Foods that are healthy for liver care fall into two main categories. First of all, they are those that promote the liver detoxification process. And secondly, they are the ones that are high in antioxidants and therefore protect the liver while it is carrying out its detoxification process.
We are living in an environment that exposes us to toxins every day. They are in our food, water, air, clothing that we wear, and the products that we use. It is difficult to protect yourself from all these dangers, but it is not impossible. By being careful what we put in our bodies and what we expose ourselves to, you can do a lot for our health.
But sometimes we are dominated by these external influences and we get sick. What happens when our body cannot take care of itself? What can we do?
The amount of intake of a certain plant, the method of consumption and the combination of plants can be hepatoprotective or hepatotoxic. Old age should be considered a risk factor for cumulative toxicity caused by plant chemicals. Concomitant use of drugs and herbs sometimes leads to herb-drug interactions.
Table of Contents
The importance of your liver.
Our liver is responsible for cleaning toxins from our body that have the potential to make us sick. Detoxifies the blood of toxins, medications, and alcohol. It stores vitamins and minerals, and converts stored sugar into usable energy for our body. It produces bile that helps digest fats, breaks down hemoglobin, insulin, and other hormones, and destroys old red blood cells.
With so many important functions that keep our bodies functioning at the highest level, when our liver is sick, we feel it everywhere. We are nauseous, we cannot eat, we lose weight at an unhealthy rate, we essentially break down.
Foods to detoxify and keep the liver healthy.
We have to keep our liver healthy so that we can be healthy as a whole. One for all and all for one is the motto we must adopt when it comes to our health and our organs. These are the best foods to help cleanse and heal a healthy liver.
Eating liver-healthy foods can improve and support liver function on a daily basis. Having a healthy liver results in increased energy and general well-being.
A malfunction of the liver can cause tiredness, headaches, bad breath, allergies and intolerances, skin problems and weight gain.
The antioxidants of plant origin have preventive and therapeutic effects on various liver diseases, including alcoholic hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, fibroproliferative liver disease, viral hepatitis and liver cancer.
Cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, caraway and Allium seed oils. The species are chemo preventive for liver cancer. Plant estrogens in the diet are very effective in treating viral hepatitis, but some of them are associated with liver toxicity caused by fungal contamination.
Plant foods that are fumigated, contaminated with pesticides, or rotten should be avoided. The excessive or incorrect consumption of cassava can be harmful to the liver.
Hepatoprotective plants contain substances with antioxidant activities. Plant sources of antioxidants are essential nutrients, such as vitamins and trace elements, and some non-essential substances.
Below is a list of the best foods that are considered to be excellent liver cleansers.
1. Garlic and onion.
Garlic contains allicin which is a sulfur-based compound needed by the liver for effective detoxification. Garlic helps the liver rid the body of mercury, certain food additives, and the hormone estrogen.
2. Cruciferous vegetables.
These vegetables as they are, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage are very powerful liver detoxifiers. They contain chemicals that neutralize certain toxins such as nitrosamines found in cigarette smoke and aflatoxin found in peanuts. They also contain glycosylates that help the liver produce the enzymes it needs for its detoxification process.
3. Tomatoes.
Tomatoes are rich in glutathione, which we know is a great liver detoxifier. It also contains lycopene which will protect against lung, breast and skin cancer.
4. Freshly squeezed lemon in hot water.
Drinking lemon juice in a cup of boiled water on an empty stomach in the morning helps cleanse the liver and promote detoxification. It also stimulates bile production, cleanses the stomach and intestines, and stimulates a bowel movement.
5. Turmeric.
Turmeric is one of the most powerful natural healers and liver favorite spice. Helps boost liver detoxification by supporting enzymes that actively drain dietary carcinogens.
6. Avocados..
A nutrient-dense super food, avocado helps the body produce glutathione, as well as a source of the healthy fatty acid, omega-3.
7. Walnuts.
Walnuts are not only a good source of glutathione, but also omega-3 fatty acids, and the amino acid arginine, which supports the normal function of cleansing the liver, especially ammonia detoxification.
8. Spinach.
Raw spinach is another important source of glutathione, which triggers the detonation of liver cleansing enzymes. It is easy to cook, and also great in soups.
9. Beetroot (Betabel).
It is a blood purifying tonic that is also capable of absorbing heavy metals. The best vegetables for the liver are carrots and beets, as they contain antioxidants including beta-carotene, other carotenoids, and healing flavonoids that give these vegetables their color.
10. Grapefruit.
Another source of glutathione and one that is also high in vitamin C and antioxidants, in addition, this fruit increases the production of liver detoxification enzymes and the natural cleansing process of the liver.
11. Antioxidants from fruits.
In a study the following list of fruits were found to have the highest levels of antioxidants (in descending order): plums, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, pink grapefruit, cantaloupe, apples and pears. Antioxidants help protect the liver from the high levels of free radicals that are naturally produced during the detoxification process.
12. Apples.
Apples contain pectin, which binds to heavy metals in the body (particularly in the colon) and aids in their excretion. This reduces the load on the liver and its detoxification abilities.
13. Artichoke.
Increases bile production. One of the jobs of the bile is to eliminate toxins through the intestine, as well as poorly conducive to microorganisms. It has been suggested that 30 minutes after eating artichoke, bile flow increases above 100%.
14. Green leafy bitter salads.
(Dandelion, chicory, endive, arugula). The bitterness in these foods helps stimulate the flow of bile in the liver.