Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that is soluble in both water and fat, so it can enter virtually all portions of cells to disarm free radicals. Lipoic acid also improves liver function by regenerating glutathione and other antioxidants, and reenergizes the liver by ushering glucose into the cells.
Artichoke
Artichoke, which can be consumed naturally or via supplements, has potent bioflavonoid activity that helps support the liver. It also has a positive effect on stimulating bile.
B-Complex Vitamins
The B vitamins play many key roles in detoxification. They are required to deactivate estrogen, a function which is particularly important during perimenopause.
Thiamine (vitamin B1) is required to metabolize alcohol into non-toxic products.
Niacin protects against poisoning from carbon tetrachloride (a solvent).
Folic acid and vitamin B12 optimize liver function by counteracting the accumulation of fat in the liver.
Calcium D-Glucarate
D-glucarate is a little-known plant compound that can be found in some foods—primarily apples, grapefruit, broccoli, brussels sprouts, lettuce, and bean sprouts—and taken as a supplement. This compound also occurs naturally in the body in very small amounts.
A key way your body eliminates toxins and excess hormones is through compounds that attach themselves to toxic molecules and then escort them out of the body, usually via the urinary tract or the colon. In the liver, glucuronic acid attaches itself to a toxin and creates a water-soluble compound that's easily excreted. This process, known as glucuronidation, helps neutralize the toxic chemical onslaught from within as well as from without.
However, the enzyme beta-glucuronidase can break the bond between glucuronic acid and a toxin, causing the toxin to be released back into the bloodstream. D-glucarate hinders the activity of beta-glucuronidase, allowing the bond between glucuronic acid and a toxin to be maintained and the body to rid itself of toxic waste.
Cilantro
Also called Chinese parsley, this common herb is derived from the leaves of the coriander plant. It has been shown to help accelerate the excretion of mercury, lead and aluminum from the body.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a natural detox therapy that also improves insulin sensitivity.
Curcumin (see Turmeric)
Dandelion Root Extract
Dandelion root extract has been used for centuries to relieve jaundice by opening the bile ducts, and it’s also a blood purifier. It also acts as a mild diuretic and laxative to help the kidneys and the liver sweep toxins from the blood.
Ellagic Acid
Ellagic acid is a natural phytochemical found in many fruits such as pomegranates and raspberries. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, ellagic acid gives great Phase II protection by binding to and inactivating toxic molecules. It also has antibacterial and antiviral activity, which protects your liver from rogue pathogens that can enter it via the circulatory system.
In addition, ellagic acid has the well-documented ability to increase the activity of several phase II toxin-busting enzymes. This makes the neutralization of the worst toxins happen faster.
Epsom Salt
The magnesium in the salts neutralizes the several chemicals, including chlorine. It also works to draw toxins out of your body.
Essential Fatty Acids (omega-3 and omega-6)
Because toxins cause inflammation, the liver is particularly prone to inflammatory disease. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids counteract the inflammatory response and thus help keep the liver in top operating condition.
Folic Acid
Folic acid optimizes liver function by counteracting the accumulation of fat in the liver.
Glutathione
Glutathione is one of the body’s most critical detoxification agents. It deals directly with fat-soluble toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals, and solvents, converting them into water-soluble forms that can be eliminated by the kidneys.
High levels of glutathione are found in the lungs, where it lassos the toxins in smoke, smog, and other airborne pollutants. But it is particularly concentrated in the liver, your body’s primary organ for detoxification.
As long as adequate glutathione stores are available, liver detoxification proceeds without a hitch. However, when stores are low—because of exposure to toxins, dietary inadequacies, or diseases that cause glutathione depletion—you run the risk of liver damage and susceptibility to toxin-induced diseases.
Green Foods
Green foods such as chlorella, spirulina, etc., help neutralize acidity in our body, thereby helping us achieve a radiant alkalinity. Greens also help purify, deodorize, and neutralize toxins, bind to waste, and support good bacteria in our guts while discouraging the growth of harmful flora. Green foods are even a tonic for the blood, cleansing it and helping it maintain iron status.
