Liver Loving Foods and Nutrients That Help With Detoxification

We’ve all heard of the term ‘detox’ and many of us read about and try different things such as diets, drinks and juice cleanses to help detox the body but in all of this we forget that our bodies are extremely smart, intricate and capable as we have organs, such as the liver, that are designed for detoxification!

The liver neutralises and removes toxins and harmful substances from our body through a 2-step process. We love our livers! Before we delve into all of the liver loving foods and nutrients, it is important to briefly understand the 2-step detox process that occurs in 2 phases 

Phase 1  

Phase 1 of liver detox takes all of the fat soluble chemicals and toxins in the body, such as caffeine, alcohol, saturated fats, medications, pesticides and other environmental pollutants, and turns them into more toxic intermediate metabolites using cytochrome P450 enzymes. I know what you’re thinking, isn’t detoxification meant to reduce toxicity and make our bodies LESS toxic? Well, think of Phase 1 like packing up the garbage into the bins to get it ready for collection, and once this garbage or intermediate metabolites are ready for collection, Phase 2 begins! 

Phase 2  

Phase 2 is like the garbage pick up, attaching specific molecules to the highly toxic intermediate metabolites (called conjugation) making them non-toxic and water soluble allowing them to be excreted from the body for good! If the garbage or intermediate metabolites are not picked up or detoxified through Phase 2 then these toxins act as free radicals in the body and cause lots of damage to our cells and tissues and can lead to disease. This is why having Phase 2 function effectively is so important, and the good news is that we can all enhance our natural detoxification process through supporting this phase with lots of nutrients 

We always want to aim to keep Phase 2 working at the same speed as Phase 1 in order to make sure you are picking up all that garbage to get rid of all those nasty toxins. In today’s stressful society, sometimes Phase 1 can be overworking due to caffeine, alcohol and other toxins and this is why we need to ensure we are getting all of the important nutrients for Phase 2 to work 

The main nutrients required for Phase 2 detoxification are: 

  • Amino acids  Cysteine, Glycine & Glutamine (these are used to make Glutathione – a powerful antioxidant and great detoxifier! 
  • Sulphur containing amino acids – Glutathione, Cysteine & Taurine  
  • Selenium  
  • Zinc 
  • Vitamin C 
  • B Vitamins – 2, 3, 6, and 12  
  • Magnesium  

These nutrients can be found in many foods including: 

  • PROTEIN! – Protein sources such as good quality meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes and good quality diary products all contain amino acids, zinc and B vitamins that are all vital for Phase 2 detoxification  Hot tip: Vita-sol Flexibility contains protein.
  • Cruciferous veggies – broccoli, kale, radish, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, turnips and sprouts (these all contain those sulphur amino acids that enhance detoxification) Hot tip: Vita-sol Purity powder contains 13 different sprouts! 
  • Nuts & seeds – contain zinc, B vitamins and magnesium and brazil nuts contain high amounts of selenium  
  • Fruits such as capsicum, orange, kiwi fruit, lemon, papaya, strawberries, raspberries, banana and avocado contain vitamin C and magnesium  
  • Vegetables including dark leafy greens contain vitamin C, B vitamins and magnesium  
  • Whole grains such as brown rice and oats great sources of B vitamins  

As you can see, there are many foods that you can include into your daily diet in order to get the nutrients needed to support and enhance your natural detoxification process.

Incorporating Vita-sol wholefood powders into a balanced diet will give your liver a nutrient boost and will help to reduce the toxic load on your body to make you feel fabulous!