Contrary to popular beliefs, the detox diet is not intended to help you lose weight, nor does it mean to solely include a green detox smoothie in your daily routine. Body detoxification is a process that includes dietary and lifestyle changes intended to help your body’s primary purifying system.
Many people nowadays are convinced that having a liver is enough to keep the body clean from toxins. Yes, our body has organs which function perfectly in order to flush out the toxins, converting them to waste and constantly cleaning the blood. However, in this day and age, the amount of harmful chemicals that our body is exposed to is too much to handle. Therefore, in order to keep optimal liver function and avoid the chances of serious liver damages, one should occasionally perform liver detoxification with the help of natural detox supplements.
Copyright: Pexels | CC0 Public Domain
Why Do We Need to Detoxify the Body?
The air we breathe, the water we drink, and most of the food we eat, contain heavy metals, and various other toxic substances that cause out purifier, the liver, to work twice as hard. Overconsumption of anything that harms the liver can lead to serious liver damages and later on result in the development of many illnesses.
Just imagine how overwhelmed our liver gets from alcohol, tobacco consumption, the processed food, the processed sugar, and even all the chemicals that penetrate our skin from the cosmetic products that we apply. Add to this the polluted air and drinking-water in most urban areas, the conclusion is: your liver is working immensely hard to keep you healthy and free of toxins that might seriously harm you. Due to this being the common scenario, half of the world’s population are living with only 50-60% of their optimal liver function.
So, to avoid damaging your liver up to the point where its function is decreased, or even worse, completely lost, one should mind what puts into their body. Much more than that, one can include serious lifestyle and diet changes that not only will unload the liver of the heavy workload but will also the regeneration of its cells in order to boost maximum function. If you are ready to do this, below you will find several important tips on how to perform a natural liver cleanse or detoxification.
How to Properly Perform Liver Detox – the Natural Way
The liver is a truly impressive organ given the fact that it performs numerous essential functions, but it also has the ability to regenerate itself. This is good news since people that have experienced liver damages can its regeneration up to the point of the liver being completely healthy and in optimal functioning. Even if there is a small part of the liver left in the body it can slowly repair back to its full size. But in order to achieve this, it needs to be given the time to regenerate instead of being overwhelmed with work, as it is the case with pretty much anything in life.
- Start with diet changes
To start out with the process, one first needs to exclude as many sources of toxic exposure as possible. This includes eating highly processed food such as fast food, snacks, candy, drinking sodas, alcohol, and avoiding cosmetic products manufactured including a lot of chemicals.
The larger portion of the daily diet should include fresh fruits and vegetables. There are specific foods that particularly help the liver detox, containing substances that participate in the process. These are:
- Carrots and beets
- Avocados and asparagus
- Green leafy vegetables
- Apples and citrus fruits
- Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
Water plays an important role in successful liver cleanse. Apart from being essential for the body to perform all processes, it helps the body to flush the toxins out fast. However, one must be careful with the water they choose to drink. Nowadays, even water can be a source of toxins. So be sure that the tap water that is available to you is clean, or if you decide to buy bottled water make sure it is not packaged in plastic bottles. Plastic is another source of toxins that can enter the water if it has been in the bottle for a long time and much worse if that bottle was exposed to heat or sun.
Copyright: Pexels | CC0 Public Domain
- Exercise
Exercise regulates the body mass helping one to retain optimal body weight. This is very important for liver health. Moreover, obesity and excessive fat can result in fatty liver and decreased liver function. Exercise also increases energy levels which helps the detoxifying process.
- Include Natural Herbs
Natural herbs have been and should always be our first choice of medicine. There are specific herbs containing potent substances that can the process of liver detoxification and regeneration altogether. When it comes to liver health the most effective are the bitter herbs. Combinations of milk thistle, endive, dandelion, wormwood, olive leaf, and chamomile, in forms of tincture or tea are a great addition to the whole detoxifying process. To be able to enjoy all the benefits these herbs bring for liver health, you would ultimately want to exclude the possibility that they were treated with harsh chemicals. Always make sure that the herbs were naturally grown without any pesticides, to avoid opposite effects than the desired.
How Long Does it Take to Detox the Liver?
There is no general rule that applies to everyone. Depending on the purpose of the detox, to or heal a damaged liver, it can last for four weeks to several months. It is important to do regular check-ups at least before the start of the detox diet and afterward. Switching to the dietary and lifestyle practices mentioned above can’t cause harm, however, if for prolonged periods of time one is restricting certain types of food it might be harmful to their individual organism. It is extremely important to consult your doctor or medical specialist before starting any detox diet.
