Natural Liver Cleanse

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Your natural liver cleanse protocols should be like your daily exercise. In order to get the most benefits from exercise we do it every day. We wouldn’t be sedentary for 11 months and then have one straight month of constant exercise. The same goes for liver detoxification. It is something that needs to be supported naturally every day, not through some type of harsh liver flush that we do once a year then forget about the rest of the time. 

1. Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Skipping breakfast has many possible negative effects, including decreased energy, binging later in the day, slowing your metabolism and creating a sluggish liver that may then need more serious forms of liver detoxification. 

Eating a healthy breakfast with optimal levels of proteins and healthy fats restores glycogen levels in the liver and wakes it up so that it can function properly throughout the day. 

2. Herbs for Liver

There are many fantastic herbs that dramatically support the liver and help it to function properly. 

Hepatic herbs for liver can increase liver function and decrease symptoms of a sluggish liver. Some of my favorite hepatic herbs include dandelion root, artichoke leaf and turmeric.

Bitter herbs for liver (and foods) can be taken at meals to stimulate digestion, bile production and bile release from the gallbladder. This cascade of events supports liver health as well as optimal digestion. Using a bitters blend such as this one can be a convenient way to have an herbal liver cleanse daily.  

Hepato-protective herbs for liver protect the liver from harm. Herbs like milk thistle and reishi are wonderful examples. 

Regularly taking herbs that support liver health is the best herbal liver cleanse. 

3. Healthy Liver Diet

The foods you eat can help or harm your liver. 

Here are some fantastic foods for liver health that support liver detoxification:

• kale
• chard
• brussel sprouts
• beets
• carrots
• parsley
• dandelion leaves

One of the best foods for liver health is artichoke hearts! Pickled artichoke hearts contain many of the same nutrients found in fresh artichokes so you can easily add these to your healthy liver diet all year. 

There are some “foods” out there that are the worst choices for a liver diet. These put a large burden on the liver, which makes a natural liver cleanse difficult. 

These include: 

• trans fats
• artificial dyes
• artificial preservatives 
• processed foods
• fried foods (especially in poor quality oils)
• alcohol
• sugar 
• high fructose corn syrup

Another way that foods can harm your liver is by overeating. This can lead to fatty liver disease. 

4. Resolve Your Anger

This step may seem out of left field but anger is the emotion associated with the Liver in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In TCM, someone who has lots of inappropriate anger may have a pattern of Liver imbalance. But it isn’t really a chicken or the egg sorta thing. It’s both. Having a lot of inappropriate anger can also lead to Liver imbalance. 

Taking care of your liver and figuring out ways to move beyond regular feelings of anger will support your liver health and be a natural liver cleanse. 

5. In Bed by 10pm

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the time of the Liver and Gallbladder is from 11:00pm to 3:00am. This is the time that these organs need rest so they can perform their regular metabolic and liver detoxification functions. Regularly going to sleep past 11:00 pm inhibits the liver’s functions and leads to poor liver health. 

6. Avoid Toxic Chemicals

Your liver is responsible for filtering out what you put in your body. If you regularly consume even mildly toxic materials it puts a huge burden on the liver. 

Here are some common sources of environmental toxins that can harm the liver and inhibit natural liver cleanse. 

• harsh chemical cleaners
• medications
• artificial preservatives, flavorings, etc. 
• drinking and eating from plastic containers
• eating canned foods

7. Alcohol in Moderation

If you are healthy, consuming alcohol in moderation is generally not a problem. Mainstream guidelines state that moderate drinking may be around one drink a day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. 

I think people wanting to lead healthy and happy lives should strive for a lot less than that! 

However, if you have any sort of liver disease such as hepatitis C or any chronic health problems then even small amounts of alcohol can increase health risks.

Summary

Your liver is an important organ for maintaining overall health. Because it performs so many tasks in the body it can easily be overwhelmed if we are not living within healthy living guidelines. Implementing the above natural liver cleanse considerations into your life will not only support your liver but will also support your entire body and mind health. 

Learn More About Diseases of the Liver

• Hepatitis C