Keep your liver happy with these foods

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/11/2016 (3590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Your liver is hard at work every minute of the day. It’s the second-largest organ in the body — second only to skin — and it’s the only organ that can regenerate itself. Studies have shown that when the human body has 25 per cent of the original tissue of the liver, it can regrow to its original size in eight to 15 days. And within seven days after regrowth, the new liver cannot be distinguished from the original cells.

Your liver has a ton of responsibilities to keep your body functioning at it’s very best. According to Medical News Today, there are 10 major functions of the liver:

• Produces bile;

• Absorbs and metabolizes bilirubin, which helps make the next generation of cells;

• Helps create blood-clotting factors;

• Metabolizes fat and carbohydrates, which helps break things down to make them easier to digest;

• Stores vitamins, minerals and glycogen (for energy);

• Helps metabolize proteins;

• Filters the blood;

• Destroys pathogens that might enter the liver from the gut, a critical immunity function;

• Produces albumin, which helps maintain osmotic pressure and helps prevent blood vessels from leaking;

• Synthesizes angiotensinogen, a hormone that raises blood pressure when alerted by the kidney.

So, how do you ensure your liver is being taken care of? There are some obvious things that you can do, such as limit your alcohol intake, don’t smoke, get adequate exercise and proper nutrition. More specifically, there are some foods that are great for keeping your liver clean and working at its very best.

These foods include:

• Warm lemon water

• Garlic

• Avocados

• Cilantro

• Turmeric

• Beets

• Broccoli

• Green tea

• Leafy greens

• Olive oil

• Apples

• Cabbage

I’m highly interested in liver health. For one, it has so many functions in the body; ensuring it is in great working order is important to me.

Secondly, many years ago I developed allergy issues resulting in hives. After seeing my naturopathic doctor, she suggested I do a liver cleanse twice per year.

Taking her advice with respect to my personal allergy issues, my hives disappeared. Lastly, my mom passed away almost three years ago from a short, yet horrific, battle with cholangiocarcinoma — bile duct cancer.

It is a very rare form of cancer and affects fewer than 50 Canadians per year. Unfortunately, the medical world doesn’t know too much about cholangiocarcinoma as it is so rare.

The more I learned about this disease and saw the devastating effects it had on my mom, ensuring my liver is well supported and maintained is more important now than ever.

The liver cleanse I do one to two times per year is very simple, still you should check with your physician before starting.

Follow the below regime for five to seven days each time you do the cleanse.

Here is how it works:

Morning

Your morning “cocktail” is the most difficult part of this cleanse. In a glass, mix one tablespoon of flax or hemp oil, one to two cloves of crushed garlic and a dash of turmeric. Swallowing it all in one swift move is key. It tastes terrible, but it works. Thirty minutes later, you can have green tea and one piece of fruit.

The remainder of the day

The remainder of the day you can eat as much as you want, but stick to a vegetarian diet. Eat as many vegetables (especially cruciferous ones such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts) as you wish, and two servings of fruit.

In terms of grains, brown rice, quinoa, oats and yams are all great options. You can also eat seeds and nuts — hemp hearts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and almonds are all great for your liver.

To flavour your food, keep things fairly basic with olive or coconut oil, garlic and turmeric. Avoid salt and drink plenty of fresh, clean water.

Supplements

I would recommend taking milk thistle, which some studies say improves liver function, during this cleanse, and continue with it post-cleanse as well.

The natural properties in turmeric and garlic will also help with liver support. These are both available as supplements, but if you can get them into your diet with food, that is always my recommendation.

Andrea Katz is a certified fitness instructor and former competitive athlete. She co-founded the marketing agency Fit Communications with her sister and partner Allison Gervais. With Fit Communications, Andrea and Allison are on a mission to spread the word of health every day.