The liver's function is to filter toxins and help your body stay clean of substances that could be damaging to your organism. Drinking, eating a diet high in fats and junk food and other "toxic" behaviors can put added strain on your liver. A liver-cleansing diet can help you detoxify your liver, fight health problems and get rid of a number of symptoms caused by a sluggish liver.
Raw Foods
Raw foods should be the basis of your liver-cleansing diet because they contain live enzymes, phyto-nutrients and tons of vitamins and minerals that are sometimes lost during the cooking process. Raw foods are also easier to digest, so they put less strain on the liver and the digestive system in general, allowing your organism to flush toxins with less effort. For best results, make sure you're eating fruits and vegetables of different colors, especially green, red and yellow. As much as possible, eat organic produce, so you keep your body free of pesticides, colorings and preservatives, flavorings and artificial sweeteners. While whole grains are OK, stay away from refined sugars, baked products and fizzy drinks, which all contain refined white sugar.
Oily Foods
Overly processed, fatty foods overload the liver and gallbladder. If you're trying to cleanse your liver, avoid animal (saturated) fats, hydrogenated oils and trans-fats. Instead, increase your consumption of vegetable fats, especially cold-pressed vegetables such as olive oil and flaxseed. Oily fish such as mackerel, salmon and flounder are also good choices. Certain oils such as black currant seed oil and evening primrose oil are especially good for the liver. Nuts are a good source of healthy fats.
Supplements
Keeping your body hydrated is essential when following a liver cleansing diet. Water is the most obvious drink, but you can also add raw fruit and vegetable juices and herbal teas to the diet. Water should be either filtered or bottled. A vitamin complex, as well as a B-complex, can also help. If you're suffering from liver problems, you might want to try milk thistle, which is widely used in Europe to treat liver diseases. The Wellness Guide to Nutritional Supplements also recommends trying a vitamin E supplement. Liver cleansing supplement formulas often contain a number of herbs, with dandelion and licorice being particularly popular.
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