Healing Your Liver
Your liver is your body’s filtration system, clearing out drugs, insecticides, pesticides and other such chemicals, and microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and dead cells. When your liver gets damaged, toxins that would normally be filtered out by the liver end up recirculating through your body, exposing your glands to harmful compounds and creating a toxic overload. Synthetic estrogen from growth hormones, medications, aspirin, birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy also causes damage to the liver. Your liver is also a digestive organ that breaks down fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Every fat-burning hormone works through your liver, so if your liver isn’t working well, you can’t lose fat. Make (Life-Long) Friends With VeggiesWhen your liver is damaged, it can't effectively process proteins. To correct this situation, you need to eat lots of raw, nutrient-dense, high-fiber vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables. These are cancer-fighting foods in the cabbage family, such as kale, collard greens, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, turnip root, rutabaga,arugala, watercress, radish, daikon and horseradish and wasabi.Other good choices for vegetables include all the green leafy vegetables, celery, beets, artichokes, avocado, asparagus, beans, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, leeks, mushrooms, okra, olives, onions, peas, peppers, sauerkraut, squash and zucchini. Also great for liver health are cilantro, parsley, dill and other herbs, and sprouts. Sprouts are dietary powerhouses! From a nutrient density perspective, a small amount of sprouts is equal to eating a large amount of vegetables. For example: One ounce of broccoli sprouts contains the same amount of cancer-fighting power as one and a quarter pounds of cooked broccoli! Speaking of "cooked": Some foods are enhanced by light steaming (this is especially true of cruciferous vegetables). However, try to consume at least half of your veggies in their raw state, to make it easier for your liver to process the food and to preserve the enzymes and other "live" benefits of the food. This is easiest to do by using them in blended drinks or juiced. These Fruits in Moderation and In Whole Form
Eat only a third as much fruit as vegetables each day, and select fruit from this list:apples apricots (fresh, not dried) berries grapefruit red and purple grapes kiwis lemons/limes melons nectarines oranges peaches pears persimmons pineapple (small amounts of fresh) plums tomatoes Apples are the best choice of fruit for healing your liver, as they are high in malic acid, which serves as a good solvent for stagnant bile; apples have pectin that helps with cardiovascular and digestive health; they are high in potassium and fiber which slows down your insulin response. Avoid these fruits because they are higher in sugar content and lower in fiber, causing an insulin response which triggers fat-storing and blocks fat-burning. bananas dates figs raisins canned fruits dried fruits mangoes fruit juices Eat the Right Kind of ProteinRemember how we said earlier that a damaged liver has trouble processing protein? It's important to consume small amounts of high-quality protein, in the form of raw almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and walnuts, peanut butter, tahini butter, beans, lentils, hummus and Mila.For the first several weeks, avoid animal protein and fish, unless you feel lightheaded, dizzy, brain fogged, fatigued or cold, or find yourself craving protein. If you need to eat animal protein, the preferred choices are best: Wild-caught fish, grass-fed organic meat, and free-range organic eggs. Eat just enough to satisfy your hunger. Avoid fish oil supplements ; you'll get a better quality source of Omega 3 essential oils from Mila. Completely Reject Sugar, Refined Grains and Processed FoodsSugar triggers the powerful fat-making and fat-storing hormone insulin. When sugar is present, not only will fat be blocked from being burned as fuel, but the sugar itself will be converted to fat!Sugar has the most detrimental effect on your metabolism. Sugar stops fat burning in its tracks. Read labels, and reject all forms of sugar (most words with the ending of "ose" are sugars, such as dextrose, maltose, glucose, fructose, etc.) Refined grains easily and quickly convert to sugar, so don't eat cereal, pasta, bread, crackers, pretzels, muffins, cake, cookies, pancakes, waffles, donuts, or rice cakes. And sorry to tell you this, but whole-grain products also convert rapidly to sugar. Starches in vegetables also are converted to fat. These include potatoes, corn, potato chips, French fries, hash browns, etc. |
