The liver is our largest internal organ and plays a vital role in our health and wellbeing. If our liver is not functioning well, we will not either. As the liver affects so much of our health, the symptoms of liver ill-health can be very different.
However, if you are experiencing headaches, sluggishness and general malaise for no good reason, you will do well to consider your liver health. There is no downside; anything that improves the health of your liver will improve your overall wellbeing.
Your Liver Works Hard All Day, Every Day
Every day we are exposed to many different kinds of chemicals. These chemicals may not all be visible to the naked eye but most of them have adverse effects on our body. Sources of harmful chemicals we are exposed to daily include shampoos, soaps, detergents, gasoline and preservatives from foods.
Our liver works hard, 24 hours a day cleansing and detoxifying our body from all these disease-inducing toxins and chemicals. If we know that it is important that our liver cleanses our body, why not help our liver with the detoxifying process using natural means?
It is certainly possible to undertake a ‘liver cleanse’. There are many different recipes, home-made and over-the -counter available. These can work very well; so well that the immediate after-effects can be distressing as a large amount of toxins are cleared in one go.
Instead of going for a high-impact approach, consider making a lifestyle change that will steadily but surely improve your liver function, now and for the rest of your life.
As well as improving your overall health, you will be taking a huge step in the battle against anti aging. A healthy liver means fewer damaging toxins, which means increased vitality and longevity.
The best ways to do this is to simply include more healthy ‘liver-cleansing’ foods in your diet! Here are a few you can start to add to your meal plans:
Broccoli
Broccoli is known to enhance the natural detoxification pathways of the liver with the help of its phytochemicals. This vegetable is an excellent source of sulforaphane, which is a substance that enhances the liver’s detoxifying effect.
In simple terms, eating broccoli provides you with phytonutrients that are helpful for converting dangerous toxins that are present in the liver, into less toxic compounds that can be ushered safely out of your body.
Garlic
Garlic is one food that should always be on the shopping list! There are a multitude of studies that prove it is nature’s little miracle cleanser of a range of toxins and parasites.
Garlic has been shown to help reduce high triglyceride levels, LDL (low density lipoprotein) levels and total cholesterol serum levels. This is good news to those who have been advised to go on a low-cholesterol diet.
Garlic plays a role in reducing the amount of fats that accumulate inside their liver and lowering the risk of fatty liver disease.
Garlic is also famous for its allicin content which can induce cell death in cancers. Researchers have shown that garlic can be used as a therapeutic agent for treating advanced diseases such as liver cancer.
Lemons
Lemons are not only good sources of vitamin C that help boost the immune system, but are an excellent blood purifier, which means it aids the liver in getting rid of toxins in the body.
Lemons act as a tonic to the liver while stimulating its cleansing effects. Many believe that mixing warm water with lemon juice is helpful, as lemons are found to produce more enzymes when mixed with water than with any other foods.
Lemons are also beneficial in stabilizing blood glucose levels.
Beets
Beets and beet juice have strong antioxidant properties. They also provide many micro-nutrients including pectin and betaine that provide detoxing support to the liver. Betaine also has protective effects that support the liver and bile ducts for improved function.
Studies have provided evidence of the healing benefits of beets as it reduces homocysteine levels and lowers the risk of liver cancer.
Start Today
You have just read plenty of supporting evidence as to why you should eat more of these liver-cleansing power foods. It is never too early to start, and there are many ways to include all of them onto your daily diet.
