Health | Foods that can help cleanse the liver
Our intake of alcohol can spike during the festive period and hence the need to cleanse your liver post-Christmas and throughout the year.
A few tipples over Christmas gives you more than just a sore head. It can have a negative impact on one of your vital organs, and primarily your liver.
Your liver sifts through every single thing that comes into your body and uses what it can and gets rid of what it can’t. Therefore, it is important to keep things coming in that your body can use, rather than things it has to filter out because it recognises them as harmful toxins.
As such, it is often recommended to eat a healthy, plant-based diet and reduce or eliminate animal foods, alcohol refined sugar, excess caffeine, and processed foods.
Beets are one of the popular cleansing foods. They naturally cleanse and purify the blood, which boasts liver function, and nutrient production in your body. Beets are also high in antioxidants while its fibres and nutrients help the body flush toxins that are often stored in our liver.
Add some broccoli to your meals to naturally cleanse the body from carcinogens and other toxins. Broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts also contain glucosinolates which helps the liver produce enzymes to aid the removal of toxins and aid in digestion. The green veg is also a good source of fat-soluble vitamin E, and so an important antioxidant for the liver.
The ever popular sweet potato is another good fuel for our liver as it is rich in beta-carotene, a natural anti-inflammatory nutrient. Beta carotene converts to vitamin A in the body, and directly in the liver.
Lemons are a natural cleansing food and a great food to get things going in all areas of your body. Lemons offer a variety of antioxidants, including vitamin C, and helps your liver produce more enzymes which gives you more energy and help with digestion.
Lentils, meanwhile, are rich in fibre, which assists with the cleansing process while they are also a good source of plant-based protein.
