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3 herbs to detox your liver

These three herbs have detoxifying properties for your liver. See how much you should take and what side effects you may experience.

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1. Dandelion

Related to chicory, dandelion’s historical uses include treating upset stomach, heartburn, and spleen ailments, plus enhancing immunity. Some health practitioners recommend dandelion to stimulate the liver and kidneys to filter toxins out of the blood.

Recommended dose
500 mg standardized powdered leaf or root extract one to three times daily.

Cautions
May trigger allergies. Avoid if you have gallbladder problems.

2. Aloe vera

Commonly used to help soothe burns and heal wounds topically, aloe gel also has antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties and may be taken to help support detoxification.

Recommended dose
Between 100 mg and 5 g dehydrated powder in capsules or mixed into juice daily.

Cautions
May cause cramping, diarrhea, and lower blood sugar levels. Never consume the green part of the leaf surrounding the gel, called aloe latex, which is associated with toxic effects, including kidney failure.

3. Milk thistle

Its active component, silymarin, exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help repair damaged liver cells and protect new cells from toxins.

Recommended dose
200–400 mg one to three times per day or 100–200 mg silymarin-phiohatidylcholine complex two times per day.

Cautions
May cause an upset stomach, diarrhea, or bloating. Avoid if you’re allergic to other members of the daisy family.

Discuss this Article 3

Alberto (not verified)
on Mar 30, 2011

Want serious detox herbs? try Manayupa, Chanca Piedra, Hercampuri from inca´s herbal medicine. These herbs are very aggressive against toxins while mild with your body

felice lim (not verified)
on Apr 19, 2011

my grandmother always served us barely soup or mung bean
soup to 'detox' our heaty body system. 'heaty' means 'yang',
to balance the yin and yang system so she said 50 yrs ago!!
we never had to see a doctor until almost 17 yrs old. Now, modern
society brought kids up with drugs and chemicals, they see the
G.P. almost every 8 weeks.
She always said' sickness come from our mouths" in chinese,
mean we are what we eat. that is the most basic of preventing
is better than cure. If we eat the right food, we can balance the
yin and yang in the body system so that it achieve a good harmony.
of course, we also had beetroot in our diet, another detox food.
And young coconut water too!! western countries only NOW
start to think coconut water has good nurtrients.we had them every
week to cool or balance our body system in hot summer days or
when we had constipation. I do not remember they ever saw a
doctor like middle-age people do now. My grandfatherer died in his
afternoon nap after a long day of card session at age of 80.He ate very well ONLY at home, no BBQ food or deepfried, not much dairy or sweet diet!! The kitchen did not have any sauces
like today's modern kitchen where all sauces are bought ready.
we only used ginger, garlic, shallots, chinese wine, soy, sea salt
and white pepper, star anise, cinamon , tumeric, bean curd, shitake,mushroom, soy bean paste and coconut-palm sugar..and of course, homemade fish or chicken stock to flavour food. And we
had free range eggs and chickens at the backyard and fresh seafood. Now everybody eat fastfood and lots of unhealthy snacks, no wonder we have many kidney failures problems. All
unhealthy food will make the kidney work harder for us, at the end they break down...

susanesrey
on Apr 20, 2011

Felice, thanks for your comment--your family life and cultural wisdom about wellness is inspiring--What a great education you were gifted! Many of the rest of us are playing catch up to learn about healthy foods, what to eat, and how to prepare it. I love the saying that sickness comes from your mouth (and not just the germ-y fingers my kids are often sticking in there!)

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