Dr. G’s Protocol for Optimal Liver Health

Boosting liver health to remove toxins from the body has been an integral part of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practices for thousands of years. Referred to as the ultimate multitasking organ, ancient practitioners believed that the liver was one of the most important organs in the overall health of the entire body.   

Today we know that without a healthy liver, it’s impossible to have a properly working metabolism, healthy circulation, balanced hormones, clean blood, and strong digestion. Experiencing symptoms like fatigue, abdominal pain, bloating, and hormonal imbalances? These can all be signs that your liver isn’t functioning properly. In this case, it might be time for a liver cleanse. 

How The Liver Keeps Your Body In Balance

The liver, the largest internal organ in the human body, is a digestive organ that sits on the upper right side of the belly. The liver is always communicating with other digestive organs, receiving information about the level of available nutrients or the presence of threats like prescription medications, heavy metals or toxic substances. As the main organ involved in detoxification, it’s the liver that recognizes toxic substances and converts them into less harmful metabolites that can be released

The main functions of the liver include:

• Filtering blood coming from the digestive tract – it’s involved in storing blood, making blood clotting possible, and breaking down damaged blood cells so they can be eliminated.

• Producing bile, a digestive fluid that breaks down fats and removes wastes from the body

• Managing the conversion of fats from your diet and manufacturing triglycerides and cholesterol

• Converting carbohydrates into glucose, a form of energy, to be stored for later use

• Dissecting and converting nutrients available in foods once they reach the digestive tract. 

• Helping to spread nutrients throughout the body via the bloodstream and keeping the amount of nutrients in the blood supply at optimal levels

• Storing certain vitamins and minerals for when they’re needed

• Eliminating toxic waste that’s left behind once food/substances are broken down

• Breaking down and removing excess hormones

The liver also interacts with other organs like the gallbladder, stomach, and spleen, since it receives digested particles or toxins and decides what to do with them: circulate them around through the blood or eliminate them before they can cause damage.

Liver Healing + Regeneration

Something that makes the liver unique and amazing is that it can regenerate after it’s become damaged; in fact, it’s capable of doing this more than any other organ in the body. Tissue that has become scarred or damaged can be replaced when healthy liver tissue grows and takes its place. This occurs with the help of growth factors, cytokines, and matrix remodeling.

Symptoms of Liver Congestion and Toxicity

• Abdominal pain 

• Yellowing of the skin

• Fatigue 

• Nausea, vomiting, weight loss 

• Tenderness over the liver, or enlarging or shrinking of the liver (an inflamed liver in hepatitis may be tender and bigger, while a cirrhotic liver may be small and shrunken)

• Weakness

• Confusion and trouble concentrating

• Mood swings

• Bloating and gas

• Dark urine

• Constipation

• Pale or dark tar-colored stool

• Bruising easily

• Excessive sweat

• Dry and dark patches on the neck and underarms

• Swelling in the legs and ankles

• Hormonal imbalances such as PMS, PCOS, and irregular cycles

What Causes Liver Toxicity?

Because it has such widespread roles in the body, just about any form of metabolic, digestive, immune, or hormonal disorder can impact liver health. In addition, your lifestyle can make or break the health of your liver.

• Prescription medication or antibiotic use, including the use of over-the-counter or prescription pain medications, statins, and antibiotics 

• Alcohol

• Viruses/infections

• Autoimmune or inherited liver disease

• High-stress levels and hormonal imbalances

• Environmental toxin exposure

• Exposure to chemically sprayed crops

• Using chemical household and beauty products

• Obesity 

• Poor Diet

Why is your liver so vulnerable to damage and the effects of a harmful diet or high toxin exposure? The liver is somewhat like the body’s digestive control center. When substances reach the liver, they’re processed and either circulated, stored, altered, detoxified or flushed away through urine and stool.

 

Reset Your Liver, Enhance Your Metabolism

Metabolism Cleanse is a powerful 10-day detox that supports liver health by clearing out toxins and improving fat digestion, while also optimizing nutrient absorption and storage. A healthy liver is essential for regulating blood sugar, fat metabolism, and detoxification—critical functions that impact overall metabolic health. When overburdened with toxins, the liver can become sluggish, leading to cravings, poor digestion, and fat storage. 

By supporting liver detoxification with ingredients like milk thistle and dandelion root, Metabolism Cleanse helps restore liver efficiency, improve blood sugar control, and enhance fat metabolism, giving your body the reset it needs.

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How to Improve Your Liver Health

1. Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol is primarily processed in the liver, so a night of heavy drinking means the liver must work overtime to bring the body back to balance. You can help protect your liver by only consuming alcohol in moderation, which means no more than one drink per day for adult women, or one to two for adult men.

2. Choose organic, anti-inflammatory foods 

Your diet itself drastically impacts how hard your liver works. Because the liver breaks down fats, converts protein and sugar, and removes substances from the blood, it can become overwhelmed when it has too much to handle. Choosing organic foods that are pesticide and chemical-free reduces work for your liver.

