Love Your Liver, Part Two

In this blog post I want to share my thoughts on liver detox and detoxification in general.

First let’s start with - do you need a to do a detox?

Symptoms that your liver needs some love:

Elevated LDL and decrease in HDL

Frequent use of NSAIDS

Inability to lose weight

You do frequent and intense workouts

Bad breath

Skin doesn’t appear vibrant and healthy

You have digestive issues: indigestion, acid reflux, constipation

You are depressed or overly moody

You crave sugars and get shaky/headache if you don’t eat

Dark circles under your eyes, and not from one bad night’s sleep

There are 3 phases to detoxification

It is important to honor your body’s natural detoxification process. That means 1) don’t rush things 2) use a food first approach 3) complete all three phases. If you don’t support all three phases of detoxification you can do more harm than good. When you focus on detoxing one phase only you may set free various toxins from their current resting place and leave them to run amuck all over your body without being properly eliminated.

Phase One: Functionalization

This phase is about focusing on turning the toxins into water soluble particles so they can enter Phase 2. We use enzymes produced in our adrenal glands to assist with the process. Therefore, balancing our blood sugar is extremely important to support detoxification.

Foods to eat: cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts), apples, citrus, berries, pineapple, poultry, meat, fish, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and vinegars

Foods to avoid: BBQ meats, saturated fats, all grains, all legumes, all dairy, all soy, all nightshades, and all sugars

Phase Two: Conjugation

We have six different pathways to take Phase 1 metabolites through our digestive tract (through our bile, urine, and feces).

Foods to eat: cruciferous vegetables, grapefruit juice, bee pollen, blue green algae, meat, fish, eggs. leafy greens, garlic, red grapes, rosemary, and onions

Foods/Things to avoid: smoking, NSAIDS, not enough protein in diet, birth control pills, food dyes, caffeine, and sugar

Phase Three: Elimination

Our kidneys filter our blood to help remove cellular waste products. Thus, hydration is key to ensuring these waste products are moved completely out of our body.

Foods to eat: best to continue eating a nutrient dense well rounded diet and make sure you are getting adequate hydration (at least half your body weight each day), and consume quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil/milk, avocado, nuts, lard)

Foods to avoid: highly processed and refined foods, sugars, poor quality oils (canola, safflower, sunflower, and soybean)