The liver helps clean toxins from your blood and may become overloaded due to intake of toxins through food, medicine or your environment. Herbs, such as aloe, dandelion or milk thistle, may help eliminate toxic build up in your liver. There is no conclusive clinical evidence to support taking any herbs for detoxifying the lover. Talk to your doctor before taking any herbs medicinally.
Liver and Toxins
The liver is like a filter that filters out the toxins from your blood so that they can be eliminated from the body and not affect other organs. Your liver also produces bile and helps with digestion. When there are too many toxins in the liver, it may not function properly, which can cause digestive problems and contribute to the build up of toxins esle where in the body.
Herbal Applications
In traditional herbal medicine there are a variety of classic liver remedies. These herbs -- usually in the form of teas, powders or pills -- may stimulate the liver to release some of the built up toxins. Just like a sponge after you rinse it out, the liver will then be able to more efficiently clean toxins from the blood stream. There is noconclusive clinical evidence to support using herbs to detoxify the liver.
Aloe Vera
The leaf of the aloe vera plant produces a gel that is a traditional remedy for skin inflammation, but may also be beneficial for the liver. According to the book "The Yoga of Herbs," ayurvedic medicine -- holistic traditional medicine from India -- regards aloe vera gel as a liver cleanser and tonic. Aloe gel is gentle enough to take daily in small doses, but avoid it if you are pregnant. There is no conclusive clinical evidence to support taking aloe gel to cleanse your liver.
Herbs
According to "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies," dandelion root, burdock root, yellow dock root and milk thistle seed may be especially beneficial for detoxifying the liver. Milk thistle contains a compound called silymarin that may be especially useful to strengthen the liver and protect it while taking strong medications. There is no conclusive clinical evidence to support taking milk thistle, dandelion, burdock or yellow dock root for liver conditions. Avoid burdock root in the first trimester of pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before taking any herbs medicinally.
Considerations
According to "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies," symptoms of an overloaded liver may include fatigue, indigestion -- especially difficulty digesting fats, loss of appetite and a general feeling of malaise. The book recommends drinking a decoction made with an herbal lover cleanser daily to detoxify the liver. Talk to your doctor before taking any herbal remedies.
References
- "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies;" Norman Shealy MD, Ph.D.; 1998
- "The Yoga of Herbs;" David Frawley and Vasant Lad; 2001
- "The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants;" Andrew Chevallier; 1996
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