Wondering what your liver does and how to have a liver detox? Below, I’ve put together some long-term strategies for liver health.
What Your Liver Does to Keep You Healthy
Your liver is located in the upper right portion of your abdomen. Blood enters your liver right after leaving your stomach and intestines.
The liver breaks down nutrients and chemicals into a usable form for your body. It also processes waste products from your bloodstream into bile, which are used to break down fats.
What’s Compromising Your Liver Health?
Alcohol, diabetes, and obesity are the three main causes of liver issues.
You’ve likely heard that alcoholics have poor livers. That’s true. Alcohol damages liver cells, and too much alcohol causes ‘cirrhosis’, which is the death of liver cells. If you drink a glass of wine every now and then, you’ll likely be fine because liver cells do repair themselves after moderate alcohol intake. Only excessive alcohol intake puts you at risk of cirrhosis.
More and more, however, non-alcoholics develop liver issues. Obesity and diabetes can cause ‘fatty liver1‘, or fat deposits in the liver. That fat can cause inflammation, scarring, and also liver cell death. Research tells us that insulin resistance, a result of diabetes, is probably a factor in fatty liver. Here’s the good news: fatty liver is preventable with a good diet and healthy lifestyle.
Liver Detox Fads Don’t Work
There are many detox fads on the internet. Most aren’t likely to work.
There are ‘liver supplements’ with ingredients such as milk thistle, dandelion root, Oregon grape root, yellow dock root, and other ingredients. Be careful – there are some issues with them:
1) Milk thistle and products containing silymarin have been used successfully for many years. We need more research on them. Best to use good products according to recommended doses.
2) Many supplements sold by small suppliers aren’t regulated so we don’t know the quantity of each active ingredient it actually has. Check that your supplements are coming from a source you trust.
3) Targeting one specific organ is difficult. You need an approach that strengthens your entire immune system, not just your liver.
How to Naturally Help Detox Your Liver
Eat a healthy diet.
Eating well and having a healthy lifestyle is the most effective and research-proven detox strategy we have. Targeting any specific organ to detox is difficult because your body works as a system. To really detox your liver, the best strategy I recommend is taking care of your entire body.
The most effective detox plan is simply a good meal plan. Check out our guide on anti-inflammatory foods for food ideas.
Chew on this
What I love about healthy living is that it’s actually quite simple. Simple meals with healthy ingredients will help detox every organ – your liver, skin, or any other part of your body – and boost your immune system. There are no complicated rules to follow or meal plans to memorize for each part of your body. Eat well and live well!
How are you detoxing your body? Share with us in the comments!
