The liver is the body’s most important filter and protector from an accumulation of ingested toxins. Read on to learn about the best herbs for liver cleanse.
The heart may be the engine of the body, but the liver is the star of the show. In fact, it’s the body’s largest organ and is crucial to your overall health. Your liver is responsible for more than 500 vital functions, including removing toxins from the blood and transporting nutrients throughout the body.
It’s imperative that you keep your liver healthy; a diseased liver can be deadly, with complications ranging from cirrhosis to liver cancer to liver failure. And with our modern, unhealthy diets, we’ve become much more susceptible to these risks. With this in mind, it is worth considering a natural way to cleanse your liver of toxins and improve its overall functioning. There are many herbs that can do the trick, and below we’ve listed four of the most effective ones for your liver cleanse.
The Best Herbs for Liver Cleanse is an original (PlantBasedHealthNews) article.
Herbs for liver cleanse:
1. Milk thistle
Milk thistle, a plant native to the Mediterranean region, has been used to treat a myriad of disorders (including liver ailments) for thousands of years. The main extract in milk thistle relevant to hepatic treatments is the antioxidant silymarin. Silymarin possesses diverse pharmacological properties. It is known to be hepatoprotective and cardioprotective and can be effective in preventing inflammation, viral infections, and cancer when used in conjunction with other treatments.
Extensive research has shown that silymarin is effective in protecting the liver from toxins by preventing them from binding to hepatic cell membrane receptors. This helps the liver grow new cells and repair itself, thereby reversing some liver damage. It has been effective in treating several hepatic disorders, including “alcoholic liver disease, acute and chronic viral hepatitis, and toxin-induced liver diseases.”
Herbs for liver cleanse:
2. Burdock root
Like milk thistle, burdock root has been used for centuries to treat various ailments, including liver disease. Whether eaten whole or ingested through extracts made from its seeds, it is known to “have antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammation bioactive properties.” This is mainly facilitated through the compounds arctigenin and arctiin, two of the main ingredients in burdock root.
These compounds serve many therapeutic purposes: helping to protect the liver from harmful substances (including alcohol), speeding up the process of flushing away toxins, and reducing inflammation. Moreover, a 2002 study of mice found that these compounds can aid in reversing the effects of alcohol-induced liver damage. Further research still needs to be conducted with human subjects, but burdock root’s hepatic protective and restorative properties are promising.
Herbs for liver cleanse:
3. Flaxseed
Flaxseed is an ancient seed whose effectiveness in hepatic treatments arises from its high choline and omega-3 fatty acid levels. Choline is an essential nutrient that is important for the maintenance of your metabolism, and though your liver produces it endogenously, it cannot produce a sufficient amount on its own. To avoid liver damage, humans must obtain choline through their diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce liver fat and liver enzyme levels. Research has indicated a correlation between flaxseed supplementation and general improvement in liver functioning. Furthermore, a 2020 clinical trial concluded that flaxseed, along with hesperidin (a plant chemical), “improved glucose and lipid metabolism…while [reducing] inflammation and hepatic steatosis” in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It was found to be effective in treating alcoholic liver disease as well.
Herbs for liver cleanse:
4: Rosemary
Rosemary, another herb native to the Mediterranean, is especially effective as a detoxifier. In terms of liver health, it has been shown to induce hepatoprotective properties in the liver. This is primarily facilitated through its antioxidant activities, which are especially pertinent to liver ailments due to the relationship between liver disease and oxidative stress. The latter produces an imbalance in cellular structures that results in “structural and functional abnormalities in the liver.” Rosemary, as an antioxidant, helps ameliorate this. Additionally, a 2020 study concluded that the herb helped to significantly improve the liver’s overall function, antioxidant capacities, and inflammatory status.
The best natural liver cleanse supplement:
Medicine Man’s Liver Pill
One natural supplement includes all these herbs in one effective formula: Medicine Man Plant Co. Their Liver Pill is designed to optimize liver function and health. The use of these herbs – milk thistle, burdock root, flaxseed, and rosemary – cleanse, support, detoxify, and protect the liver. Rosemary is included in this product as an antioxidative extract to protect the flaxseed from oxidation.
In particular, these herbs for liver cleanse “reduce fatty liver issues, improve the strength of liver action, and offer protection from alcohol and other liver toxins.” But more than that, the Liver Pill is designed with the past, present, and future in mind. Medicine Man Plant Co.’s products blend the historical ameliorative uses of these herbs with modern science. Their goal is to promote liver maintenance and cleansing in the present, but also to improve the liver’s future functionality.
Treat your liver right
Natural herbs can be extremely effective in keeping your liver healthy. Chief among the many different options available to you are milk thistle, burdock root, flaxseed, and rosemary. Their respective hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative properties make these herbs ideal for a liver cleanse. These compounds can speed up the liver’s toxin flushing, help it repair itself, and even reverse some damage caused by disease. Ultimately, they do exactly what a good liver cleanse should do, especially when combined.
Further Reading:
John Hopkins: “5 Ways to Be Kind to Your Liver”
NY Times: “The Liver: A ‘Blob’ That Runs the Body”
The Guardian: “Down to the liver”
Important Note: The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your healthcare professional in order to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
Regarding Nutritional Supplements Or Other Non-Prescription Health Products: If any nutritional supplements or other non-prescription health products are mentioned in the foregoing article, any claims or statements made about them have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and such nutritional supplements or other health products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.