Our overall health depends not only on whether or not we properly absorb nutrients -although that is incredibly important- but on how well our body flushes out toxins.
Nowadays, we’re more exposed to harmful toxins than ever.
Between chemical-laden cleaning supplies, toxic body-care products with misleading labels, and a large number of processed foods plaguing our pantries, our livers are going through the most taxing time in human history.
In the past, when we mostly or only consumed natural whole-foods, eliminating waste and toxins was easy for our bodies, today… not so much.
Given that it’s virtually impossible to avoid toxins, you may have an unnoticed build-up.
Do you know how to detox your liver?
Even when we don’t feel like there’s anything wrong, we may be experiencing toxin build-up or have seemingly unrelated symptoms of a stressed and overtaxed liver. Since detoxification is an essential natural process we all go through every day, learn how to give your body the best liver detox to feel your best every day.
If you want to boost your immune system, feel more energy, and help your body process nutrients and purge toxins better learn how to detox your liver!
In just a few minutes you’ll know:
- Signs that you need a liver detox
- How liver detox works
- Where toxins come from
- How to detox your liver
- The best liver detox for busy people
11 Sneaky Signs that You Need a Liver Detox
Look back at the past three months and think about these eleven sneaky signs that you need a liver detox:
- Bad breath or white-yellowish thrush covering your tongue
- Sugar cravings or blood sugar spikes
- Visceral fat, resistant belly fat that won’t budge, abdominal weight gain
- Congested sinuses
- Fluid retention
- Acne, unexplained rashes, itchy skin or rosacea
- Fatigue: particularly in the mornings, even after enough sleep
- Mood swings and irritability
- Chemical sensitivity: bothered by perfume or smells, feeling like a lightweight when it comes to alcohol
- Insomnia
- Excessive sweating or overheating
If you have had four or more of these symptoms in the past three months, your liver is likely working extra hard but finding it difficult to cope with the number of toxins and waste it needs to process.
You’re probably in need of the best body detox of your life - the one you consciously start!
How a Liver Detox Works
If you want to learn how to detox your liver it’s good to understand how this hard-working organ functions.
It is on all the time, constantly detoxifying blood, producing the bile needed to digest and process fat, breaking down hormones, channeling medicine, and storing essential nutrients such as iron, vitamins, and minerals to send out throughout the body when needed.
The liver filters blood separating fat-soluble-only toxins and removing the largest ones as available. It then synthesizes those fat-soluble toxins and turns them into water-soluble ones that are easier to eliminate for the body. Eventually, the waste is discarded in bile (cholesterol), feces, and urine.
This happens through toxin neutralization through oxidation and conjugation:
- oxidation: the liver uses oxygen and enzymes to turn toxins into less harmful substances. Going from fat soluble to water soluble - easier to excrete through urine and feces. Free radicals are created as a byproduct of this process.
- Conjugation: Â toxins, now water-soluble activated intermediates, are neutralized with the help of amino acids or organic acids that ultimately eliminate waste through the bile. Â Additionally, antioxidants reduce the damage of free radicals in this phase.
- Elimination: finally the liver takes those water-soluble substances and flushes them out of the body in conjunction with the other three organs involved in detoxification: kidneys, intestines, and skin.
This is the best liver detox -the natural one- but the problem is that there are so many environmental toxins dealt with in phase 1 (oxidation) that sometimes phase 2 (conjugation) is not enough to deal with all the free radicals and intermediate compounds. Making your body show signs of toxicity.
Where do Toxins Come From?
You’re probably wondering what these substances are? How to detox your liver if they’re so common? Where are all of these toxins?
Simply put: toxins are everywhere, and they’re both of natural and artificial origin.
When you consume food and drinks the body starts to break down the substances in them, such as sugar, fat, and proteins -all from natural sources- and drugs, hormone enhancers, food preservatives, additives, artificial coloring, sweeteners, pesticides, alcohol, etc. - all from artificial sources. Everything we consume today has a high likelihood of having been exposed to external toxins.
The liver processes all of these natural and artificial compounds in addition to the ones that permeate the skin or through inhalation like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fumes, pollution, chemicals in body care products, etc. Â
As you can image, it’s pretty busy! If you’re looking into how to detox your liver, you also need to consider these environmental toxins.