A low-sugar, low-toxin diet that’s filled with high-fiber foods crucial for supporting your liver. 

Keep things balanced by eating real, whole foods (preferably organic), including unrefined sources of carbohydrates, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. When it comes to fats and proteins in your diet, focus on quality sources (cage-free eggs, grass-fed meat, or wild-caught seafood, for example) so the liver can properly break down fats and remove excess cholesterol and toxins.

The Best Foods for Liver Health:

• Sour foods — Bitterness is usually a sign that beneficial enzymes, which nourish the liver, are present Examples include bitter green vegetables (mustard greens, chicory, arugula, dandelion, etc.) and leafy greens, like collards or Swiss chard.

• Probiotic-rich foods — This includes foods like yogurt, kombucha, kefir and cultured vegetables that support gut health by providing healthy bacteria.

• Leafy greens — Green vegetables of all kinds come loaded with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, plus they may also increase levels of glutathione, a vital component in the destruction of free radicals within the body.

• Cruciferous veggies and grasses — Green grasses (like chlorella, barley, or wheat grass) have chlorophyll, a structure that’s built into plant cells that helps escort damaging toxins out of the liver while increasing antioxidants like superoxide dismutase. Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, kale, cage, etc.) contain indole compounds, a byproduct that’s known to help fight cancer and eliminate carcinogens from the body. Cruciferous vegetables can increase the production of digestive enzymes called glucosinolates that help detoxify the liver and increase the liver’s ability to usher out carcinogens and heavy metals from the blood.

• Fresh herbs — Herbs including turmeric, coriander, parsley, cilantro, and oregano are great for boosting glutathione production and lowering inflammation. For example, turmeric contains curcumin, a compound helpful in restoring healthy blood pressure, improving circulation, and fighting toxin buildup.

• High-antioxidant fruits — Fruits like berries and melons provide and balance electrolyte minerals needed by the liver, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium.

• Green tea — Green tea, especially concentrated, powdered matcha green tea, is known to contain powerful compounds known as catechins that act as antioxidants in the body, combatting free radicals within the blood, reducing liver inflammation, and lowering the effects of oxidative stress on the digestive organs.

Foods to Avoid for Liver Health:

• Alcohol 

• Caffeine

• Packaged goods that contain refined vegetable oils, artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and colors

• Fruits and vegetables heavily sprayed with chemical pesticides and herbicides (non-organic crops)

• Factory-farmed animal products, farm-raised fish, and conventional dairy (that has been pasteurized and homogenized)

• Processed meats like cold cuts that contain nitrates

• Foods made with seed oils, hydrogenated oils, refined vegetable oils, and artificial sweeteners/ingredients

• Sugary drinks and snacks

• Refined grains

3. Natural Herbs For A Stronger Liver

Natural herbs help the liver metabolize chemicals found in prescriptions, antibiotics, hormones, and nutrients like proteins and fats. 

Many powerful herbs are known to give the liver a boost in converting nutrients and removing toxins:

• Milk thistle, a key ingredient in Metabolism Cleanse, is an excellent source of the antioxidant called silymarin, which prevents the depletion of glutathione in the liver and fights liver disease.

• Holy basil contains essential oils that help combat bacteria, heavy metals, and even strains of fungus.

• Dandelion root has a natural diuretic effect. This means it helps balance fluid levels and boosts the liver’s efforts to quickly eliminate toxins, strengthening the immune system, helping with blood sugar balance, and relieving indigestion. Find it in Metabolism Cleanse.

• Licorice root extract has anti-inflammatory properties and can help soothe gastrointestinal problems.

• Bupleurum is a medicinal root used for fighting infections and improving digestion problems like acid reflux, diarrhea, and constipation. It helps improve adrenal gland function, reduce the effects of stress, and make the immune system work harder.

4. Reduce Stress and Practice Forgiveness

What does forgiveness have to do with your liver? Most of it comes down to your hormones. Historically, holistic practitioners tied emotional troubles to liver damage and, therefore, overall poor health. As you probably know, high amounts of chronic stress, which can be caused by emotional issues, relationship problems, and holding on to guilt, anger, or shame — all have an impact on your endocrine, reproductive, digestive, and immune systems. A damaged liver is said to block healthy emotional flow, produce frustration, and cause anger.

5. Exercise and Movement

The body can become stagnant and more susceptible to disease when blood isn’t flowing, but during physical activities, the heart pumps more blood. The liver is then better able to release blood to your brain, organs, tendons, joints, and muscles. Exercise also helps blood and nutrients reach reproductive or digestive organs, which is helpful for managing liver-related symptoms.

Dr. Gabrielle Francis is a naturopathic and functional medicine doctor with over 35 years of experience helping patients address the root cause of their health with natural and herbal solutions. Learn more at The Herban Alchemist.