Badass Healthy Women

Christine Quinn/Mind & Body Fitness + Health Coach

June 2021

The Liver;  Detox and Cleanse

Overview, Your Liver:

The liver is a vital component of the human digestive system. There are over 5,000 identified functions including food metabolism, energy storage, waste removal, detoxification, immune system support and production of chemicals. Humans can not survive without a functional liver and liver disease is so prevalent it impacts one out of every ten Americans.

Let’s get back to why we are not supporting our liver.  Our typical western diet and lifestyle does not help the liver.  Chronic stress, excess caffeine, and alcohol and inflammatory foods like grains and sugars all do damage and reduce its efficiency as we get older.

It plays a crucial role in keeping a healthy balance of hormones in your body — while helping to remove toxic hormones that send the body into chaos.  

Every minute — your liver filters over a liter of your blood.  It detoxifies chemicals, excess hormones, drugs and pesticides.  It converts hormones and vitamins into their active form and even stores some for later use.  It controls blood sugar and energy levels.

And, the amazing thing about the liver is it is the only organ capable of regenerating itself — which means when you nourish it with the foods we’ll discuss — it gets a fresh start!  The liver needs proper nutrients — just like a car needs the right gas to run well.

• It metabolizes fats, carbohydrates, and proteins and keeps your weight stable.
• It regulates hormones that affect your happiness, energy, and emotional stability.
• It keeps your skin and eyes healthy, vibrant, and young.
• It stabilizes your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
• It produces bile and bilirubin, aiding your digestion and elimination.

Signs that your liver is suffering are some of the biggest symptoms of a sluggish liver — look at these as your liver talking to you that it wants more nourishment:

• Digestive distress — IBS, upset stomach, not pooping GOOD at lease 1 x per day REALLY at least 2-3
• Sluggish energy all day — want to grab another cup of coffee
• Feeling hungover after only 1-2 glasses of wine
• Brain fog
• Belly Fat
• Pre-diabetes
• Headaches
• Skin issues like eczema
• Chronic infections
• Bloating

This comes from access or for some of us ANY caffeine, alcohol, sugar, processed food, gluten, animal products.

Nourishing FOODS to CROWD OUT the harmful ones:

1.Beets and Carrots: Carrots are rich in Glutathione, a protein that helps detoxify the liver. Both are extremely high in plant-flavonoids and beta-carotene. Eating beets and carrots can help stimulate and improve overall liver function. 

2.Tomatoes: They have abundant amounts of Glutathione (see article above) which, again, are a great detoxifier for the liver. As a side effect, Lycopene in tomatoes will protect against breast, skin, and lung cancer. 

3.Grapefruit: Another source of the liver cleansing glutathione, it’s also high in vitamin C and antioxidants, which boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes and increase the natural cleansing process of the liver.

4.Spinach: Raw spinach is also a major source of glutathione, triggering the toxin cleansing enzymes of the liver.

5.Citrus Fruits: Lemons and limes contain very high amounts of vitamin C, which helps stimulate the liver and aids the synthesizing of toxic materials into substances that can be absorbed by water.

6.Cabbage:  The isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from cabbage’s glucosinolates provide liver detoxifying enzymes that help flush out toxins. 

7.Turmeric: Turmeric is the liver’s favorite spice and helps boost liver detox. It does this by assisting enzymes that actively flush out dietary carcinogens. 

8.Walnuts: Walnuts are a good source of glutathione, omega-3 fatty acids, and the amino acid arginine, which supports normal liver cleansing actions, especially when detoxifying ammonia.

9. Avocados: A nutrient-dense superfood, avocado helps the body produce glutathione.

10.Apples: They are high in pectin and other chemicals essential to cleansing and releasing toxins from the digestive tract. Apples make it easier for the liver to handle the toxic load during the cleansing process.

11.Brussels sprouts: Brussels sprouts are high in sulfur and glucosinolate, which forces the liver to release enzymes that block damage from environmental or dietary toxins.

12.Garlic: Garlic is loaded with sulphur, which activates liver enzymes that help your body flush out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that also aid in liver cleansing.

13.Dandelion: Dandelion root tea assists the liver in breaking down fats, producing amino acids, and generally ridding it of toxins. 

