How to Cleanse Your Liver Naturally

A healthy liver shows a healthy face

If you are interested in cleansing your liver, you must first understand what function the organ performs in your body. According to the Hepatitis Foundation International, the liver is the largest organ in our body and serves to detoxify everything we eat, breathe and absorb through our skin. It converts the nutrients we eat into energy and muscle. It stores vitamins and regulates fat stores. It is a real superpower in the health of our bodies. Knowing this, there are several natural things we can do for a cleaner liver.

Instructions

1. Stop toxifying your liver. If it serves as a filter for everything that comes into our body, then it only makes sense to ease off on the constant overload. The HFI (Hepatitis Foundation International) lists several items to watch out for: excess alcohol, pain medications and drugs, environmental pollutants, excessive eating, refined carbohydrates and multivitamin supplements that are high in vitamins A and D.

2. Drink green tea. Literature from the University of Maryland states that men who drink 10 cups of green tea a day are less likely to develop disorders of the liver than those who don't. The study suggests that the polyphenols in the green tea seem to protect the liver from alcohol damage, from liver tumors and from viral hepatitis.

3. Increase your daily intake of green vegetables. Dandelion has been recommended by the ESCOP (European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy) as useful in the restoration of liver function. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts contain phytochemicals that modulate enzymes in the liver to perform natural detoxification.

4. Lose weight and exercise. Amazingly, almost 75 percent of obese people have non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD), and most of them do not know it. As the BMI increases, the severity of the disease increases, as reported by the Nature Clinical Practice of Gastroenterolgy and Hepatology.

5. Spend time outside and increase your level of vitamin D. Studies by the Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science have shown that people with chronic liver disease have low levels of the vitamin in their blood. The form found absorbed by the skin is cholecalciferol or Vitamin D3, and is metabolized without the risk of overdose, as can happen with supplements.

Tips & Warnings

• If you suspect liver problems, get your physician's advice.

• Stay away from so-called natural cleanses whose efficacy is not backed up with scientific data.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Green tea study
• Broccoli as protection
• Obesity and liver disease
• Vitamin D