Liver Therapies

One of the most amazing aspects of the liver is its capacity to repair and regenerate itself within about two months thanks to a blood supply that is rich in nutrients.

The liver is situated beneath the diaphragm on the right side of the abdomen.  It is about the size of a football and weighs around 3 lbs.  The liver is responsible for several major bodily functions including secretion of bile (which is essential for the emulsification and absorption of fats), for the conversion of sugar into glycogen, for the production of urea (which is the main component of urine), and the filtration of toxins from the blood in order to keep impurities out. 

Everything you eat, drink, inhale, or put on your skin must be processed by your liver.

Detoxify your environment by avoiding pesticides, trans fats, pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter medicines, drug use, smoking, excessive alcohol, synthetic hormones, processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, chemicals in personal care products, and toxic cleaning supplies are just a few ways to lessen your toxic burden.

Toxins that can poison the liver

• Filter your drinking water to avoid exposure to chlorine, fluoride, and other toxic compounds. Read more about water below.
• Don’t drink alcoholic beverages
• Don’t take prescription or over the counter medications
• Avoid Acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, as it is toxic to the liver
• Rethink your cleaning supplies and go with a combination of baking soda and vinegar.
• Avoid dry cleaning
• Avoid fire retardants that are found on clothing and furniture.
• Avoid products that contain Teflon, Scotchgard, Stainmaster, and Gore-Tex- that are are used for their non-stick, water repellent, or stain resistant qualities.  These are all extremely toxic and widely-used as water, grease and stain repellents. They are commonly found in carpets, stain resistant clothing, and Teflon coated pots and pans. Because of their design, once they are in the body they can be very difficult to remove.
• You can find recipes for DIY personal care products and household cleaning products with this post.

Simple therapies that help support the liver:

• Start your day with a glass of warm water with juice from a fresh lemon. This delivers antioxidants to boost liver function and it stimulates a cleansing effect.  Drink this lemon water throughout the day, it is alkalizing and cleansing for the entire digestive system.
• Have a juice/ smoothie fast for 1 day of each week or month, (or as your schedule allows) to give your liver a rest from the daily abuse that it is subjected to.
• Drink fresh green juices or smoothies made with kale and chard to activate the liver’s ability to flush out toxins.
• Juice beets. They are cleansing to the kidneys and liver and help to promote liver health.  Read more about juicing
• Include raw greens such as arugula, watercress, and dandelion greens into your diet as they also have a cleansing effect on your liver.
• Switch to organic produce as it will not have the toxic pesticide and herbicide residues that are found on conventional produce that would need to be processed by the liver.  Read more about pesticides and herbicides.
• Drink 8-10 glasses of filtered or spring water everyday. Read more about water below
• Take psyllium husks – these assist the liver by absorbing old bile and eliminating it from the body. Bile is not excreted from the body as you might expect, it is repeatedly recaptured and recirculated. Because of this it can become very concentrated with toxins that can lead to all sorts of inflammatory diseases such as gallbladder disease, intestinal inflammation, etc.  Psyllium absorbs this toxic bile and does not release it, so the liver must produce fresh bile.
• Drinking dandelion root tea can assist with liver and gallbladder problems.   Read more about Dandelion Root and Cancer
• Milk Thistle is an herb that is known for its healing properties specifically for the liver. It consists of a group of flavonoid compounds called Silymarin, which is important in devouring free radicals that can harm healthy cells  and prematurely age the body. Supplementing with Milk Thistle may also help with hepatitis, cancer of the liver, cirrhosis,  inflammation, fatty liver, liver damage, chemical exposure, and Parkinson’s disease. Milk Thistle is also known for increasing the production of glutathione and bile flow which helps to detoxify, repair and regenerate the liver.
• Curcumin which is the active compound in turmeric, demonstrates remarkable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well as a host of other health benefits. The Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine reports that curcumin increases the liver’s bile production, which assists in the metabolism of fats during digestion and enhances the liver’s detoxification process. The Desk Reference further adds that curcumin protects the liver from damage caused by alcohol and toxins. Read more about curcumin/turmeric for cancer
• Alpha Lipoic Acid is an antioxidant shown to decrease the amount of hepatic fibrosis associated with liver injury and cirrhosis of the liver.  Because alpha-lipoic acid is fat soluble, it can penetrate the cell membrane to exert therapeutic action.  There is also potential for ALA in treating chronic diseases, including various types of cancers.
• Dr. Christopher’s Liver and Gall Bladder Formula is a combination of cleansing herbs to gently cleanse the liver and gallbladder.

Coffee enemas are an essential component of a natural healing protocol to clear the liver of tumor debris and toxins and to keep the body and immune system from becoming overwhelmed. Read more about coffee enemas

Hydration: your body needs a minimum of 50 ounces of water per 100 pounds of body weight per day in order to flush toxins out of the body and to stay well hydrated. Consider purchasing a water filtration system that will remove fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals and metals that are found in municipal water supplies. A simple carbon filtration system will only remove chlorine so don’t assume that any filter will do. You can find products online that will remove the harmful elements and leave the beneficial minerals intact, such as a Big Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter.

Recipes to make your filtered water more alkaline:

Recipe #1 – mix one gallon of water with 1/2 tsp pink sea salt, the juice of 4 organic lemons or limes (and toss in the skins too), 1 tbsp of raw, organic honey, and a pinch of organic stevia (if needed) and drink this throughout the day. Sea salt contains 82 trace minerals which will enhance this water.  Lemons and limes will create an alkaline ash following digestion.

Recipe #2- wash 3 organic lemons or limes and quarter them. Blend them up with the skins in 3 cups of filtered water.  Strain/squeeze the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and then store it in a mason jar in the fridge.  To use, add 1/4 cup of this mixture into a glass of 8 oz filtered water. Drink this mixture 3 times per day.  This will help with alkalinity and elimination of toxins.

Recipe #3- adding barley grass or wheat grass powder to your drinking water

Dr. Christopher’s Liver and Gall Bladder Formula Capsules, 100 Count

Nature’s Way Standardized Milk Thistle; 80% Silymarin per serving