The BEST Foods to Clean Out Your Liver

Today , we're gonna talk about the best foods to clean out your liver .

Your liver is not necessarily dirty .

Okay ?

It doesn't accumulate toxins .

In fact , its main function is to detoxify toxins and poisons and chemicals , but it's not a storage facility for poisons and chemicals unless you have a fatty liver because these toxins are stored in your fat cells .

Now when your liver gets inflamed , it heals with scar tissue and you can develop cirrhosis and you can lose function and create all sorts of issues , but the liver itself is not a reservoir for toxins .

So I wanna shift my talk into the best foods to reestablish the full function of your liver to get your liver able to detoxify at the highest level .

And you can totally do this with foods .

So we're going to cover all those , but I want to first talk about the different functions of the liver .

Okay ?

It has the ability to detoxify .

It makes bile .

Bile is a detergent to help you break down fats and extract certain nutrients from fat .

Your liver is a main producer of hormones .

That's right .

One being IGF 1 insulin like growth factor number 1 .

Now what is that ?

That is a very similar hormone to growth hormone .

Growth hormone is made by your pituitary gland .

It's sent to the liver .

It works through the liver , and you can kind of consider IGF number 1 as an extension of growth hormone .

It performs very similar functions .

So it has everything to do with helping you , burn fat .

It's a anabolic hormone , so it helps you build muscle .

It has everything to do with building proteins , and it also can help tap into your fat reserves and your stored sugar reserves for fuel .

Now your liver also makes steroid hormones .

Okay ?

Like estrogen , progesterone , testosterone , vitamin D3 , which by the way , acts like a hormone in the body .

In fact , it probably is a hormone , but we classified it as a vitamin .

And the other sex hormone is cortisol , the main anti inflammatory hormone in the body , the main hormone that helps you adapt to stress .

So without cortisol , your body can adapt to stress and you're going to get really stressed out .

In fact , 80% of the cortisol floating through your bloodstream originates from your liver .

So all these steroid hormones come from this one thing , cholesterol .

And so the liver is part of the building block of not just cholesterol , but a real key part in the creation of those hormones .

And what's interesting is that people take certain drugs to block cholesterol like statins .

Well , guess what's going to happen to these hormones ?

You're not going to be able to make them efficiently .

You're going to have all sorts of issues and your liver makes a good portion of the cholesterol in your body and take a while guess what material it makes cholesterol from .

If you guess dietary sugars , you are correct .

So cholesterol is made from carbs and cholesterol also makes certain proteins , certain proteins that transport things in the body like cholesterol , like estrogen , like testosterone , different hormones , because these hormones made from cholesterol can't travel that well through the blood , your liver packages them in protein so they can be transported .

So your liver has a post office function in that it is able to package certain things and send them throughout the body .

Now these proteins just don't transport certain things .

They also buffer or regulate certain hormones .

So if there's too much estrogen , for example , or too much cortisol , your liver will buffer that with these proteins to make sure that things are in balance .

All right .

So those are just some of the many functions of the liver .

Your liver actually has a 500 different functions .

Now , before I get to the food , I just wanna briefly mention the different symptoms that occur when you have damage to the liver .

One would be itchiness in the body .

Another one would be that your skin in the whites of the eyes turn yellow .

It's called jaundice .

The next one is lethargy , and then you have achy joints .

So many people who are stiff and have inflammation in the joints really have a liver problem .

Feeling nauseous is a big symptom of the liver .

Having a lowered cognitive function could be liver related .

And if you have gallstones , there's definitely a problem with the liver simply because the liver makes bile and it's a deficiency of bile and a high level of cholesterol that makes you end up with gallstones .

Alright .

So now let's dive into the best foods for your liver .

Okay ?

Number 1 , cruciferous vegetables .

Okay ?

Talking about kale , broccoli , brussels sprouts , radish , arugula , wasabi , mustard , mustard greens .

They are all cruciferous vegetables .

They are very high in a natural phytonutrient called sulforaphane .

Sulforaphane helps to detoxify the liver .

It helps the liver to get rid of inflammation and inflammation leads to insulin resistance .

It leads to high insulin , it leads to diabetes , and it can even lead to cancer .

So sulforaphane is a really important liver protective compound , and it can also help if there's fat in the liver .

And with enough sulforaphane , let's say , for example , if you drank too much coffee , sulforaphane helps to quickly detoxify things like caffeine , drugs , chemicals , and even poisons .

Eating cruciferous vegetables with sulforaphane can even enhance the liver to the point of having an enhanced function of the liver even 2 weeks after where you stopped eating cruciferous vegetables .

So some of the effects from eating cruciferous vegetables extend into the future even if you don't eat them .

That's pretty cool .

Now , if you consume cruciferous sprouts , okay , you get a major enhancement in sulfuricane , especially when we're talking about broccoli sprouts , radish sprouts , and even mustard seed sprouts .

So sprouting is a very , very smart thing to do because all you need is just a little bit of those sprouts on your salad to create a huge effect .

