At the time of writing, just after the Christmas holidays, many people will require some form of detoxification. Liver detox is essentially methods of helping your liver to rejuvenate after any abuse or overindulgence. Fatty liver is a condition that can occur in people who abuse alcohol, overeat, have had viral hepatitis, or have been taking too many pharmaceutical drugs or been exposed to other toxic chemicals. For the purposes of this article I’m going to concentrate on overindulgence and what you can do to help your body recover and foods that going to help you in the long run. When you are feeling like you have overindulged in alcohol or you have overeaten liver detox cleanse is probably a good thing to attempt.

Now, this site is all about trying to use natural ingredients and exercise in order to help your body to detox and to live a healthy life in general. Your body has wonderful built-in mechanisms to help you detox and it doesn’t take much to reach out a helping hand. The problem is that we tend to overexert our natural detoxification system when we overindulge. And, our modern environment leads us open to a lot more toxins than ever before. So, I want to give you some foods that can help you to detox cleanse in general.

Some of the foods that are good for natural liver detox include foods that contain pectin, foods that contain flavonoids or beta-carotene, anything that contains allicin, foods that contain B complex vitamins, foods that contain glucosinolates, foods that contain antioxidants, and any food that promotes the production and the flowing of bile.

Pectin is actually contained in all kinds of plants but the composition is going to vary depending on the variety, species, particular tissue, growing conditions, and maturity of the plant. Apples are a fruit which has some of the higher levels of pectin. Not only does pectin help with home liver detox, it is also good to lower cholesterol levels, help with diarrhea, and can act as a protector and regulator of the gastrointestinal tract.

Some of the foods that are rich in flavonoids include basil, cabbage, garden peas, lettuce, cranberries, garlic, brussels sprouts, and kidney beans. Flavonoids are the pigments in plants which are responsible for the color. They are said to be very important because of their antioxidant nature.

Beta-carotene is a nutrient which when absorbed into the body is converted into vitamin A. It is an antioxidant and is said to be a very effective in fighting against disease. The foods which are highest in beta-carotene include peppers and chilies, lettuce, spinach, dandelion roots and greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and carrots.

B complex vitamins are not only very helpful in liver detoxification, they are also very important in the body’s development and growth. Vitamin B complex comes in these types: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12. I’m not going to go through all the different uses of the B complex vitamins, suffice to say that you really need to be consuming these vitamins on a daily basis as part of your diet. They have to be replenished on a regular basis because any excess of the vitamin is passed out through the urine. The best possible place of finding these vitamins is in whole unprocessed food. Great sources include bananas, whole grains, potatoes, lentils, beans, molasses, chili peppers, and brewer’s yeast. This last one does not mean to say that you can drink lots of beer. The ethanol levels in beer inhibit thiamine absorption and so really reduce the levels of vitamin B that are available for absorption.

Glucosinolates are organic compounds which contain nitrogen and sulphur. They are derived from an amino acid and glucose. They are most commonly found in brassicales. These include brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. It is said that the active ingredients, those are responsible for the antioxidant activity, continue to work for up to 3 or four days after the food has been consumed.

Antioxidants can help to lower blood pressure, prevent cancer and heart disease, and can actually slow down ageing. Some of the best antioxidant liver detoxing foods include berries, broccoli, red grapes, tomato, spinach, garlic, soy beans, tea, carrots, and dark chocolate.

Bile helps to emulsify the fats in the foods that you are eating. It is made by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. It is needed for the emulsification of fat. It is composed of 70% cholesterol … this is very important. When you eat food that promotes the production of bile you are removing cholesterol from your bloodstream … so, every time you eat bile inducing foods you are going to rid your body of more cholesterol. The fiber that you take into your body binds to the bile and this bile is then eliminated when you have a bowel movement. Your body has to make more bile, thus removing more cholesterol from your blood.

So, you can see that eating the right foods is not only good for liver detox, it is good for your overall body health. Remember better food and any exercise is the key to long-term health and a long life.