it is important that your liver be well-maintained. Without a well-functioning liver, your body will be unable to cleanse itself and absorb nutrients, a recipe for health disaster.

Liver is the construction house of thousands of enzyme systems responsible for performing every activity in the body. A healthy liver is vital for proper functioning of eyes, brain, heart, gonads, joints and kidneys.

Here are some important foods that you could consider including into your diet to maintain a healthy liver:


Garlic: The presence of certain compounds, including allicin and selenium, help in protecting liver from toxicity, thereby supporting detoxification process. These compounds also activate the liver enzymes responsible for flushing out toxins from the body.

Green leafy vegetables: Vegetables such as arugula, dandelion greens, bitter gourd, mustard greens, and chicory, contain numerous cleansing compounds that can neutralize heavy metals, which can bear heavily on the liver. Leafy greens also eliminate herbicides and pesticides from the body, thereby improving the flow of bile. Being highly rich in plant chlorophylls, the leafy greens suck up environmental toxins from the blood stream, protecting the liver.

Beets and Carrots: Being extremely high in flavonoids and beta-carotene, both beets and carrots help stimulate and improve overall functioning of the liver. This is done by thinning the bile, which enables an easy flow through the liver and small intestine. Increased bile flow can also prevent gallstones.

Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage and such other cruciferous vegetables can increase the amount of glucosinolate in your system, helping in enzyme production in the liver. They also flush out carcinogens and other toxins, thereby considerably cutting down risk of cancer.


Grapefruit: Being rich in natural vitamin C and antioxidants, the two powerful liver cleansers, grapefruit also contain compounds that boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes. It also contains flavonoid, a compound known as naringenin, which causes liver to burn fat, rather than store it. Hence a small glass of freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice can help boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes that help in flushing out carcinogens and other toxins.

Avocados: Eating just one or two avocados a week even for a month without break, can repair a damaged liver, says research. Being rich in glutathione-producing compounds, avocados actively promote a healthy liver against toxic overload.

Apples: Apples are high in pectin, and they hold the chemical constituents required for the body to cleanse and release toxins from digestive tract. This makes it easier for the liver to handle the toxic load during the cleansing process.

Lemons: The citrus fruits contain high amounts of Vitamin C, which aids the body in synthesizing toxic materials into substance that can be absorbed by water. In fact, drinking freshly squeezed lime juice on an empty stomach in the morning helps stimulate the liver.

Walnuts: Walnuts, with their high amino acid, glutathione and omega-3 fatty acid content, help in detoxifying liver of disease causing ammonia. In fact, extracts from the hulls of walnuts are often used in liver-cleansing formulas. However, ensure that you chew the nuts well, until they are liquefied before swallowing.

Green Tea: Green Tea is loaded with catechins, a plant antioxidant which eliminates liver fat accumulation and promotes liver function. Green Tea also protects against toxin accumulation, which could cause serious damage to the liver and body.

Turmeric: Turmeric is one of the powerful foods for maintaining a healthy liver. They help regenerate damaged liver cells, boost natural production of bile, improve overall functioning of gallbladder, shrinks engorged hepatitis ducts and improves overall functioning of gall bladder.

Eating these foods may be a good way to maintain healthy functioning of the liver. Doing liver cleanse at least twice a year, can eliminate toxins that may be trapped in your liver.

The best dietary instructions to be followed are:

1. Eat organic fruits such as apples, cherries, figs, grapefruits, avocado, plums, papaya, kiwi, pears and plums in the morning for breakfast.

2. For lunch and dinner, include fresh vegetables, and home-made soups or salads, containing the mentioned detoxifying vegetables. Few other liver supporting veggies, not mentioned above are, artichoke, asparagus, kale, brussel sprouts, lettuce, and the like.

3. Remember to avoid coffee, alcohol, milk, and bottled juices, as these can lower the effectiveness of the liver cleanse, adding more toxins to the body.

1 Comment

  1. what would be a good liver cleanse/detox if you no longer have your gallbladder? I am concerned to do a detox since they often stimulate bile production. I had my gallbladder removed 2 1/2 years ago after a c-section and still have terrible discomfort and pain in my liver and my spleen is now enlarged, severe edema in feet ankles and legs -any suggestions

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