Lighten Your Liver’s Load

If there is one organ that rarely gets the attention or recognition it deserves, it’s the liver. Admittedly it is not as romantic as say, the heart, but it does just as much to keep us alive and well. In fact, when functioning normally, the liver stores vitamins, produces proteins, and cleans and detoxifies almost two quarts of blood every minute—critical gears in our body’s disease-preventing machinery.

Sadly, the liver’s capacity to keep us well is compromised daily due to the so-called luxuries of our modern world, such as frothy lattés, sophisticated cocktails, and the pesticides, medications, and food additives that we readily consume. And once the liver becomes taxed, a whole host of conditions can arise—everything from migraines to shingles. Luckily the liver is one of the most resilient organs, and if given a little help, such as a healthy diet and a few choice herbs, it can continue to keep you looking and feeling young and healthy.

Everyone could use a little liver boost, but for many of us, cleansing our livers of accumulated irritants is an important first step to optimal liver function. Chance are, if you suffer from chronic fatigue, frequent infections, constipation, bags under the eyes, menstrual problems, or liver spots, your liver is not running up to speed. An internal cleansing program can help.

Of course a healthy diet is always the place to start. Eat plenty of fiber- and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables—opting for organic varieties whenever possible. Especially good liver cleansers include leafy greens, seaweed, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage. Minimize saturated fats and refined sugars, while boosting your intake of healthy fats from wild, cold-water fish, flaxseed, and other sources. Lastly, drink plenty of water to help hydrate tissues and flush toxins from the body.

When it comes to supplements, the most well-known natural liver cleanser and detoxifier is milk thistle, an herb whose three active ingredients—together known as silymarin—exert powerful antioxidant activity. Silymarin is said to stimulate liver cell regeneration and inhibit the depletion of glutathione, a protein critical to the liver’s detoxifying abilities. As noted in the American Journal of Gastroenterology and other journals, milk thistle has even been effective at treating serious liver conditions such as hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Considering that the liver is what keeps our bodies free of those nasty toxins that cause age-related diseases, giving it a little cleanse can help you feel and look years younger.

Livercleansing
Dandelion is another herb with powerful detoxifying power. Dandelion helps flush toxins out of the body two ways: by increasing bile flow and by serving as a diuretic. Likewise, turmeric and green tea help regenerate liver cells, while burdock root can protect the liver from toxins such as industrial contaminants and drug residues. It is easy to find all these herbs in single preparations as well as in a wealth of specially formulated liver cleansing combination supplements.