Detoxing and Your Liver

Your liver, brain and heart are all important organs in your body. The liver is also the largest organ in the body and is located in the upper abdomen below the diaphragm, to the right of the stomach.

The liver does a number of things for your body to help keep you healthy. It helps to fight infection and disease, cleanses the blood, processes and eliminates toxins and unwanted substances from the body. The liver also helps to process digested foods and nutrients, it produces the bile that your body uses to break down fats, and helps to produce and regulate cholesterol. Your liver stores vitamin B12, copper, iron, and glycogen which is the body’s glucose storage. This is why it is very important that you make sure you are taking good care of your liver.

Taking care of your liver can be easily done by making some small changes to your diet and lifestyle.

Herbs

Herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion root, artichoke and liquorice can help to protect your liver. They do this by stimulating bile flow and can also help the liver to regenerate itself. 

Eat Your Greens

Green foods such as vegetables, salad, chlorophyll, spirulina and chlorella, sea vegetables and barley grass are all good for your liver. They help eliminate toxins, reduce excess fat and fluid, help balance acid/alkaline levels and strengthen the immune system. Always try to buy organic fruits and vegetables to keep your toxin levels low – free from poisons, insecticides, hormones and antibiotics which will build up and stop the liver functioning properly.

Flush Your Liver and Drink Plenty of Water

Flushing your liver removes toxins, cholesterol build up and gallstones, while freeing the way for bile flow. To flush the liver, drink a mixture of olive oil, Epsom salts and grapefruit juice before bed. Another way to help remove toxins is to drink lots of water - two litres of filtered water a day. Small and frequent sips are best. It is recommended to avoid a lot of water with meals as this may cause the gastric juices in the stomach to dilute making your digestion slower and increasing the load on the liver.

Medications

Residues of drugs and medications build up in the liver and cause toxicity. It is good to give your liver a break from medications such as painkillers, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, HRT and the pill however never do this without the consent of your doctor and consult with your natural practitioner also.

Alcohol

The liver is responsible for metabolising alcohol which, if you drink too much, can cause cellular malformations, scarring and inflammation. These affect your liver function. Caffeine can also cause the body to release glycogen stores into the blood which slows the organs ability to cleanse the blood. On the other hand coffee enemas have been proven to be good as a detoxifier as it relaxes the muscles of the small intestine and anus helping to dilate the bile ducts and blood vessels.

Sleep

Sleep helps by releasing melatonin into the body which shares the body’s toxic load with the liver and helps neutralise free radicals and regenerates the body.

If you need to do a liver detox because you feel toxic and bloated why not give us a call? Never do a liver detox til you have done a bowel detox as it will create a toxic cycle if you do it the wrong way round. We are open again shortly after the New Year and can make a detox plan just for you and your lifestyle. In our clinic or online.