Every person’s health and well-being is dependent on how their body removes and purges toxins from the body. With all the environmental pollution, toxic body care products and processed foods, most people are in desperate need of a serious detox. A liver cleanse is a great way to do this.
One of the main ways that the body rids itself of toxins is through the liver. In fact, the liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body as it actually performs over 400 functions. It sifts through every single thing that comes into your body and uses what it can, and gets rid of what it can’t use. It works tirelessly to detoxify our blood, produce the bile needed to digest fat, break down hormones, and store essential vitamins, minerals and iron. So it’s important to keep things coming in that your body can use, rather than things it has to filter out as it recognizes them as harmful invading junk.

When your liver is overwhelmed with constantly having to remove harmful junk, you may:

feel sluggish
be tired a lot, not sleeping well
experience weight gain
experience acid reflux and heartburn
feel bloated and having gas
have dark urine
become moody, anxious, or depressed
develope high blood pressure
feel constipated
suffer severe headaches
devlope rosacea
experience digestive issues
experience pain in your right side
develop chronic fatigue
bruise easily
experience excessive sweating
develop skin discoloration and yellowish in eyes

Optimizing your diet with fresh, plant-based foods is a great place to start to keep your liver clean and healthy. The important thing is to help keep your liver free from toxic overload. When the liver is not functioning optimally, we cannot digest our food properly.

Here are some realistic, non-diet, ways to detox your liver, whether you’re changing into a healthy lifestyle or you just need a regular tune-up:

Kick the Alcohol

No matter what those health claims around red wine may say, all alcohol is bad news for your liver. It doesn’t like any of it, even the kind that’s packed with more antioxidants than the rest. Alcohol is a toxin in any form and your liver will use a large amount of energy trying to get rid of the alcohol so it can purify your blood. During this process, it can use up a good bit of metabolic energy, which often leads to weight gain, sluggishness, fatigue, and will affect your sleep.

Flush It With H20

Your liver likes to be clean and the best way to do that is with fresh, alkalizing water. Water contains natural minerals when it comes from a healthy source, not from chlorinated tap waters. Use spring or well water when you can, or check with your city’s water to see if it’s environmentally safe. You can also use a water filtration system that removes the carbon and chlorine particles when possible. Add a squeeze of lemon to your water to add even more alkalizing and cleansing properties. Lemon and all citrus fruits contain Vitamin C and minerals that boost bodily functions and enhance the cleansing process and help fluch out wastes. Flushing your liver is like giving your body a good pre-wash so your blood stays at optimal pH levels. 6 to 8 glasses of water a day is an optimal amount to drink or try caffeine-free herbal tea as another option.

Eat The Best Foods Possible

You needn’t count your calories to care for your liver but you do need to eat high-quality foods. This means eating organic, fresh foods such as leafy greens packed with magnesium, chlorophyll, Vitamins A and C, along with fresh vegetables and fresh fruits whenever possible. Buying organic is important, but is especially important for your liver since pesticides, herbicides and fungicides toxify the liver and can make you extremely sick leading to disease. If you can’t afford everything organic, buy what’s on sale and do the best you can because your liver and bod are worth it. These foods provide pure nutrients for your liver to cleanse and rebuild the blood to provide you with more energy and a healthy body. Organic fruits and vegetables also contain higher amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and sulfur, which all boost liver detoxification and cleansing. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, apples, onions, garlic, and squash are all excellent choices to help cleanse and support your liver. Potassium-rich foods such sweet potatoes, tomato sauces, beet greens and spinach, beans of all kinds, bananas help to lower systolic blood pressure, lower cholesterol and support a healthy cardiovascular system, in addition to also helping cleanse your liver.

Eat the Right Fats

Your liver is responsible for producing bile that breaks down fats, so one area of your diet you want to be sure you don’t forget about is the type of fats you eat. Eating healthy fats like almonds, coconut, walnuts, hemp, chia, and flax, along with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, olives, and avocado are all the best sources of fat for your diet. Avoid animal fats that tend to lead to artery-clogging inflammation. It is also good to avoid vegetable oils, like corn and soy, at all costs.

Choose Smart Supplements

It is also important to choosing your suppliments. High-quality B vitamins, choose a plant-based brand, and selenium are important since they help metabolize substances in the body that help keep your liver healthy. Herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion root, tumeric and artichoke leaf also help cleanse the liver. You can purchase a whole foods, plant-base multivitamin, B supplement, or buy a specialized liver support formula. While not 100 percent necessary, certain B vitamins and herbs like those mentioned here have been found to support the liver outside a healthy diet. Taking a liver suppliment will also provide you vitamin A, B, folic acid, iron copper zinc, choline, chromium and CoQ10. Make sure that if you buy this suppliment that it guarantees that no hormones, pesticides, or antibiotics were used in the feed or care of the cattle and chickens.
To keep your liver healthy through the years, periodically do a 24-hour liver cleanse, and maintain a healthy diet void of processed foods, and high in vegetables, legumes and whole grains. Be sure you exercise and get some fresh sunshine whenever you can.

A Quick-Start 24-Hour Liver Cleanse by Dr Josh Axe

In addition to the healthy foods and supplements mentioned above, you can give your liver a boost by starting with a 24-hour cleanse. In the 7 days prior, eat kale, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, citrus fruits, asparagus, beets and celery. Avoid any processed foods, and eat free-range organic meats, refined carbohydrates and gluten sparingly. This preparation will help facilitate the cleanse.
Try my Secret Detox Drink during your week of preparing your body. It boosts your energy and helps you to detox and cleanse the liver. This recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and water.
Then the week of your cleanse try this liver detox drink. This recipe will help support your body while cleansing:
Dilute cranberry juice with a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part cranberry juice.
Add 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon into a tea infuser and let steep in simmering water for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Add the juice of 3 oranges and 3 lemons and stir. If the mixture is too tart, sweeten with your favorite all-natural sweetener.
Sip throughout the day.
You should consume a minimum of 72 ounces of this mixture and 72 ounces of water. After 1 day of the cranberry juice blend, reintroduce the foods you ate in preparation for the cleanse.