Your stomach and intestines break down the food you eat and absorb nutrients through your gut lining. If your gut functions optimally, this process works smoothly; nutrients are absorbed into your blood and pass through the liver, and waste goes into the large intestine and forms stool.

However, if you have a leaky gut, your liver must work harder to filter out particles from the blood transported from the stomach. A poor diet consisting of gluten, dairy, and toxic foods such as alcohol and caffeine, along with stress, heavy metals, medications, and gut infections such as SIBO and Candida overgrowth , can cause leaky gut.

When your gut is leaky, more particles can escape into your bloodstream, which then gets transported to your liver and forces it to work harder to remove them from your blood.

Your immune system reacts by sending out wave after wave of inflammation to attack the foreign invaders. This state of high alert causes your immune system to become overstressed and fire less accurately and can lead your tissues to get caught in the crosshairs and cause a flood of symptoms.

Eventually, this will develop into full-blown autoimmunity if not addressed. The good news is that one way to not overburden your liver is by fixing your leaky gut. Take this quiz to find out if you have a leaky gut. Problems in our gastrointestinal GI tract can cause more than just stomach pain, gas, bloating, or diarrhea; a leaky gut can be the root cause of many chronic health problems such as skin issues, hormonal imbalances, and even autoimmunity.

The gut is the gateway to health. If your gut is healthy, chances are that you are in good health. If not, it can lead to a slew of issues. If you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune or thyroid condition, or experience any of the following symptoms, you likely have some degree of leaky gut.

Your results will be delivered to your inbox in just a few moments! While you repair your leaky gut, giving your liver some additional support to get it functioning optimally is a good idea. Yet, how do you detox your liver? Furthermore, what is a liver detox? The most common belief is that a week-long juice cleanse is the perfect detox for your liver.

As I mentioned earlier, our modern lifestyles expose us to so many toxins. Your liver is essential to obtaining optimal health. Many risk factors can impair liver function, such as: 2.

As I mentioned earlier, a poor diet and alcohol use are the most common risk factors for liver disease. Here are signs to look out for: 3. There are many preventive steps to take care of your liver, such as limiting alcohol use, losing weight, and understanding your risk factors for liver disease.

These natural steps promote detoxification and facilitate healthy liver function. Sometimes the most straightforward step can be a giant leap. The simple truth is that drinking plenty of water can keep your liver in tip-top shape and your kidneys.

Your liver and kidney work together to move toxins from your bloodstream and turn them into water-soluble substances transported in your urine.

Water helps your kidney and liver transport toxins out of your body. Not any water will do to get the full detoxifying effect. Drinking filtered water throughout the day to get the full effect.

I have Aquasauna water filters throughout my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and my office in Austin, Texas. Water and diet are the first places to start detoxing your liver. Caffeine, alcohol, processed foods with refined sugar, unhealthy fats, additives, and preservatives do the opposite of detoxing your liver.

You should also remove inflammatory foods such as gluten and dairy. Gluten inhibits digestion because it damages the gut and causes a leaky gut, allowing toxins and particles to get into your liver, and forcing it to work harder, as I mentioned earlier.

Trans fats have higher levels of saturated fats, increasing the risk of heart disease and cholesterol levels. Trans fat also affects your immune system and can lead to inflammation. Instead, eat a diet full of organic fruits and vegetables and meats. Some studies found that low potassium levels increase metabolic disorders, including fatty liver and type 2 diabetes.

There are a lot of health benefits of potassium, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, supporting heart health, and promoting optimal liver function. Sweet potatoes are the most potassium-dense food you can eat; one medium sweet potato contains mg of potassium.

Furthermore, sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, and iron. Bananas and spinach are also excellent sources of potassium. Every single one of us gets exposed to an unprecedented amount of toxins.

There are over 80, chemicals registered for use in the United States, and another 1, get added each year. These industrial chemicals are the primary ingredients in our cosmetics and personal care products. An average of seven new industrial chemicals get approval by the U. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle is an excellent place to start when it comes to keeping your immune system functioning optimally.

I recommend a two-step approach for taming the toxins : 1 minimize your exposure and 2 support your detox pathways. Taking these steps is an excellent start to supporting optimal liver function.

