Why the liver is critical for your health and why you need to cleanse it and 6 foods to cleanse your liver
The liver is a key organ for regulating hormone balance, chemical levels in the blood, glucose and protein balance, making immune factors, and breaking down and excreting harmful substances.
The liver is also important for our digestive health and how we breakdown our macronutrients including the digestion of fats and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K.
Supporting the liver is essential to health and longevity as the liver is the primary organ for the body to detoxify.
This means that it filters out toxins, drugs, waste products and excess hormones from the body – all things we do not want hanging around. We can help support the liver by ensuring it has everything it needs to do the best job possible and we can do this through food.
And our Zing Wellbeing Liver Cleanse meal plan is perfect to cleanse your liver over 7 days - if you are not a member you can join the program here
6 foods to cleanse your liver
Foods that are beneficial for the liver include those that aid in detoxification, reduce inflammation and provide essential nutrients for liver function. These include:
Cruciferous Vegetables
Indoles, including indole-3-Carbinol, is essential to liver support and can be found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts.
These vegetables also contain glucosinolates, which support liver detoxification enzymes and enhance the liver’s ability to eliminate toxins.
Green Green Green!
Leafy greens and other green coloured vegetables can help the liver like kale, spinach, rocket and Swiss chard. They are high in chlorophyll which helps to detox the liver and boost bile production.
Red and Purple
Antioxidants from beetroot, berries, and grapefruit which help protect the liver from damage. Blueberries and raspberries are packed with anthrocyanins which help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.
While beetroots are high in nitrates and antioxidants which reduce inflammation, and promote bile flow which aids in digestion and detoxification.
Turmeric and other spices
Spices assist with digestion and circulation in general while turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory which contains the active constituent curcumin which has been researched extensively to support liver health and protect liver cells from damage.
Fatty Fish
Like salmon and anchovies are high in healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin E which can help reduce inflammation and support liver health.
Protein
Protein and the amino acids it is made up of are important for liver health. Having enough protein in the diet is essential for the liver to perform detoxification, tissue repair and metabolic function.
There are a few specific amino acids that are particularly important such as methionine (from eggs, chicken, fish and brazil nuts), cysteine (from eggs, legumes and red capsicum), arginine (from chicken, pepitas, peanuts and lentils), glutamine (from beef, chicken, fish, dairy and tofu).
You can also see our organic and vegan protein powder here
Want to check out a liver cleansing recipe to see how delicious they are?
Go here to try out a frittata recipe