Now that you know a bit more about how a liver detox works and where toxins come from, here are our 10 steps for showing that hard-working liver some love.
#1 Alkalize Your Water and Bathe in It
The best liver detox is one you can easily maintain, the first step when you learn how to detox your liver is to hydrate and flush your liver with water.
However, you can boost your immune system and help your liver further by making the water alkaline: add freshly squeezed citrus juice to your water, one or two drops of lime essential oil, or dropping a slice of lime, orange, or tangerine will do the trick. Avoid heavily filtered or chlorinated tap water.
#2 Remove Toxic Processed Foods
Opt for organic, raw, close to its natural form, or dehydrated foods instead of prepacked processed ones. They may be easier to cook, but contain more chemicals for your liver to process. Figuring out how to detox your liver is easier when processed junk is out of the way.
#3 Avoid or Eliminate Alcohol
This goes almost without saying, but if you’re looking into how to detox your liver and want to get the best liver detox results possible, avoid alcohol completely for at least seven days and reduce it as much as possible for about twenty-one days. This will give your liver a breather.
#4 Drink Raw Vegetable Juice
Especially dark leafy greens mixed with citrus juice. It can be tough to eat the recommended three to five servings of greens, fruits, and vegetables each day - especially if you’re not a fan of the taste.
Get four to five servings of vegetables in one green juice or raw juice adding cabbage, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts, carrots, beets, cucumbers, celery, and parsley to your own concoction to regulate the pH levels in your body and support phase 1 and 2 of liver detoxification reducing estrogen dominance.
#5 Leverage Coffee (In Moderation!) Â
How to detox your liver with coffee: leverage a cup of joe (or even a coffee enema) to stimulate bile flow, glutathione production (a cleansing compound that helps remove toxins), and promote healthy bowel movements. Bonus points: add an Ayurvedic twist to it, placing three to five cardamon seeds to boost phase 1.
#6 Eat Potassium-Rich Foods
Potassium helps cleanse the liver, in addition to lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and supporting overall cardiovascular health. Bananas are famous for their potassium content, but you can also find it in white beans, kidney beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, beet greens and more.
#7 Get More Antioxidants
This is a biggie! Phase 1 of detoxification, aka oxidation, tends to create a lot of free radicals due to the complexities of the foods, drinks, and other chemicals we ingest wittingly or unwittingly on a daily basis. Support phase 2 of detox and neutralize those free radicals with carotenoids, Vitamin C, D, E, A, B, and Flavonoids.
How to detox your liver with antioxidants? Simple: eat more berries, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, plantain, spinach, onions, parsley, and other antioxidant-rich foods. Also drinking green and black tea in moderation. Â
#8 Choose a Plant-Based Supplement
If you can’t get the daily recommended intake of the vitamins and minerals necessary to deal with free radicals that damage DNA, make us age prematurely, and harm healthy cells - get a plant-based, organic supplement. Get the best liver detox by giving your best guy the support it needs.
Once you learn how to detox your liver, you’ll want to sustain the effort - even if some less-than-friendly foods are introduced. This is the best way to do that!
#9 Load Up on Broccoli and Cruciferous Vegetables
A great way is to add buddha bowls or macro bowls that have lots of broccoli sprouts, brussel sprouts, cabbage, mustard leaf, chard, etc. Cruciferous vegetables limit estrogen dominance, help liver cleanse and boost enzyme production in the body supporting phase 2 of liver detoxification.
#10 Reduce Toxin Exposure
Drink from a glass and not a plastic bottle, change your body lotions to natural, raw and organic coconut oil, avoid plastic containers and utensils, and figure out other sources of common toxins and how to detox your liver by removing them from your pantry, cosmetic drawer, or cleaning supply list.
If you want to find the best liver detox for you, figure out how to detox your liver regularly in a way that works for you.
Be strict for seven to twenty-one days in following these ten steps to see a marked difference in rest, energy, breath, digestion, bowel movements, and possibly skin tone. Schedule a periodic detox process and so you can get the best liver detox nature has to offer year-round.