Did you know that there are several all-natural ways you can help improve liver health so that it can do its job better? Since the liver is one organ that can regenerate itself when damaged, anything you do to help the liver along will cause it to repair itself and function at its best.
10 Things You Can Do To Improve Liver Health
As far organs go, your liver is perhaps the master of them all, performing more than 500 different functions at any given time. Without your liver, you would quickly die, as there is no manmade way to make up for all the liver does for you. So, here are ten ways you can optimize liver functions:
#1: Cut out food additives. Your liver becomes overworked when it has to filter out and neutralize food additives. Eat wholesome foods that are free of over-processing, color additives, flavor additives and food preservatives and your liver will not have to work so hard.
#2: Cut down on synthetic sweeteners and refined sugar. While these things may help your sweet tooth, they only make your liver work harder. Even refined sugar, based on natural sugar, overworks the liver because it must put all the sugar into storage form as liver glycogen.
#3: Eat fresh beets and carrots. These are two vegetables known for powerfully cleansing the liver. Along with these non-green vegetables, eat plenty of green vegetables. Green vegetables contain chlorophyll, which is also a liver cleanser.
#4: Eat steamed bitter greens. These important vegetables help cleanse the liver when you eat them. Other foods, such as raw fruits and salad greens can help clean out liver toxicities.
#5: Take vitamin C daily. Vitamin C is water soluble so it is one of the exceptions to the rule of not taking too much. Any excess will be safely eliminated from the body. Try taking between 1 and 2 grams of vitamin C every day.
#6: Take lecithin. Lecithin reduces cholesterol and aids the liver in its metabolism of fats. It contains phosphatidylcholine and several essential fatty acids that cannot be innately produced by the liver or any other part of the body. Lecithin has the added effect of lowering the blood pressure by improving blood flow through small blood vessels. Lecithin can be eaten when you drink soy milk, eat organic eggs and eat foods like miso and tofu. It also comes in capsule form at your local health food store.
#7: Feed it vitamins and minerals. Many of the functions of the liver require high amounts of minerals and vitamins to keep it going. You can help your liver do well by eating a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits and high-fiber foods. However, even the best diets can be lacking in all the essential vitamins and minerals your liver must use to do its job. So consider taking a multivitamin with minerals.
#8: Eat flaxseeds. Decide to eat two large tablespoons of ground flaxseeds, served up on your cereal, on toast, in salads or blended into a variety of smoothies. The ingredients in flaxseeds bind to receptor sites in the liver, preventing synthetic fake estrogens called xenoestrogens from binding to the liver. These xenoestrogens come from plastics and other unnatural substances and must be filtered out of the blood by a healthy liver. Flaxseeds can help this process.
#9: Try herbal medicine for the liver. These herbs are believed to strengthen the liver: dandelion root, turmeric, artichoke, milk thistle, wahoo, fringe tree bark, black root, slippery elm, balmony, blue flag and boldo. Turmeric and milk thistle are especially good for the liver. Do not take any of these supplements without consulting a qualified doctor if you have a serious illness, take prescription medications or are pregnant.
#10: Avoid over-taxing your liver by eating several small meals a day. Large meals just over-burden the liver and makes it function less efficiently than it should. Another way to improve liver health is to avoid eating meals closer than three hours before bedtime. The liver does some of its best work at night while we are sleeping. For this reason, you should avoid over-taxing the liver’s digestive work when it has so many other things to do.
When you strengthen your liver, you do a lot towards balancing your weight, maximizing energy, and improving your total body health.