Planning a Liver Cleanse? Read this First.

by Cathy Cochrane, NNCP

It’s spring! …Well, if you focus on the lengthening days and ignore the thermometer this week.

Time to start playing in the garden and clean off the barbecue. Time to do a liver detox.

Before you dive headlong into that last one, there are a few important considerations.

Your liver is a very busy organ, kinda like a good mother-figure. Among SOME of the jobs of this multi-tasking wonder, she (yes, my liver feels feminine) 

• oversees the gathering and storing nutrients for later dispersal, depending on the body’s need;
• makes proteins for inflammation, helping to band-aid damage when it happens, then calm things down as the injury heals;
• doles out the sugar judiciously, making sure that your cells, brain and nervous system don’t get over-excited nor crash and burn;
• supports other organs with acid-base balance, hormone and brain-chemical metabolism, histamine clearing,…

…I could go on. Basically, she has her hand in everything.

And yes, she’s in charge of picking up the messes and cleaning the dirty bi-products that cells leave lying around – be they exotoxins (those that come from outside sources) or the body’s inner metabolites – that can wreak havoc if left to pile up.

That last part is what we want to leverage during a spring cleanse – the time of year when the liver’s energy rises with the trees’ sap. However, in preparing for liver work of any kind, it’s best to start slow and take baby steps. If that “mother” becomes overworked, or we burden her with too much fried food, wine, nail-polish fumes, stress – all the things – she can become a grumpy bear. Starts dragging in her heels and snapping at anyone who comes too close.

There are all sorts of products out there to support the liver’s ability to be that back-up, though they are best used after the liver has been supported for a few days first. Kinda like the foot massage and breakfast in bed Mom gets on Mother’s Day.

Here are a few key places to start. If this is a new practice for you, the following steps may be all that you want to do for now – see how it goes and go a little further another time. (This is a marathon, not a sprint.)

1. Add veggies that your liver loves – aim for at least one at each meal/snack:
   – Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, kale, etc.)
   – Onion family, incl. garlic, shallots, scallions, leeks, chives,…
   – ABCs: Apples, artichokes, asparagus, beets, berries, citrus (not grapefruit) 
2. Easy on the fat, though make what you do eat worth it: fatty fish, avocado, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, olive oil, grass-fed meat and free-range eggs.
3. Give your gut some love at the same time with fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kefir, as well as plain yogourt + old cheese if you can handle dairy
4. Enjoy green tea, nettles, kombucha and plenty of filtered water.
5. Finally, make sure your bowels are moving well. It’s all well and good to gather all the trash from the house, but if you leave it in the bin for too long, it will start to smell up your garage and attract vermin. If necessary, a soluble fibre supplement (such as slippery elm or psyllium hulls) between meals and/or at bedtime with a full glass of water can help smooth the way.

It goes without saying, as part of this intentional time, it is best to reduce intake of alcohol, refined sugar sources (baked goods, processed foods) and overly fatty / deep-fried foods.

Before you know it, you will have a happy Mama in your belly, ready to love and support you as only she can!