5 Foods To Cleanse Your Liver

Do you know which organ in your body takes the hit when you choose bad foods or overload with caffeine/alcohol? It’s your liver. I will be talking about how liver health effects weight loss and about 5 foods to cleanse your liver.

Your liver has some crucial jobs. Here are just a few:

• Making protein for hormones and blood clots
• Producing bile which helps with digestion
• Breaking down nutrients for your body to use
• Removing toxins from your body

So I’m going to give you some tips and foods to cleanse your liver. These will help you lose weight and improve your overall health.

Your Liver And Weight Loss

Most people know that your weight is determined by how much food you eat and how much energy you use up (through exercise and daily activities). What a lot of people don’t know is that your weight also depends on:

• How well you digest food, and
• Healthy hormone levels.

These two things are governed by your liver. And they are also largely affected by the foods you eat.

If your digestion and hormones are not functioning correctly, it will be very difficult to lose weight (or just maintain a healthy weight) no matter how much you diet or exercise.

So taking care of your liver and making sure it’s working as best as can be is super important! Not only for your weight, but also for your general health.

If you think taking care of your liver is hard, here me out. It’s unbelievably simple! And a little goes a long way.

How To Cleanse Your Liver

To get your liver functioning at its best, you need to:

1. Eat nutritious foods with lots of vitamins and minerals (i.e. fruit and veg!)
2. Reduce the chemicals you eat (through processed food and pesticides on fruit and veg)
3. Decrease the chemicals you put on your body (i.e. cosmetic products)
4. Reduce other toxins you put in your body through drugs, cigarettes and alcohol
5. Manage your stress levels

Five Foods to Cleanse the Liver

So let’s talk more about point 1, which is about eating nutritious food to cleanse the liver. ALL fruits and vegetables are great, so increasing them will have amazing benefits for your entire body.

Here are 5 simple foods you can include in your diet to help your liver.

Turmeric root

Turmeric root is your liver’s best friend! It is anti-inflammatory and rich in antioxidants.

Curcumin, the bright yellow pigment in turmeric, is the active ingredient that benefits liver. Curcumin stimulate bile production and as I mentioned above, this helps with digestion and detoxifying the liver.

How to use: Add to smoothies, soups, roast veggies, curries, and basically whenever you are sautéing anything!

Avocados

Avocados are rich in glutathione, which is a super antioxidant. Your liver requires plenty of glutathione to filter out toxins and prevent cell damage.

Avocadoes are also rich in vitamins C and E, which promote liver health.

How to use: Add to salads, smoothies, sandwiches, wraps or as a dip. You can also make your own avocado chocolate mousse – recipe here!

Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and horseradish are cruciferous vegetables.

These help increase the level of glucosinolates in the body. Glucosinolates help produce liver enzymes that flush out toxins.

How to use: Roast, steam or sauté, and eat as a side or add to salads and basically anything!

Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps recycle glutathione; and being an antioxidant itself, vitamin C protects liver cells.

How to use: Drink a cup of warm water with lemon first thing in the morning. You can also add a slice of lemon to all of your water throughout the day!

Walnuts

These nuts are rich in glutathione and arginine, which helps the liver get rid of toxins.

They also contain lots of omega-3 fats, which are potent anti-inflammatory compounds and prevents cell damage.

How to use: Enjoy as a snack, or on your oatmeal or salads.

I hope these 5 foods to cleanse your liver will help. Give these 5 foods a try and within a couple of weeks you’ll start to notice changes to your overall health too!