Liver Cleansing Diet
The liver is an incredible organ that plays several roles in the body, so it is essential for your health to take care of it, and keep it healthy. In general, all that is required to maintain a healthy liver is to eat healthy, but if you do not normally eat well, try this liver cleansing diet.
What does the liver do?
The main function of the liver is to remove potentially harmful substances from the body, including oxidants. The liver is also responsible for eliminating excess hormones. Therefore, poor liver function can cause and painful PMS symptoms.
The blood sugar content is also balanced by the liver. When this feature fails, you start to feel tired and you can gain weight. In severe cases, it can lead to diabetes.
Bile is also produced in the liver. Without bile, our cholesterol levels will rise, leading to digestive disorders, bloating, as well as food allergies and poor vitamin absorption, especially for vitamins A, D, K and E.
Why should we cleanse the liver?
Large amounts of toxins accumulate all the time in the body, due to the processed foods we often eat. When the liver is overloaded, it releases an ammonia mixture into the bloodstream, which can damage the brain, nervous system, kidneys and liver.
Another toxin that the liver releases when it is overloaded is lactic acid. The result is chronic fatigue and muscle aches. An excessive accumulation of lactic acid can cause anxiety, headaches, high blood pressure and panic attacks.
Other sources of toxins are:
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Salt
- Processed foods
- Substances
- Medicine
- Environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke, pesticides and chemical products.
Liver cleansing diet
This liver cleansing diet increases your intake of certain foods while limiting and omitting others. The ideal scenario is to follow the diet for an entire week. We divide the foods into three groups: “Yes” foods, “Moderation” foods and “No” foods.
Yes food (eat as much as you want)
These powerful, cleansing fruits are an important part of this liver cleansing diet.
The best options are:
- Citrus fruit
- Papaya
- Peaches
- Mango fruits
- Melon
- Red grapes
- Berry
The fiber content of these fruits accelerates the removal of toxins from the body and improves the digestive tract. It is recommended to eat them fresh and whole, instead of in the form of juice.
Vegetables that are particularly good for cleansing the liver are:
- Artichokes
- Peppers
- Beetroot
- Brussel sprouts
- Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, spinach)
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Pumpkin
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Prayers
- Germinated seeds
These vegetables help neutralize heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful chemical products that we come in contact with all the time.
Unsalted, raw seeds can be eaten every day. This includes almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds.
Use extra virgin olive oil to cook, and use seed oils to make salad dressing. Like the seeds themselves, these oils provide a base that can absorb harmful toxins.
Be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, preferably purified, filtered or bottled water. You can also drink decaf tea or coffee.
Moderation foods (eat in moderation)
Limit your intake of:
- Cereals, such as brown rice, corn, oats and quinoa: no more than two servings a day.
- Fish, such as salmon, mackerel, anchovies and sardines: no more than one serving a day.
- Bananas and potatoes: one serving every other day.
No foods (avoid completely)
- Red meat and dairy products, including eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt. Dairy products are one of the most common causes of food allergies, and the majority of people produce antibodies against them, causing the immune system to react.
- Wheat and other grains that contain gluten, such as rye and barley, because they irritate the intestines.
- Salt, artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives, fried foods, spices and dried fruits. These foods contain preservatives, synthetic ingredients and chemical products that can adversely affect liver function.
- Caffeine and alcohol give the liver hard work to detoxify itself. Replace these drinks with green tea.
As you can see, this liver cleansing diet is quite simple and gives you many options to eat well, without having to make too much effort. When do you start?
