Summer is the best time to cleanse the body of toxins. And above all, the liver: well-being in general depends on its condition. Holistic Medicine Doctor Nish Joshi suggests changing your eating habits to help your liver “rest” and recover.
The first half of summer is the best time to cleanse the body of toxins, and especially the liver. This most important digestive gland performs many functions. For example, it neutralizes poisons, toxins and allergic substances that enter the blood from the stomach and intestines. That’s why taking care of your liver makes you feel better overall. You can help her “rest” and recover by changing her usual diet. Holistic Medicine Doctor Nish Joshi recommends adding more raw vegetables to your menu. At least for a while, they should make up 40% of our diet. Especially useful are fresh greens and leafy crops such as spinach, cabbage, broccoli. All of these foods are rich in B vitamins and trace minerals needed to cleanse the liver. For a quality liver detox, it is also important to use seasonal plants correctly.
What plants to use? Dandelion, birch, mint, chamomile, nettle, yarrow, calendula, thyme. These plants are well known to us. They are involved in the process of cleansing the liver, and according to the ideas of Chinese medicine, they also improve eyesight, since the liver and eyes are located on the same energy meridian.
What do they contain? Antioxidants cleanse the liver and protect it from destruction. Alkaloids eliminate the stagnation of fluid in the gallbladder. Phenolic acids protect the liver from damage by toxins. Minerals ensure normal operation.
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How do they work? These plants with a bitter taste have a choleretic effect, that is, they stimulate the secretion of bile by liver cells, from where it first enters the gallbladder and then into the intestines. And thus it is excreted from the body. The most powerful natural choleretic agent is dandelion. Due to the high content of potassium, this plant is also considered a strong diuretic, diuretic.
How to use? Plants that are involved in liver detox act extremely gently. So you can include them in the menu at the same time. But it is worth taking with different durations so as not to tire the body, which spends a lot of energy on cleansing. Dandelion and birch are good to take a course of no longer than three weeks. Other plants can be used without restrictions.
Who is especially helpful? Those whose menu is oversaturated with fats and fast carbohydrates. The exception is pregnant women. It is better for them to limit themselves to herbal tea, birch sap and green salad with the addition of dandelion stems. Liver cleansing is also contraindicated in children.
In any form? Almost all of these plants can be added to tea or drunk on their own, brewing with boiling water. In addition, in health food stores you will find dietary supplements in the form of capsules and syrups. It is usually recommended to take them before meals.
For more information, see the book by the doctor and nutritionist Nish Joshi “The Detox Method. Practices of holistic medicine” (AST, 2015).