The liver carries an enormous weight on its figurative shoulders. This is why we can’t neglect it and why a liver cleanse diet might be due once in a while.
There’s no arguing that the brain is definitely the most important organ in our bodies. It’s the control panel of human beings and, alongside the heart, it’s pretty much what keeps us alive and functioning. That, naturally, shouldn’t diminish the importance of the rest of the organs. And, yet, unfortunately, sometimes it does.
Even without paying much mind to diets and other preventive or health measures, we do tend to protect our brains and hearts as much as we can. But then there are organs such as the liver, which frequently get tossed to the side and only addressed when something goes wrong.
The liver works relentlessly to balance out its two main functions – detox and a special type of digestion. Anything that you consume or put in your body goes through the liver first. And given the fact that most of the foods these days are brimmed to excess with toxins, that’s no easy burned to bear. What we’re trying to say here is – give the poor thing a bit more credit.
Functions Of The Liver
- Ridding your blood of toxins and harmful substances via its detoxification capacity (this includes alcohol or drugs, so the liver is the first one to suffer);
- When sugar levels are low, it converts stored sugar into usable sugar;
- In order to regulate and digest fats, it produces a substance called bile;
- Is a little storage room for vitamins and iron;
- Obliterates (destroys) old and expired red blood cells;
Cries Of Help And Liver Cleanse
Ideally, we should all try to take care of our liver way before something goes sideways and we have to fix it. But if you’re too far in to change anything now and pick up preventing measures, you might need to look out for these signs.
- Physical pain or discomfort around the area of your liver;
- Abdominal bloating;
- Acid reflux and heartburn;
- Dark spots on the skin, which are actually called liver spots;
- Sudden weight gain and difficulty shredding it off, even by cutting off calories.
The list of symptoms can continue, but one of these tends to always make its way through when your liver needs your assistance. Thankfully, most of the time all it requires is a liver cleanse session. In other words, you can lay off pills and medication for a while. Instead, try detoxing by including in your diet these foods which are essentially fantastic liver cleanse assistance.
#1 Beets & Carrots
Beets and carrots are rich in plant-flavonoids and beta-carotene, both of them being substances that can greatly improve the overall functions and wellbeing of the liver. Beets in particular are oasis of health and are of great help when the need for a liver cleanse session comes around. Matching their ruby hue, they help purify the blood. In other words, they give the liver one less task to worry about by being the one to flush out several toxins out of our bodies instead.
#2 Garlic
Garlic is a very frequent ingredient in our meals, so it’d be really easy to integrate it, even on a daily basis. Sometimes all the liver needs is a little push and aid to get those gears going. All it takes is just a small dose of the pungent bulb in order to tap into the reserve of enzymes which aid the liver with its functions.
#3 Grapefruit
Grapefruit is full of antioxidants and Vitamin C, which makes it a recommended inclusion in your diet with or without liver cleanse necessities. Start the day off with a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit in order to activate the liver’s cleansing properties at their full potential.
#4 Lemons
Let’s make something clear here – we don’t exclude limes from this list either. These two types of citric goodies are extremely friendly to your liver. Lemons harbor impressive amounts of antioxidants, specifically Vitamin C, and they’re pretty renowned for their reserves in that regard. Through their properties, lemons help with digestion and, therefore, make things just a little bit easier for the liver.
#5 Green Tea
Although technically not a food per se, green tea might be an event better variant for your liver cleanse diet just because it’s so easy and quick to prepare. A cup of green tea a day can keep liver difficulties at bay. Green tea leaves are filled with a substance called catechin, which essentially assists liver function.
#6 Broccoli
Broccoli has earned an unfair reputation and just because of that, there are plenty of people, especially children, that run away from it. If you’re in need of some liver cleansing, however, this should be the last thing you want to do. Broccoli is filled with antioxidants and fat-soluble Vitamin E. Simply put, they’re both crucial substances to the well-being of the liver.
#7 Apples
Apples are easy to find, delicious, and easy to integrate in numerous recipes and diets. Oh, yes, and they’re also riddled with pectin, a substance that’s useful in banishing toxins out of the digestive track. This also makes the liver’s job that much easier by lowering the number of toxins it needs to handle during the cleansing process.
#8 Walnuts
Rather than proper meals, walnuts are snacks, but they’re definitely the type of positive snacks. They possess high levels of arginine, an amino acid which is particularly useful in detoxifying ammonia. But the list doesn’t end here – walnuts also carry with them  glutathione and omega-3 fatty acids, substances that come to support the liver’s cleansing functions.
#9 Cabbage
Cabbage has a lot in common with broccoli and cauliflower, so it’s also a type of food that contains two breeds of enzymes particularly important for the liver. The good news is that this category includes kimchi, coleslaw, and other variants too.
#10 Leafy Green Veggies
These veggies’ greenness is given by plant chlorophylls, which are all kinds of useful. They absorb the toxins in the air and filter them away, but they also help with bile production and neutralize heavy metals. In other words, there’s one less concern for the liver.
