Liver Cleansing Foods & Supplements

"Your liver is more than a washing machine for blood," writes certified nutritional consultant Brenda Watson in "The Detox Strategy." It plays a vital role in several metabolic functions in your body. Natural health practitioners believe that cleansing the liver keeps it healthy and improves its performance. However, conventional medicine questions the need for liver detoxification, and scientific evidence on its benefit is limited.

Liver Function

Besides purifying blood, your liver also stores substances your body needs such as glycogen, iron and vitamins A and D, according to Watson. When the liver is overwhelmed by toxins, it is less effective at cleansing your body and performing other functions such as fat and carbohydrate metabolism and breaking down proteins and creating essential blood proteins.

Effects of Cleansing

According to Peter Bennett, a naturopathic doctor and author of "The Purification Plan," the liver can become overwhelmed by toxins and not eliminate everything it's supposed to. As a result, toxins build up in your body, especially fatty tissues, and take a toll on your health; for instance, causing fatigue and weight gain. Your liver needs a variety of compounds --- including those from foods --- to effectively purge toxins from your body.

Organic Foods

While it's difficult to avoid inhaling toxins in the air, you can reduce the amount of toxins you ingest through food. If you don't, you're undermining your efforts to cleanse your liver, as Bennett explains. Unlike non-organic food, organic varieties are not loaded with chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides or synthetic hormones and reduce the amount of toxins your liver has to cope with daily.

Raw Vegetables

Raw vegetables are packed with liver-nourishing nutrients. According to Nish Joshi, founder of the Joshi Clinic in England and author of "Dr Joshi's Holistic Detox," dark green, leafy vegetables such as cabbage, spinach and broccoli are particularly beneficial for the liver because they are rich in B vitamins and minerals the liver uses to cleanse detoxification pathways.

Dandelion

According to Bennett, dandelion root activates liver cells that clean the blood and increase liver filtration. In a study published in the journal "Clinica Chimica Acta," researchers found that a dandelion extract was able to reduce levels of malondialdehyde --- a toxic molecule that indicates oxidative stress in your body --- in the liver in rats that had diabetes. Dandelion is available whole in the produce section of supermarket or as a supplement.

Turmeric

This spice, which is found in curry, slows down phase one of the liver detoxification process to help prevent a buildup of toxic chemicals, according to Bennett. Turmeric is available on its own in powder form for you to add to your meals, or in capsule form under the name of its active ingredient, curcumin.