Which diet is best for your liver?

The liver is one of the body’s major organs involved in metabolic detoxification and here we refer to the body’s natural, innate processes to “recycle,” or “take out the trash.” This is necessary for survival as well as optimal cellular health. Thus, the liver converts toxins to useable substances—a process that, for those who wish to know, can involve methyl molecules, electron donors and acceptors, and uses ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate) – the body’s chemical energy of life and relies on many different nutrients and antioxidants to function. With the onslaught of chemicals and pollutants we encounter every day, our liver can always use more love. But, what’s the best diet to support the liver?

It may be more than just any one diet.

A recent clinical trial, called ‘Direct PLUS,’  found that a modified Mediterranean diet had impressive effects on markers of liver health. The study compared 3 different diets for 18 months:

➡️ ‘Healthy’ Diet

➡️ Mediterranean Diet

➡️ ‘Green’ Mediterranean Diet

The standard Mediterranean Diet was rich in vegetables, poultry, fish, and included ¼ cup of walnuts per day. The Green Mediterranean Diet was the same except that it also included 3-4 cups of green tea and a green superfood powder (called Mankai) every day.

The results?

The Green Mediterranean Diet performed the best! In fact, it reduced the percentage of people who had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at the beginning of the study by half (from 62% to 31%).

How Can You Look After Your Liver?

The best way to detoxify from a natural health perspective, it’s absolutely best to work with the body’s own systems. This is really the essence of natural health—working with the body rather than inflicting chemical load on the body. To assist your body with metabolic detoxification is to have a sequential approach to building whole-body nutritional health 

1. Support the liver with phytonutrients (organic fruit & vegetables, and herbs). Build liver function nutritionally and the liver will detoxify itself and the body according to the body’s innate processes.

2. Assist the body to remove toxins from the storage depots (fat cells and extracellular matrix) by increasing its overall nutritional health (organic fruit & vegetables, and herbs) using superfoods such as chlorella and chelating herbs.

3. Support the cells membranes nutritionally for optimal health – anti-inflammatory nutrients, antioxidants, methylation donors, ATP processes. Include adequate fat-soluble Vitamins D, K, & A into your diet as they promote cellular health.

I think the takeaway message is this: diet matters, and there are ways that we can boost the already excellent benefits of a healthy diet. In this study, they did that with green tea and a green superfood powder. It’s similar to the approach I take with my patients every day—except that I choose the supplements to match the individual.

Interested in learning more ways to support your liver or do a 10 - 28 day guided liver detox programme and boost your health? Call our office so we can answer your questions and see how we can help.