You see one of the key enzymes to activate sulfurophane is destroyed with heat .

So if you overcook broccoli or especially cauliflower , you're not gonna be able to get this full magnitude of sulforaphane unless you , at the same time , add a little sprouts to your salad or a little bit of raw cruciferous , or if you added a little bit of mustard to your meal , because mustard has a lot of that enzyme because it's a cruciferous that will help activate sulforaphane in the food that is cooked .

So this is just another reason why when you have a salad , you want to add different things to it like sprouts .

And there's many other phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables that support the liver function , which also have a lot to do with decreasing complications from diabetes and free radical damage and improving , sensitivity to insulin and improving insulin resistance and just supporting your blood sugars .

Personally , I consume a lot of arugula in my salads , so that is just loaded with those enzymes to activate sulfurophane .

I also do a lot of raw cabbage like coleslaw , for example , and sauerkraut , which is just loaded with the enzymes to activate sulfuricane .

So out of all the things you can eat , cruciferous is at the top of the list .

Now the number 2 item is garlic .

Now garlic is something that is loaded with sulfur and sulfur is a wonderful thing to detoxify the liver and also act as a natural antibiotic .

So it's very , very , antibacterial , anti fungal , anti viral and garlic is really good for stripping off fat from your liver .

And garlic also has a lot of vitamin B one as well .

I mean , garlic is just one of those super foods .

It's anti inflammatory .

It's a very powerful antioxidant , and it has huge anticancer properties .

All right .

The next one for the liver is turmeric .

Okay .

Now the active phytonutrient in turmeric is curcumin .

Curcumin is just a powerhouse in reducing inflammation .

There was someone recently who had lifelong headaches .

Okay ?

And they had to take copious amounts of Tylenol for years years years , and their liver has been going downhill .

And so one of the key things that she did is started taking turmeric on a daily basis .

And so not only did her headaches go away , but now going into the future , not having to take Tylenol , her liver is going to do a much , much better .

Now , one thing I want to say about the liver is that the liver is rugged , it's tough .

It can bounce back unless it's completely destroyed .

It only needs a little bit of itself to function .

And a lot of people have destroyed a good portion of the livers and they're able to exist and survive , which is quite amazing .

But out of all the organs , the liver is the most robust .

It can take a beating and it can bounce back .

Now , turmeric can also detoxify heavy metals like lead , mercury , cadmium , and even arsenic .

Turmeric helps to repair and regenerate liver function .

Turmeric helps stabilize the mitochondria , which is why it's very anti cancer because the origin of cancer happens with damaged mitochondria .

Tamaric is very heavily studied , especially in its ability to decrease fat on your liver .

So if you combine a ketogenic diet , low carb with intermittent fasting and turmeric and some of these other compounds , you are going to be in really good shape as far as having a healthy liver .

Now , the next one on the list is beets .

Beets have always been known to help detox the liver .

They can help reduce liver enzymes .

If the liver enzymes are high , they can help reduce them .

The final nutrients in the pigments and beets can help activate the release of bile salts and that can help decrease the fat in your liver .

But beets are hepatoprotective , which means they protect the liver cells and they can significantly reduce inflammation in the liver .

And if they can reduce inflammation in the liver , they can slow down the process of fibrosis and scar tissue and cirrhosis .

Now , a question that people might have is what about beets and being keto friendly ?

Is it going to spike my blood sugars ?

Well , if you don't juice beets and you have them steamed , there is some carbohydrates in there , but if you add the fiber in there that will buffer the insulin response .

And so in a half a cup of beach , you're looking at about only 6.7 grams of carbs , not terribly high .

Now the next food I wanna talk about is mushrooms .

Now what's so important about mushrooms with the liver ?

Well , mushrooms are the food that has some of the highest amount of glutathione , and glutathione is the main antioxidant for the liver , especially if you do turkey tail mushroom and oyster mushrooms and other mushrooms as well .

Mushrooms are hepatoprotective .

That means they protect the cells of the liver .

Alright .

Now we get to avocados .

Avocados , are a great thing to consume to help repair and stabilize the liver .

Avocados too are high in glutathione that support the liver .

But the main thing about avocados is all you have to do is consume 1 avocado a week to see significant improvements in your liver function .

Avocados are very , very anti inflammatory and inflammation in the liver leads to so many issues , including hepatitis , including fatty liver , as well as cirrhosis .

So anything that can lower inflammation would be very good for the liver .

And And the last thing I'm gonna recommend for the liver is extra virgin olive oil , just a very small amount .

In fact , just one little teaspoon in your salad dressing can create significant improvements in liver enzymes .

Extra virgin olive oil decreases fat on your liver , it improves insulin sensitivity .

It reduces insulin resistance , and it's a very powerful anti inflammatory .

So there you have it , the best foods to help support a healthy liver .

And if you haven't seen some of my other videos on the liver , I created a playlist for you right here .

Check it out .