A liver detox is a great way to get rid of toxins that have built up in your body and may be making you feel sluggish and unhealthy. Follow this easy step-by-step guide how to detox your liver and lose weight, and feel better!
Moreover, when we follow a special diet such as a weight loss diet, it becomes crucial to detox our liver first. For all these reasons, we thought of sharing some simple tips to you all who want to lose weight while taking good care of their liver.
What is a Liver Detox?
A liver detox, also known as flush or cleanse is a method of taking out toxins from the liver. You can detox your liver in various ways, which we’re going to talk about below. But before that, let’s remind you about the functionality of the liver in our body.
As we all know, the liver is among our body’s largest organs. It processes the blood that leaves from the intestines and stomach and breaks it down to ensure metabolism. So, the liver’s role basically is to pass through and filter the blood that comes from our digestive tract. Then, the filtered blood passes through our entire body.
Is it Important to Detox Our Liver?
Yes, it is important to detox our liver if we want to ensure a healthy body. Liver detox can help us to flush out the harmful toxins from our bodies. There are a few toxins that are not harmful but an excess waste of the body.
All these can be removed to some extent through a liver detox but you have to follow the method on a regular basis. A liver detox will help you to alleviate the condition of your liver and keep conditions leading to a malfunctioning liver at bay.
How Does a Toxic Liver Affect Our Body?
A toxic liver can create multiple complications in our bodies. It can lead to the malfunction of other organs as well. When your liver comes to association with toxic elements, the toxicity can lead to liver diseases. If this condition takes place over a certain period of time, it can cause severe complications including electrolyte deficiencies, infections, and internal bleeding.
If untreated for a long time, it can cause cirrhosis of the liver and even death. The most unfortunate fact about liver diseases is that severe diseases like cirrhosis of the liver are uncurable or permanent. This is how a toxic liver can affect our bodies.
Which Liver Conditions Lead to Weight Gain?
Fatty liver, also known as hepatic steatosis is a liver disease that can lead to weight gain in some people. Fatty liver means excess fat has accumulated in the liver. This liver disease can be of two types: alcoholic (ARLD) and non-alcoholic (NFLD). Alcoholic fatty liver may occur when someone drinks too much alcohol on a regular basis.
On the other hand, the non-alcoholic fatty liver usually occurs to those who drink very little or no alcohol at all but have a certain lifestyle and eating habits that are unhealthy. Obesity, high triglycerides, and diabetes are the main causes of fatty liver for most patients worldwide.
Or, the disease may also occur due to other factors such as genetics. All these diseases can lead to weight gain to some extent.
What Are Some Signs of a Toxic Liver?
Here are some common signs of a toxic liver:
- Itchy Skin: One of the most common symptoms of a toxic liver is itchy skin without any rashes or inflammation. However, if you scratch your skin too much, it can lead to redness and swallowing. Itchy skin signifies the early stage of multiple liver diseases including jaundice.
- Bruising and Bleeding: After injuries, easy bruising and bleeding can signify hidden liver disease. There are specific proteins that can cause your blood to clot and the liver is the organ that breaks those proteins down.
- Spider Angiomas: The small capillaries that have a typical spider shape under your skin can be a sign of liver disease. An improper liver function and hormonal disfunction such as a high level of estrogen hormone may be the cause of spider angiomas.
- Swelling of Feet: Though the swelling of feet usually occurs due to kidney problems, a toxic liver can also be the reason. However, this sign usually occurs in chronic liver diseases as the fluid gets accumulated in the feet.
- Ascites: It is a liver disease in which fluid gets accumulated in the liver and causes the swelling of the belly. Ascites is not found in mild toxicity because it’s a more serious condition. It could be a sign of severe and chronic liver diseases.
- Vomiting: Most of us know that vomiting is a sign of jaundice but it can also signify a toxic liver. Vomiting usually occurs due to indigestion or an empty stomach. When your liver’s ability to reduce toxins decreases, ongoing vomiting can be a sign.
- Sleep Disturbance: Though there are a plethora of physical and mental health conditions that can lead to sleep disturbance or a lack of sleep, a toxic liver is one of the common symptoms. One needs to visit a doctor immediately after getting stomach pain and sleep disturbance.
Here is an awesome video of How to Detox your Liver and Lose Weight:
How Can I Lose Weight with Liver Problems?
Though losing weight with any major health condition becomes a challenging task, it’s not impossible to lose weight when you have liver problems. Exercise, diet, and a good lifestyle are necessary when you want to make a weight loss plan with a certain liver condition.
