The wonderful and unique feature of the liver is that it is the only organ in the body that can repair and renew itself. This is why you can grow a whole liver back from what is left, after part of it has to be removed surgically.

It is important to rejuvenate your liver after -

  • Drinking too much alcohol
  • Having an adverse reaction to a drug (whether prescribed or recreational)
  • Finding out you have a fatty liver
  • After taking anti-viral drugs for hepatitis C
  • Being overweight for several years, especially around the torso
  • Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods
  • Exposure to insecticides, pesticides and/or heavy metals
  • Finding out you have raised liver enzymes

Your liver can certainly repair itself and that is a wonderful thing. However, it’s important to realize that repeated harm to the liver can eventually cause permanent damage. Your liver can only repair itself so many times. Eventually, healthy liver cells can be replaced with scar tissue (fibrosis). This is referred to as cirrhosis of the liver.

Scar tissue is not functional and cannot do the work of liver cells. Liver cells produce scar tissue to protect themselves from the inflammation that is occurring in the liver. If you are concerned about the health of your liver, the tips below will help to reduce damage to your liver cells and improve their ability to carry out their metabolic functions.

How to renew your liver

  • Eat less carbohydrate
    Poor diet is the leading cause of fatty liver disease.  The biggest offenders are sugar and foods made of white flour; they need to be avoided completely.  However, a high intake of carbohydrate-rich foods, in general, can promote fatty liver, as the liver converts excess carbohydrate into fat.  Foods that need to be restricted include bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals and any food made of flour.  See my book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It for a low carbohydrate eating guide.
  • Eat a salad every day
    Not many people eat the recommended 7 serves of vegetables each day. Vegetables are an abundant source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The vitamins and minerals are required as cofactors for the function of detoxification enzymes in your liver. The antioxidants help to protect your liver cells from damage. Did you know that a significant number of your liver cells get damaged each day just by carrying out detoxification? Please eat a wide variety of vegetables every day, and make sure some of them are raw.
  • Support glutathione production
    Did you know glutathione is the most powerful antioxidant and detoxifier and it’s made inside your body? A healthy liver produces high levels of glutathione. A sluggish liver, fatty liver or inflamed liver will struggle. Additionally, if you have high levels of inflammation in your body, you’ll use up glutathione too quickly and not be able to keep up with production. Selenium and n-acetyl cysteine are both required for glutathione production.
  • Drink raw vegetable juice
    Vegetable juices are a powerful way to repair your liver because they contain a concentrated dose of antioxidants. Brightly colored vegetables are highest in antioxidants, so please choose a variety of colors. Juices are much easier to digest than raw vegetables, because the cell walls have been broken down for you. Many people with liver problems also experience digestive problems such as bloating, gas and indigestion. Juices are a great option in that case. Please make sure your juice is predominantly comprised of vegetables, as fruit juice is too concentrated in sugar for most people. You will find numerous juice recipes for a range of conditions in my book Raw Juices Can Save Your Life.
  • Take a good quality liver tonic
    In an ideal world, all of your meals would be homemade, using the best quality fresh produce. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, and many people are simply too busy to always eat healthy food. I have formulated Livatone Plus specifically providing your liver with the nutrients it needs for healing, repair and optimal detoxification ability. It contains 420mg of pure silymarin derived from St Mary’s thistle per daily dose. This is the dose that has been shown to be effective in clinical trials. St Mary’s thistle is combined with all the B group vitamins and important antioxidants. Livatone Plus also contains the amino acid taurine which plays an important role in healthy liver and gallbladder function.
  • Support your digestive function
    If your bowel contains high levels of the wrong bacteria, fungi or Candida, this will place an added strain on your liver and compromise its function. If you have a leaky gut, the first place bowel toxins leak to is the liver.

There is one main vein (the hepatic portal vein) that takes all blood from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver. Ordinarily, this is a good thing because this blood is extremely rich in nutrients. Your liver is the hardest working organ in your body and it has a high need for nutrients. Your liver is also designed to trap any bacteria or foreign matter that may have escaped through the gut, preventing it from spreading to the rest of your body.

If your gut is toxic and leaky, your liver will quickly become overwhelmed. There are specialized cells inside your liver called Kupffer cells. They are a type of white blood cell called a macrophage; it comes from the Greek words big eater! The job of a macrophage is to engulf foreign matter, a lot like Pac Man. Macrophages contain enzymes that enable them to digest the debris or toxins they’ve swallowed.

If your gut is leaky, the high level of wastes arriving at your liver will trigger a great deal of inflammation inside it. Cleaning up your bowel usually involves removing gluten and sugar from your diet. Most people need to take a course of Intestinal Parasite Cleanse capsules. My Ultimate Gut Health powder is wonderful for healing and sealing the gut lining and fixing leaky gut.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.