The liver serves dozens of functions, carrying out hundreds of chemical reactions that affect every system of the body. Ways to cleanse the liver are variable and should be carefully chosen and properly carried out to avoid doing inadvertent harm. Liver-cleanse practices include the addition of foods or nutritional supplements that are lacking or deficient in the diet, decreasing or eliminating foods or other substances that are harmful and methods that purge the liver-gall bladder system. The liver can also be helped by cleansing the downstream organs, such as the colon and kidneys, to prevent backup of undisposed wastes.
Herbal Detox
Herbs are a mainstay for liver cleansing, and several western herbs are prized for their protective and promotional effects on the liver. Medical herbalist Christopher Hedley describes milk thistle and dandelion as restorative, while rosemary, barberry, yellow dock and wormwood are cleansing. Additionally, he includes elecampane and angelica as heating, or activating to the liver, and burdock, violet, and barberry as having calming or cooling properties. Promoting the production and flow of bile is another important way the liver is cleansed, since bile is a repository for some waste products. Dandelion, gentian and artichoke are used for this purpose.
Gall Bladder Flush
The gall bladder flush is designed to force the gall bladder to empty its contents in response to the ingestion of a large quantity of olive oil. Before the flush, apple pectin is used to soften any stones or crystals. Olive oil with lemon juice initiates the purge, according to the Healing Cancer Naturally website. Since the gall bladder is a repository for wastes, emptying it has a cleansing effect by not allowing accumulated salts and crystals to aggregate into large stones.
Fasting
Fasting for short periods of a few days at a time lowers the level of toxins in the bloodstream, according to Dr. Ron Kennedy, which allows the cells of the body to release toxins into circulation. The liver is able to pick these waste products up and filter them out during a fast because it does not have the urgent business of processing and assimilating incoming foods and other ingested substances such as over-the-counter medications or alcohol.
Selective Nutrition
The liver contributes to many metabolic functions, including detoxification, but it also has a set of distinct nutritional requirements for carrying out these functions. A cleanse that addresses the liver's needs for certain B vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids, will more fully support the liver's cleansing process. Included in the short list of notable liver-active nutrients are the minerals zinc, copper, magnesium and iron, vitamins B5 and B6, and the antioxidants lycopene, anthocyanidine, glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid, according to Herbs2000.com.
Water
Most people do not drink sufficient quantities of water to stay properly hydrated and to support the filtration and elimination of toxins and metabolic waste products. Add to that the ingestion of dehydrating substances such as alcohol, coffee and certain drugs and the result can be a backlog of waste waiting to be removed. The simple act of ensuring a minimum of eight glasses per day of pure, filtered water can, by itself, suffice as a cleanse or as a preparation for an herbal cleanse or juice fast.
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