The liver may not be the CEO of the body, but it is still sitting in one of the corner offices.
For an organ that measures just two to four inches and weighs two to three pounds, the liver has two titles (organ, gland) and more than 500 roles to carry out on a day-to-day basis. As the second largest organ (after the skin), the liver has some weighty responsibilities that can’t be delegated.
The liver is also the only organ that can lose up to 75 percent of its mass and still regrow back to full size!
While most people are aware that over-use of alcohol can cause damage to the liver, this is far from the only way the liver sustains damage. When the liver becomes damaged or compromised, it can’t do its job of detoxing the body as well.
When this occurs, the liver needs help. These simple ways to detox your liver can help your liver get back on its feet, so to speak, so it can do its job to keep you healthy.
Remember, if you are under a doctor’s care for the management of any health issues or are taking any required medications, always talk with your doctor before changing your daily diet or health routine.
- Drink more water.
Simple liver detox remedies can often seem, well, simplistic. But here, the simple truth is that water helps the liver move toxins through its own cellular systems and speed them on their way out of your body.
But not just any water will do to have the full detoxifying benefit. Drink filtered tap water at room temperature at specific intervals of the day (aka., upon awakening, in between meals, early evening; not while eating and not too much 2 hours before bed). Add a tiny pinch of salt and the spice turmeric to your water in order to accelerate its effectiveness.
A good general rule of thumb is to aim for 4 liters of water per day. Stay away from carbonated water or water in plastic beverage containers.
- Sweat, sweat, sweat.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to accomplish this simply by walking outside! But this isn’t the optimal method to use sweat as a liver detox. Sweat induced by exercise has its own detoxifying benefits, pushing couch potato toxins up out of their comfy seats and moving them out of the body along with the sweat.
Hot yoga, a nice jog, HIT workouts, or a sauna session are great ways to sweat out toxins. Just make sure to wipe away sweat as soon as possible with a toxin in order to prevent reabsorption of toxin back into body, and take a cool shower right after sweating.
- Don’t skimp on the zzzs.
Science is finally starting to understand why human beings need at least eight hours of rest time every night where they are just being still. Sleep is detoxifying! Sleep is a vital component of regulating metabolism as well as targeting brain and neurological toxins and moving them out of the liver.
Sleep shuts off non-essential physical functions so the body can redirect its energy resources towards processing, healing, restoring, and detoxifying.
The lymphatic system is the body system that works alongside the liver while you are asleep to send toxins packing while also restoring cognitive, physical, and behavior functions which improved mood, focus, and endurance.
