
The liver is large organ in the body responsible for performing hundreds of functions, but most importantly, is filtering toxins and body wastes for disposal.
The liver also helps the body to digest food, process nutrients and store essential vitamins and minerals.
Because the liver is responsible for a large part of overall health, it is necessary to maintain its proper functioning. If liver work slows down and becomes slow, toxins accumulate and are stored as fat tissue.
Seeing all it can do, it’s no surprise that many experts consider it the main organ in our bodies. It’s very important to not overburden your liver as this may lead to serious complications and can even be fatal!
There are several symptoms that are reflected in our body when the liver is stressed such as:
- Chronic fatigue
- Anxiety or depression
- Lethargy
- Recurrent headaches
- Digestion problems
- Chronic muscle or joint pain
- Excessive sweating
- Acne or certain skin conditions
- Gases, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea
- Hormonal imbalances
- Chronic bad breath
- Unexplained weight gain
These are some of the symptoms that can occur when the liver does not work properly, which may even be the answer to why many people find it difficult to get rid of those extra pounds even when following a healthy diet and exercise.
To improve liver function is important, start with food and make certain changes that can help avoid overloading the work done by the liver.
The following tips help in improving the functions of the liver:
-Avoid processed foods and try to consume organic foods that do not contain toxic substances.
-Follow a balanced diet that includes whole foods, high-quality animal and plant proteins, grains, fermented foods, healthy fats, nuts, and seeds.
-Eliminate from your diet inflammatory oils such as canola, corn, soybean, vegetable oil, cottonseed, safflower, or sunflower.
-Drink plenty of water.
-Increase the consumption of healthy fats.
-Get enough dietary fiber by consuming whole grain foods, chia seeds, artichokes, avocados, broccoli and Brussels sprouts -among others.
-Eliminate refined sugars.
-Restrict fructose consumption to 20 g – 25 g per day.
-Increase the consumption of green leafy vegetables as they contain magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin B.
-Include sources of animal and plant origin for amino acids such as bone broth, chicken, eggs, raw spinach, parsley, cabbage or beet.
-Eat foods that are a source of sulfur such as eggs, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, garlic, onions, asparagus or kale.
-Limit or eliminate alcohol consumption.
Aside from following a healthy diet there are 3 foods that are highly beneficial to the liver like:
-Artichokes help protect and support liver function because of its high fiber content and antioxidant properties.
-Turmeric helps protect against damage to the liver because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
-Milk thistle. This medicinal herb contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-fibrotic properties that help protect liver cells from damage that can be caused by viruses, toxins or alcohol.
TURMERIC TEA RECIPE TO DETOXIFY THE LIVER
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Honey
- Lemon juice
Preparation:
Place water and ground turmeric in a small pot. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Strain the turmeric tea into a glass and add honey and lemon for taste.
These are some of the steps you can follow daily to support liver function.