Cleanse Your Liver to Lose Weight

Everyone’s health is heavily dependent on how well their body removes and purges waste and toxins from their system. Pollution, toxic body care products, junk food, non-organic food and harsh emotional climates can all lead to a build up of substances we don’t need, blocking our health and vitality.

The liver is one of the main organs of elimination. In fact, it works the hardest to keep us clean, detoxifying the blood and producing bile tirelessless to break down fat, hormones, store vitamins and minerals, and regulate the amount of protein, fat and sugar we have in our blood. And that’s just to get started!!

There are a number of ways we can damage the liver, leading to cirrhosis. Consuming uncooked shellfish, certain medications, chemical or eating poisonous wild mushrooms are some of the ways we can accidentally get cirrhosis without touching a drop of alcohol.

What you need to know about liver cleansing

Liver cleansing effectively removes toxins. It can help with almost all health conditions, since the liver plays such a key part in general health. It can also help you if you regularly suffer from bloating and gas, constipation, acid reflux and heartbur, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue – the list goes on.

Why is it necessary to cleanse your liver?

There are so many benefits that it should almost be made compulsive! When you do a good liver cleanse, you can:

• lose weight
• eliminate liver stones
• detox your body
• increase your energy levels
• look and feel 5 years younger

How to cleanse your liver

There are number of ways you can lower the toxic load on your liver, by:

• removing toxins from your diet
• drinking raw vegetable juices
• loading up on potassium rich foods
• doing coffee enemas
• taking milk thistle, dandelion and turmeric supplements
• eating real beef liver, or taking liver tablets

Doing these things will help you feel better during your day to day life. They make for a happy liver. You also need to consider reducing the amount of alcohol you consume. Reducing it will help with weight gain, sluggishness, fatigue and that sleepy feeling you get in the afternoons.

Flushing your body with enough water to keep your liver working optimally certainly won’t do your mood and energy levels any harm. Why not add some lemon, for a little extra liver love?

The quality of your nosh makes a big difference to liver function. Fresh foods are great, like organic leafy greens, which are packed with minerals like magnesium, vitamins A and C and plenty of enzymes. All of the nutrients are denser in organic foods. Add in some brocolli, brussel sprouts, kale, chard, apples, onions and garlic to your daily meals and your liver will love you.

Since fat is primarily dealt with by the liver, choosing the healthiest fats is best. These include:

• coconut
• almonds
• walnuts
• hemp
• chia
• flax
• avocados
• olives
• sunflower seeds
• pumpkin seeds

Avoid soy and corn oils, and any other refined oils labelled as “cooking oil”. If it isn’t cold-pressed, give it a miss.

Foods that will help detox your liver

There are certain foods that help support and stimulate the liver. These include:

• beets and carrots, which are high in glutathione, a protein that helps detoxify our friend the liver. They help stimulate and improve general liver function.
• tomatoes, which also contain glutathione. Happy times if you’re a fan.
• grapefruit – high in vitamin C and antioxidants which boost detox enzymes and the natural cleansing process.
• spinach, which is high in magnesium and other goodies which benefit the liver.
• turmeric, a handy spice you can use to sweep out that toxic load comfortably!
• walnuts: containing a nice helping of omega-3 fatty acids and are great for detoxifying ammonia.
• garlic, which is high in sulphur, activating liver enzymes and helping with the cleansing process due to its allicin and selenium content.
• dandelion, which helps with breaking down fats and the producing of amino acids.
• leafy greens – neutralise heavy metals, chemical and pesticides, lowering the burden on the liver.

Adding in these foods is all you need to do to cleanse your liver gently. If you are looking for a more thorough approach, have a look at the liver flush recipes available online. They are a little more hard core, but perhaps that’s exactly what you’re looking for!

Images courtesy of Maxpax, Dan McKay and Jaanus Silla.