The importance of the liver can’t be underestimated. It serves several essential functions, and no other organ can make up for its poor function.
The liver is responsible for producing and excreting bile. It also excretes cholesterol and hormones.
Metabolizing fats, proteins, and carbohydrates fall under the livers responsibility too, but the most important job of the liver is to filter our blood.
People whose livers begin to shutdown have go through a process knows as dialysis, where they are connected to a machine that performs this process for them. It detoxifies our body, and since we find ourselves constantly under attack, from harmful toxins and preservatives in foods, helping the body do its job naturally, is always a good idea.
There are foods that we can eat to keep our livers healthy and functioning properly. Putting the liver in the best possible position to keep us healthy should be one of our main priorities.
Take a look our list of great tasting, liver-assisting foods that you can add to your everyday diet:
Citrus Fruits
Oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. There are plenty of citrus fruits for us to choose from. Being Vitamin C rich, these fruits fortify the liver, by increasing the production of the enzymes responsible for detoxification.
This important vitamin also has the capability to transform certain toxins into soluble materials. Citrus fruits help fight free radicals and are full of antioxidants.
Apple
Staying in the fruit section of the market, we can also choose that food that if eaten daily keeps the doctor away. Apples have a substance known as pectin that keeps the liver clean and healthy. That might be why the they’re said to keep the doctor away.
Salads
Pairing green leafy vegetables with tomatoes is a fantastic recipe for a healthy liver. The leafy vegetables provide chlorophyll that boosts bile production which in turn boosts fat absorption. Chlorophyll gives us more energy and is often a good substitute for iron supplements.
Adding tomatoes to your salad can assist in cleaning the liver too, thanks to the glutathione it contains. Lycopene found in tomatoes fights certain types of cancer.
Garlic
While many people know that garlic wards off pesky mosquitoes, fewer people know the benefits it provides to the liver. It helps clean the liver with two special compounds knows as allicin and selenium, and activates the toxin flushing process at the same time.
Brussels Sprouts
They look like baby cabbages, but don’t let their size fool you. They do a fantastic job of warding off damage from toxins that come from our environment, as well as through our food.
Turmeric
This popular spice that’s widely used in Indian cuisine, is often thought of as the most important spice for liver function. It not only is said to flush out toxins by promoting the production of important enzymes, itís been shown to help flush carcinogens from our system as well.
Gluten-Free Grains
Gluten puts stress on the liver, so any grain that contains gluten will do the same. These include wheat, flour, and anything that says its been enriched. Gluten-free grains include sorghum, amaranth, as well as the popular quinoa and buckwheat.
Try these out for better liver health.
Source(s)/Resource(s):
1. Induction of detoxification enzymes by feeding unblanched Brussels sprouts
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20722931/
2. Heat treatment of Brussels sprouts retains their ability to induce detoxification enzyme expression
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21535814/
3. Patients with celiac disease are at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome and fatty liver
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7873403/
4. Celiac Disease, Gluten-Free Diet, and Metabolic and Liver Disorders
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7230624/
5. Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC442131/
6. Raw Garlic Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31480423/
7. Garlic and liver diseases
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128039519000288
8. Tomato lycopene prevention of alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma development
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6308920/
9. The role of curcumin in liver diseases
https://www.archivesofmedicalscience.com/The-role-of-curcumin-in-liver-diseases,78816,0,2.html