15 Ways of Boosting Liver Function

Liver performs five hundred functions in our body, thus making it one of the most overburdened systems. Our lifestyle is full of air pollution, stress and food additives. This leads to burdening the liver function. However, this makes the liver sluggish, contributing to many health conditions, including: allergies, arthritis, asthma, bad breath, cravings for sweets, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, environmental illness/multiple chemical sensitivities.

There are 15 such ways for boosting the liver and they are as follows:

· The diet should be rich with fruits and vegetables and also fiber-rich foods. The liver needs vitamins and minerals to function well.
· The elimination of processed foods and artificial food additives and colors and preservatives from the diet should be done. The liver needs to filter these items.
· One must eat plenty of carrots and beets, which acts as cleansing agents for the liver. Green vegetables also help in cleaning the liver, with the help of chlorophyll it contains.
· Two tablespoons of flaxseeds are advisable. Flaxseeds can also be sprinkled on cereal, toast salads or blended into smoothies. The hormone receptor sites are bound by the flaxseeds which prevent excess hormones like including synthetic xenoestrogens from plastics and other chemicals, in floating in the blood stream. Liver is responsible in filtering such excess hormones. The liver functions better with flaxseeds.

· There are plenty of herbs which allow better liver functioning. These are milk thistle, dandelion root, globe artichoke, turmeric, balmony, slippery elm, greater celandine, barberry, black root, blue flag, boldo, vervain, and wahoo and fringetree bark. Turmeric and milk thistle also helps in liver function. One should consult the qualified doctors before the usage of such herbs, if one is pregnant or suffering from serious health problems or taking some alternate medication.
· One should avoid refined sugar and artificial sweetener.
· Cholesterol reduction and metabolism of fats is aided by Lecithin. This contains a substance called Lecithin helps the liver metabolize fats and reduce cholesterol. It contains a substance called phosphatidylcholine and essential fatty acids that keeps the liver cells healthy and prevent deposition of fat in the liver. The blood vessels are allowed to relax to allow better blood flow by Lecithin. Organic soyfoods like tofu, and miso, soy milk as well as organic eggs also contains Lecithin. Alternatively, one can take 4000 mg of lecithin in capsule form daily.
· The detoxification of the liver is done properly by various nutrients. One should take a diet full of multivitamins and mineral supplements. A single nutrient deficiency can be harmful for the liver.
· 1000 to 2000 mg of Vitamin C should be additionally taken.
· A diet rich with lots garlic, onions and broccoli should be taken being enriched with sulfur. Sulfur is required to increase enzyme activity boosting liver cleansing. The phase 2 of liver detoxification cannot keep pace with level 1, which means that many toxins can become more dangerous in your body. This is possible without adequate levels of sulfur.
· One should eat small meals, avoiding larger meals with easily digestible food.
· The bitter greens help in cleaning the liver. Steamed vegetables, raw salad greens, raw fruits, and bitter greens are advisable.
· One should avoid heavy fatty foods which makes the liver function improperly. Margarine, shortening or commercial oils or any foods made with them needs to be avoided.
· The liver should be given adequate time during the night to perform its many functions, unrestricted by such body processes like digestion. For this one should not take meals before three hours of bedtime.
· Whole, raw, unsalted nuts and seeds for their essential fatty acids as well as their usable proteins need to be consumed.

Few Things That Help in Keeping the Liver Healthy:

Lemons:

Lemons are good source of vitamin C that helps in building the immune system, and it helps in digestion and detoxifying.
Walnuts:
Walnut is a natural defender which naturally defends our bodies from diseases. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids which help in supporting our liver through its cleaning process.
Turmeric:
Turmeric is a natural liver detoxifier. It helps in the metabolism process, and also helps in production of bile.
Garlic:
Garlic has high amount of Allicin that has good effect on the digestive, circulatory, and immunological system of our body. It helps in detoxifying the liver and in flushing out the toxins.
Beetroot:
Beets contain plant-falvonoids, and are high in carbohydrates, protein, powerful antioxidants and soluble fiber that helps in maintaining the liver health.
Grapefruit:

Grapefruit has antioxidant properties, and it is rich in vitamin C. It helps the liver in flushing out toxins and carcinogens.
Leafy Greens:
Leafy greens are powers houses of nutrition. Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce neutralize the metals, chemicals and pesticides that our foods contain. They act as a protector of the liver.
Green Tea:
Green tea protects the liver from the damaging effect of the toxins. It helps in promoting digestion, and it is high in plant antioxidants known as catechins that is known to improve the functions of our liver.
Avocados:
Avocados improve the liver health and it helps the liver in the absorption of the nutrients from our food. It produces an antioxidant named glutathione that helps the liver to filter the harmful nutrients.