In the short term, green foods can be used for detox and the correction of dysbiosis (imbalance of intestinal flora), but their long-term use cleans your entire machine for life.
L-Carnitine
L-carnitine is an amino acid that is vital to liver health. It protects the liver from the harmful breakdown products of everyday fat metabolism. In addition, L-carnitine helps detoxify lactic acidosis and ammonia, both of which are extraordinarily toxic to the liver. L-carnitine protects the liver from the metabolic breakdown of alcohol as well.
Lecithin
Lecithin is one of the most important nutrients for the liver. Composed of two of the B-complex vitamins, choline and inositol, it comprises 65 percent of the membranes of liver cells, where metabolism of various pollutants, alcohol, viruses, drugs, and other toxins occur.
Research has shown that lecithin can also help remove fats from liver tissue. In fact, it’s often prescribed in the treatment of hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and cirrhosis.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that is essential in treating heavy metal toxicity, as well as overall brain health. Magnesium also improves insulin sensitivity.
Methionine
The amino acid methionine is a powerful detoxifier with a long list of functions. It can rid the body of heavy metals such as mercury and lead; is an antioxidant; maintains the body's reserves of glutathione peroxidase, another powerful antioxidant; and promotes the body's production of lecithin, the major component of liver cell membranes.
Milk Thistle
The milk thistle plant is the source of silymarin, a group of potent flavonoids proven effective against liver disease in more than 300 studies. Silymarin protects the liver from environmental toxins, such as tobacco smoke, coal, oil and incense; X-rays and radiation therapy; and industrial toxins. It acts as an antioxidant and inhibits depletion of glutathione. It accelerates regeneration of damaged liver cells and prevents the reabsorption of toxins that have been passed into the gastrointestinal tract. Some people experience loose stools the first few days of taking silymarin.
N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC)
NAC is a crucial amino-acid complex that helps to bolster your immune system and chelate toxic heavy metals like mercury that can harm your brain and central nervous system. NAC is a potent antioxidant in its own right, but it's also a precursor to glutathione, which is the body's main defense against oxidative stress.
Niacin
Niacin is one of B vitamins. It protects against poisoning from carbon tetrachloride (a solvent).
Thiamine
Thiamine (vitamin B1) is required to metabolize alcohol into non-toxic products.
Trimethylglycine
Trimethylglycine may help reduce the accumulation of fat in your liver, which is important for proper liver function and detoxification.
Triphala
Triphala has been widely prescribed in India for thousands of years. (The recipe for Triphala is reported to be 5,000 years old.) It consists of three different Indian herbs: Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), Beleric Myrobalan (Terminalia belerica), and Indian gallnut (Termina-lia chebula).
Indian gooseberry (or Amla in Hindi) has been said to have the highest vitamin C concentration of any known plant. This helps explain why it is effective in improving circulation problems and helping reduce harmful cholesterol levels.
Beleric Myrobalan (or Bibhitaki in Hindi) has a mild laxative effect, which helps to cleanse and detoxify your body and remove parasites.
Indian gallnut (or Haritaki in Hindi) is considered one of the most important Ayurvedic herbs. It is reported to have rejuvenation properties, as well as the ability to improve digestion and vision and heal ulcerated surfaces in the digestive tract.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that curcumin, the active component in turmeric (the herb that gives curry its color) dramatically boosts phase II detoxification.
Curcumin has been shown to be especially protective against cell damage caused by cigarette smoke, and researchers believe it may also protect against several other environmental carcinogens.
Vitamin C
An antioxidant, vitamin C unites with the highly reactive free radicals produced in Phase I detoxification, preventing them from causing cellular damage. It also stimulates the body's production of glutathione, a key player in detoxification processes.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D optimizes liver function by counteracting the accumulation of fat in the liver.
Watercress
Watercress is a natural blood purifier. It acts as a mild diuretic and laxative to help the kidneys and the liver sweep toxins from the blood.
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