If you’re feeling a little sluggish or tired compared to usual, it may be time to take a little load off your liver and regenerate your body.
A simple 4 day stint of clean eating, hydration and sleep may do the trick.
Have a look at your dietary pattern. Has it fallen by the wayside? Too many takeaways, or are you having a little more alcohol than usual?
A simple tip is to take stock, and put yourself on a 4-day mini cleanse.
Basically, you’re taking a load off your liver, and allow your digestive system to rest and fire up so it can catch up with all the processing.
The liver is the heart of the digestive system, and works 24/7 to try and keep our bodies healthy.
It filters the blood that carries our all-important nutrients that we obtain from food that has been broken down and absorbed across the mucous membrane (our digestive tract).
The liver removes all the other stuff that’s not good for us…’toxins’! It does this by modifying the toxins and re-packaging them so they can be safely eliminated from the body. Too easy right? Ah, well that depends on you really.
The liver has a tough gig these days, with all the environmental toxins that we absorb through food, through our skin, from the air we breathe, and the water we drink!
So, let’s help this very important vital organ to do its job better, to protect us from pathogens, heavy metals, derivatives of pharmaceuticals, chemicals etc.
The key to help your liver in its detoxification processes is to lessen the load. The number #1 priority is AVOIDANCE!
Here are a few steps you can take and see how you feel after 4 days.
STEP 1 – AVOIDANCE
Avoid/ EXCLUDE all processed foods, sugars, alcohol, soft drinks, pastries, cakes, biscuits, chips (and the rest)! Basically steer clear of anything in a packet, or anything that has numbers in the ingredients list.
STEP 2 – REPLACE & AMPLIFY
Include plenty of vegetables, salads, fruit and a small amount of protein (palm sized fish, meat), or legumes/ rice/ quinoa for the vegans. Choose lots of ‘raw’ foods such as carrots, celery, capsicum, radish.
Amplify your green vegetables and the cruciferous family – broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, radish (aka the LIVER FOODS).
Other key liver foods are onions and garlic! Add freshly chopped raw garlic in with avocado and lemon, or make a hummus and have with vegetable sticks.
STEP 3 – HYDRATE
Drink plenty of water, and with a squeeze of fresh lemon, or warm water and lemon. Ideally aim for at least 2 litres per day. Too often when i do the VLA Bioimpedence test on clients, I find that cellular dehydration is such as common issue.
The area of our brain that governs thirst is the same for hunger, so often they get mixed up. So if you are feeling a little ‘peckish’, grab a large glass of water! We need more water than food, so always think to hydrate. Better still, add a squeeze of lemon for extra vitamin C!
STEP 4 – SLEEP
Go to bed early over these 4 days.
I guarantee you’ll feel better for it. Aim for 9 hours of sleep to allow your body to rejuvinate so you can get your mojo back. If your sleep hasn’t been great for a while, have a read of my blog on sleep to get a few tips. Sleep blog
It’s all about lightening the load so mini cleanses like this are a great way to get you back on track.
If you’d like to learn more, or be supported on a suitably tailored DETOX, then we’re here to help. Get in touch or book in for a naturopathy appointment.
