Sitting on the right side of your stomach is a rubbery organ that is reddish brown in color and weighs almost 3 pounds. This organ is res...
Sitting on the right side of your stomach is a rubbery organ that is reddish brown in color and weighs almost 3 pounds. This organ is responsible for collecting toxins from your body and expelling them out. You call it a, “Liver” and you can think of it as a filtering system that can “suck in the bad and spit out the good”.
This is one of the nutritionists, Harmeet Suri from Mississauga, Ontario has to say, “The liver has many important functions that keeps a person healthy. It removes harmful material from the bloodstream and helps digest food.”
Another important responsibility of your liver is to produce bile, this bile works as a detoxifier by breaking down and assimilating proteins and fats from the food that we eat. It stores essential vitamins and minerals and also maintains hormonal balances by producing proteins and some enzymes. It is responsible for helping our immune system to fight against infections and also removes bacteria from our blood.
In case your liver gets excessively exposed to toxins, its functions can be disrupted. Neither it will be able to detoxify your body nor will it be able to absorb the nutrients as a result you will suffer from major health problems.
“The thousands of enzyme systems that are responsible for virtually every body activity are constructed in the liver. The proper functioning of the eyes, the heart, the brain, the gonads, the joints, and the kidneys, are all dependent on good liver activity.”
“If the liver is impaired from constructing even one of the thousands of enzyme systems the body requires, there is an impairment in overall body function and a resultant greater metabolic stress on the individual.”
Dr. Karl Maret, M.D.
Here is a list of foods that can help detoxify your liver and would also help to keep it healthy and functioning:
Garlic
The pungent smelling cloves of garlic have the key ingredients that can help detoxify your body by activating liver enzymes. You will find selenium and allicin, the natural compounds responsible for cleansing the liver. They also protect the liver from toxic damage.
Grapefruit
The plentiful amount of vitamin C and antioxidants make grapefruit ideal for cleansing your liver. All you need is a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to help you boost up the production of essential detoxifying enzymes. These enzymes expel carcinogens and other harmful toxins out of the body. An important flavonoid called naringenin is also found in a grapefruit that aids the liver in burning fats.
Beetroots and Carrots
Beetroots and carrots are both liver-friendly foods as both contain beta-carotene and essential flavonoids that help with the proper functioning of the liver.
Green Tea
A special type of antioxidant called catching is abundantly found in Green tea. Studies reveal that this antioxidant is effective in eliminating accumulated liver fat and also improves liver functioning. Its powerful antioxidants also provide protection for the liver against harmful toxins.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Green vegetables are known to suck up harmful toxins away from your blood. They provide your liver with a powerful mechanism that can neutralize the effects of harmful chemicals. You can take spinach, bitter gourd, arugula, chicory and mustard greens. These vegetables also regulate the production of bile.
Avocados
Avocados help in the production of glutathione, a compound helpful in the cleansing process of the liver. Avocados save liver from toxic overload and also boost liver’s cleansing power. To fix a damaged liver, eat 1 to 2 avocados in a week for a month.
Cruciferous VegetablesCauliflower and broccoli can help produce some natural enzymes in the liver that flush out carcinogens and other damaging toxins from the body. These vegetables provide protection against several types of cancers. Cabbage also helps in the same manner.
Lemons and Limes
Drinking lemon water or lime juice in the morning can help stimulate the liver and detoxify it. The high contents of vitamin C help to synthesize the toxins into substances that can be assimilated by water.
Walnuts
In walnuts you will find high contents of arginine that are helpful in detoxification of the liver and also protect it from the harmful effects of ammonia. The omega-3 fatty acids and glutathione supports the normal cleansing function of the liver. Don’t forget to chew them well.
Turmeric
Spice up your soups and curries with some turmeric because it has the power to boost your liver’s ability to detoxify. It activates the cleaning enzymes and enables your liver to flush out the harmful carcinogens away from the body.
It maintains your liver health by regenerating the damaged cells of the liver, boosts the bile production in the liver, aids in the effective functioning of gallbladder and shrinks enlarged hepatic ducts.
Also you can improve your liver health by limiting tobacco, coffee, alcohol and white sugar consumption, taking low impact exercises (like walk) regularly& don’t forget to drink plenty of water.