Diet and water are the two best ways to get your liver back up and running. In most cases, your liver needs additional support to reduce its toxic burden. Enter glutathione, selenium, and milk thistle. Aside from protecting your liver tissue and the rest of your body from oxidative stress, it also supports normal inflammation levels and helps detoxify liver enzymes.

Glutathione helps remove heavy metals such as mercury, aluminum, and cadmium from your body, and it also helps eliminate toxins found in plastics and conventional cosmetic products or in mold.

And finally, milk thistle! Milk thistle is a fantastic herb that is famous for supporting liver health. Used for over nearly 2, years, it contains a polyphenol called silymarin that has a powerful propensity for liver cells. In the liver, milk thistle helps protect liver cells from the damage done by toxins and heavy metals that the liver works hard to metabolize and detoxify.

Milk thistle also supports bile flow and viscosity and supports healthy levels of inflammation in the liver. What if I told you that you could get all these crucial ingredients in one easy-to-take supplement?

Well, you can! I formulated Liver Support to include selenium, glutathione, and milk thistle to promote optimal liver function. Liver Support helps detox and optimize your liver function and contains mcg of selenium, mg of milk thistle, and mg of Acetyl-Glutathione to support your liver.

Amy Myers, MD is a two-time New York Times bestselling author and an internationally acclaimed functional medicine physician. Myers specializes in empowering those with autoimmune, thyroid, and digestive issues to reverse their conditions and take back their health.

In addition, she is a wife, mother, and the successful founder and CEO of Amy Myers MD ®. Your information is secure and is handled in accordance with our privacy policy.

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Skip to Content. Log In 0. Open main menu. Articles Recipes Books Community Newsletter Extra Savings. This enzymatic process usually occurs in two steps, referred to as phase I and phase II, with phase I chemically modifying the chemicals to make them an easier target for one or more of the several phase II enzyme systems.

Your liver is a workhouse that can even regenerate its own damaged cells. However, it is not invincible. When it lacks essential nutrients or when it is overwhelmed by toxins. It no longer performs as it should. Hormone imbalances may develop.

Fat may accumulate in the liver and then just under the skin or in other organs. Toxins build up and get into your blood stream. When your liver is sluggish, every organ in your body is affected, and you weight loss efforts are blocked.

Blood vessels are enlarged and blood flow become restricted. A toxic liver is unable to break down the adrenal hormone aldosterone, which accumulates to retain sodium and water and suppress potassium. The liver fails to detoxify the components of oestrogen oestrone and oestradiol for excretion, so symptoms of oestrogen dominance arise.

It is unable to carry out its activities to control glucose. A toxic liver can lead to hypoglycaemia, which can produce sugar cravings, weight gain, and Candida overgrowth. A toxic liver is unable to process toxins, enabling them to escape your blood stream and set off an immune response.

With repeated assaults from escaped toxins, you immune system becomes over worked. A liver overloaded with pollutants and toxins cannot efficiently burn body fat, and thus will sabotage your weight loss efforts. The goal of a detox programme is to help the elimination of toxins and waste substances that build up during the day in the body and make us feel below par.

Causes can include stress, tobacco, alcohol or an unbalanced diet. Under normal conditions, the body has the ability to cleanse itself thanks to its major detoxifying organs- the kidneys, the liver and the intestine.

However, when our toxin elimination process is overused, it ends up being blocked and the body loses its tonicity. In concrete terms, a detox programme will help us to restore lost vitality, to maintain good health and to drive away small symptoms which are usually the sign of intoxication such as feeling of tiredness, lack of concentration, skin problems, digestive disorders and even weight gain.

The rules are simple. You just have to adopt a light, balanced and diversified diet with fresh fruits and vegetables. The aim is to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to stimulate itself- cleansing mechanisms. It is also recommended to drink 2.

Eating a diet that focuses on fresh fruits and vegetables. Adopting a healthy lifestyle, including avoidance of alcohol and exercising regularly. Using special nutritional and herbal supplements to protect the liver and enhance liver function. Written By Dr Zeeba, Nutritionist.