14.Leafy Green Vegetables: Green veggies are extremely high in plant chlorophylls that absorb environmental toxins, increase bile production, and neutralize heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides, which lowers the burden on the liver.

15.Cruciferous Vegetables: Eating broccoli and cauliflower will increase production of glucosinolate in your system, which helps flush out carcinogens and other toxins.

16.Asparagus: Asparagus is a great diuretic, helping in the cleansing process and sharing the detox load of the liver and kidneys. 

17.Green Tea: Green tea is full of plant antioxidants known as catechins, a compound known to assist liver function.  MATCHA

18.Olive Oil: Cold-pressed organic oils such as olive, hemp, and flaxseed offer great support for the liver, providing the body with a liquid base that can suck up harmful toxins in the body.

19.Alternative Grains: Gluten rich grains such as wheat and rye increase the load on the liver’s detox function and enzyme production. Switch to alternative grains like quinoa, millet, and buckwheat.

20.Cinnamon: loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory,  linked to reduce heart disease — adds a yummy flavor alone or combined with other ingredients and diabetes protection as it slows the stomach from emptying, which can curb the appetite.

21.Coconut: provides antioxidants, is nutritious, is low in carbs and high in fiber and fat, so it may help stabilize your blood sugar.

22.Parsley: is an excellent of vitamin K and vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin A, folate and iron — all keep the liver healthy

23.Water: the body is made up of about 60% water and needs it to survive and thrive.  How much water should we consume? Half our body weight because as our body uses energy we lose water so we need to replenish it.  Water is critical to almost every bodily function–circulation, digestion, absorption, and elimination of wastes, just to name a few.  When toxins from our food (or environment) make their way into our bodies, they are carried out in our urine (95% water) and our sweat (99% water).Adding apples, berries, citrus and other natural healers that are tasty let us kill two birds with one stone :).

24.Chlorella: These freshwater algae, native to Taiwan and Japan, have tons of phytonutrients, amino acids, chlorophyll, beta-carotene, potassium, biotin, magnesium, and B vitamins. Specifically, chlorella helps your body expel heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, and uranium.

25.Spirulina: A cousin of chlorella, this type of algae packs so many nutrients that NASA now sends it into space for astronauts to consume to stay healthy.

26.Ginger: This familiar root stimulates digestion, circulation, and sweating, which are the body’s three main avenues of natural detoxification! Ginger also helps your body maintain digestive enzymes that are important for keeping issues like gas and bloating at bay. 

27.Leafy Greens: Veggies like spinach, kale, moringa leaf, alfalfa, and parsley should be incorporated into as many of your meals as possible. Not only are these greens packed with vitamins and minerals that play a role in the natural detoxification process, but they’re full of fiber, which makes them slow to digest and good for detoxifying your bowels. 

28.Green Tea:  This delicious drink is universally considered a good-for-you beverage. And it’s been used as a medicinal aid for thousands of years.  High in antioxidants, it helps keep your body in balance, protecting against free radicals that can cause aging and degenerative disease.  Green tea has also frequently been shown to have a protective effect against certain types of cancer.

Healthy Liver Smoothie:
INGREDIENTS:

Leafy greens — mixed or dandelion

Water

Coconut water

Coconut milk

MCT OR coconut oil (optional)

Blueberries — preferably wild

Raspberries

Fiber — flax seed ground 

Cinnamon

Turmeric

Matcha

Liver Detox:

Ginger, lemon, mint and parsley leaves 

Ice

Add liquids and greens in a blender and blend.  Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.

The Liver Cleanse

1. Upon waking in the morning, drink warm lime or lemon water (8-16 oz).  Wait 15 minutes
2. Drink 16 oz of fresh celery juice
3. Wait 15 minutes to eat.  Eat a breakfast with no fats.  

It’s one thing to read this important information — it’s another to take action and start implementing. It.  Book a complimentary call with me to answer any question and/or see if my 90 Day Badass Healthy Women program is right for you to customize a detox for you.  

Download and print this information here.

Lose Weight, Feel Strong, Live Empowered.  Nourish. Move. Meditate.