Super Foods That Naturally Cleanse Your Liver

We live in a world where disease is everywhere, and becoming more prevalent by the day. This should come as no surprise, as the environment we choose to surround ourselves with is extremely toxic. The food we eat, the water we drink, the very air we breathe – all have become potentially hazardous to our health. Equally worrying are the chemicals we use every day. One great example is bleach; it’s one the most commonly used and relied upon cleaners in the world, but it can be very damaging to the respiratory tract just by inhalation of the gases it emits when used.

The Liver Is Very Important

This is about detoxing the body’s largest gland, the liver. Without a liver, a person cannot survive. It has a number of functions including, but not limited to:

• Detoxifying the blood to rid it of harmful substances (like toxins, drugs, alcohol, and more)
• Stores vitamins and iron
• Converts stored sugar to usable sugar when the body’s sugar levels fall below normal
• Produces bile, a substance needed to digest fats
• Breaks down hemoglobin as well as insulin and other hormones
• Destroys old red blood cells

Detox Your Liver With These 20 Super Foods

1. Walnuts

 

 

Walnuts have high amounts of an important amino acid called arginine. This is important for helping the liver remove ammonia from the body. These nuts are also high in omega-3 fatty acids and glutathione, which support the liver in its normal cleansing routines. Chew these well to help your body digest them properly.

2. Beets and Carrots

Like walnuts, carrots are also high in glutathione, which help to detoxify your liver. Both of these veggies are high in beta-carotene and plant flavonoids. Eating beets and/or carrots can help stimulate, as well as improve, the function of the liver.

3. Alternative Grains

Grains that are gluten rich, such as wheat and rye, actually increase the workload for the liver. Try eating alternative grains such as millet, buckwheat, and quinoa.
 

4. Olive Oil

Oils that have been made through the cold pressing process such as olive, hemp, and flax seed oil offer great support for your liver. These oils provide your body with a liquid base that can actually suck up the harmful toxins in your body like a dry sponge.

5. Green Tea

Dump those sodas and coffee and brew up some healthy green tea instead. This tea is full of antioxidants called catechins, which are well known for assisting the liver in its functions. Always drink fresh brewed green tea, as those bottles and cans have no nutritional value.

6. Tomatoes

Another great veggie that contains more of those healthy glutathione’s, which help the liver to detoxify. As an added benefit, the lycopene in tomatoes will help protect you from skin, lung, and breast cancers. Two health treats in one!

7. Grapefruit

This fruit is also full of glutathione. It’s also very high in vitamin C and those healthy antioxidants. These help to increase the production of enzymes in the liver that improve the detoxification process.

8. Spinach

Adding raw spinach to your salad is a major good move as spinach contains tons of glutathione, that compound that triggers enzymes to clean up the liver.

9. Citrus Fruits

Both limes and lemons have very high vitamin C contents, which stimulate your liver and aid in the synthesizing of toxic substances into water soluble compounds.

10. Cabbage

The glucosinolates in cabbage are turned into isothiocyanates by the body and provide your liver with those great detoxifying enzymes that will help flush out those toxins.

11. Turmeric

 

This is your liver’s absolutely favorite spice so use it frequently to help boost the detoxification of your liver. Turmeric will help those enzymes to flush out dietary carcinogens.

12. Leafy Green Veggies

It’s the chlorophyll in these veggies that actually absorb toxins, increase the body’s production of bile, neutralize heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemicals, which will lessen the burden placed on the liver.

13. Avocados

These super nutrient dense powerhouses help the body naturally produce glutathione. 

14. Dandelion

Drinking dandelion root tea will help your liver to break down fats, produce important amino acids, and help to rid your body of overall toxins.

15. Apples

Apples are high in pectin and other compounds that are essential to cleanse and release toxins from within your digestive tract. Apples make things easier for your liver. Always choose organic apples as conventional apples are loaded with pesticides.

16. Garlic

 

 

The sulfur in garlic is another great compound for activating the enzymes in your liver that will help it to flush out those nasty toxins. Garlic is also high in selenium, and alllicin, two other helpful compounds when it comes to liver cleansing.

17. Brussels Sprouts

This veggie has the one-two punch of being high in sulfur, like garlic, and high in glucosinolates, which compels the liver to make enzymes that protect the body from damage from dietary or environmental toxins.

18. Cruciferous Veggies

Eating more of broccoli and cauliflower will help your body to increase the number of enzymes in your system to flush out not only toxins, but other carcinogens as well.

19. Asparagus

This veggie is a fantastic diuretic, which will greatly help in the cleansing process and shoulder some of the detox load of both the kidneys and the liver.

20. Bok Choy

Also called Chinese white cabbage. Full of antioxidants and phytonutirents, this veggie really encourages your liver to create enzymes that will help in the detoxification process while protecting you from certain cancers. Add it to your salads or stir fry’s and feel good about eating it.