In such a condition, it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before making any drastic change in your lifestyle and diet. Also, you need to consult a nutritionist who will provide you with a healthy diet chart for weight loss that improves your liver health as well. If you are a beginner in the world of workouts, you can also consult a physical trainer to start with the easiest exercises that aren’t heavy on your stomach.
However, make sure you do not exercise or follow a weight loss diet right after recovering from jaundice as that’s never recommended by the experts. You need to wait for a certain period of time until your doctor permits you to start your weight loss plan.
How to Detox your Liver and Lose Weight
Now, we are going to explain some easiest tips to follow if you want to detox your liver and lose weight. Most of these tips are associated with certain healthy foods that are easily available online or at the local groceries. However, make sure you do not take them in an excess portion as that can make the condition worse.
If you are searching for an effective and convenient weight loss plan check our my NutriWise – Doctors Weight Loss Review.
Foods to Include
According to Advances in Nutrition, the concept of variety is embodied in all food guides. Nearly all (95%) convey the concept of proportionality, namely that different food groups should be consumed in differing amounts. Most graphics convey the concept of moderating or limiting consumption of some food types, such as sugars/sweets and fats/oils. Excluding fats/oils and sugars/sweets, more than half of countries encourage consumption of 5 food groups, with the most common set of 5 groups being: starchy staples (variously defined); fruits; vegetables; dairy foods; and other “protein foods” (also variously defined). The most common 4-group combination is: starchy staples; fruits and vegetables; dairy; and other “protein foods.” The most common 3-group combination is: starchy staples; fruits and vegetables; and “protein foods.”
Here are the foods that you need to include in your diet if you want to detox your liver while losing weight:
Turmeric
One of the beneficial spices, Turmeric helps us to cleanse our liver and keep it healthy. It works in our body by boosting some essential enzymes that can flush out all toxins that are sourced from the foods we eat. You can make a drink of half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, a pinch of black pepper powder, and a glass of lukewarm water. Drinking it on alternate days can give you the best results.
Indian Gooseberry
Amla or Indian Gooseberry is a fabulous ingredient that you can include in your diet because it has multiple purposes besides keeping your liver healthy. It has been widely used in Ayurveda or ancient Indian medicine for therapeutic purposes since the olden days. You can enjoy an early morning drink by mixing one teaspoon of Indian Gooseberry juice with a glass of water every day.
Garlic
If you want to activate your liver enzymes and eliminate toxins from the body while losing weight, garlic can be one of the best choices. Garlic contains sulfur that increases the liver enzymes and helps us to digest better. Also, compounds like allicin and selenium in garlic can help protect your liver from toxic damage. Hence, you can consider having one or two garlic cloves on alternate days at night after your dinner.
Leafy Greens
Kale, spinach, arugula, bitter gourd, mustard greens, and chicory are some excellent leafy greens that are full of fiber, vitamins, and other healthy nutrients. What these dark leafy green vegetables do more is that they contain cleansing compounds, which can eliminate toxins from your liver and body.
Green Tea
An excellent beverage for those who want to lose weight, green tea contains certain elements that are known for detoxing your body. These are known as antioxidants that can also keep fatty liver at bay as they control the fat accumulation in the liver. You can consume 1 cup of green tea or more every day to make the most of it.
Coffee
Studies show that a moderate amount of coffee per day can help you control multiple diseases by protecting your liver from harmful toxins. Coffee is known for reducing the chances of excess fat accumulation in the liver. However, only one to two cups of black coffee without sugar is the best option for you.
Lukewarm Water
One of the most popular remedies for weight loss, lukewarm water mixed with a half lemon juice in the morning can also help you flush out harmful toxins from your liver and maintain a normal bowel movement. Also, you can drink 8-10 glasses of plain lukewarm water in a day to get the best results.
Foods to Avoid
Here are the foods that you need to totally avoid if you want to lose weight and eliminate toxins from your liver:
Processed Foods
Full of preservatives, added flavors, and colors, processed foods can do more harm to your body than you could imagine. The preservatives, added flavors, and colors in processed foods are the main toxins that you need to save your liver from.
Sugar
Table sugar or added sugar does no good to your body and hence, the more you can reduce them would be the more beneficial. The release of excess insulin from your sugar intake can slow down the detoxification process and hence, it is not good for your liver as well.
Alcohol
One of the biggest enemies of your liver, alcohol contains harmful toxins that can harm your liver to a certain extent. Excess drinking can cause major liver malfunction and serious diseases that aren’t curable.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to detox your liver and lose weight, go ahead and make the most of it. However, make sure that you aren’t allergic to any of the foods that we recommended above. Also, make sure you take the right portions.
