Detoxification is the key to a healthy liver! Without doubt, your diet goes a long way to dictating the health of your liver.  If you eat a lot of high fat, high sugar, processed foods, drink alcohol regularly, or consume caffeine daily – over time your liver can become stressed, fatigued and over-burdened.

The most common signs of an overworked liver include:

• Indigestion following a meal (especially if the meal is high in fat)
• Poor skin (due to toxic overload)
• Digestive discomfort (including nausea, flatulence and foul odours from poorly digested food matter fermenting in your digestive tract)
• Bad breath (which is also a sign you are not digesting your food properly
• Long lasting hangovers, experienced from over-indulging (be it in alcohol, sugar laden foods or fatty foods)

Interestingly, the liver is the only organ in your body that regenerates itself. So if you have a part of your liver that has been damaged by an unhealthy lifestyle, your body can heal and regrow healthy tissue to replace the damaged portion. By giving your liver a break (especially following particularly indulgent times like Christmas and New Year), and excluding toxic nutrients (such as sugar and alcohol), you can re-charge the organ, allowing it to restore itself to good health.

Supporting natural processes of detoxification

In order to encourage the movement of stagnant toxins from your system during your detoxification, a number of dietary changes, along with the consumption of liver and digestive support herbs and nutrients are recommended. Not only will these changes help to rid your body of toxins currently residing in its tissues, they will also help to limit side effects experienced as toxins leave your body. The following herbs and nutrients are recommended to support your liver in its detoxification process:

• Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) – works to help the liver detoxify and  assists in the regeneration of new, healthy liver cells.
• Brindleberry (Garcinia quaesita) & Chromium – help to balance blood sugar levels, leading to a reduction in sugar cravings (a plus for any sugar addict wishing to undertake a detox).
• B Vitamins – provide support for converting carbohydrates (like bread and pasta) into energy. B vitamins are often deficient in people with high sugar diets; as the more sugar you eat, the more B vitamins you need to convert this sugar into energy. Vitamins B1, B2 and B3 are also involved in various detoxification pathways in the liver.
• Taurine – is also necessary to support the breakdown of toxins, such as alcohol.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Nutra-Life Detox & Cleanse

Formulated for total digestive and liver health, Detox & Cleanse contains herbs and nutrients beneficial for the cleansing and detoxification of the liver, stomach, small and large intestines, and bowel. Easy-to-take, this natural lemon flavoured formula is naturally sweetened with Stevia, and contains no artificial colours, flavours or additives. Learn more about Nutra-Life Detox & Cleanse here