Can We Rely on a Liver Cleansing Diet?
A liver cleansing diet is a diet designed to purge the liver of unwanted residue as well as strengthening it to prevent its deterioration. The liver is a very important internal organ as it is responsible for filtering the food we eat. It blocks unwanted toxins and fats from entering the intestines and being absorbed into the bloodstream, while breaking down protein and fat into nutrients and vitamins that the body needs.
Everyone knows the importance of regularly undergoing a liver cleansing diet. However, most mainstream physicians do not recommend these diets to their patients. On the other hand, alternative medicine practitioners highly recommend these diets to everyone as a complement to their health and fitness regime. Given these conflicting opinions, we might be led to ask: can we really rely on these cleansing diets?
Let us take a good look at what makes up a liver cleansing diet.
Components of a Liver Cleansing Diet
Chemically, the liver cleansing diets are composed of two important compounds: antioxidants and fibers.
The antioxidants are capable of restoring the liver to prime condition, which is our main reason for going on a liver cleansing diet. These antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that we know about, including vitamins A, C, and E, as well as selenium. These antioxidants can replace dead cells with new ones by encouraging regeneration, and can also reinforce existing cells. Antioxidants also include phytochemicals like lycopene, which are known to prevent the invasion of cancer cells (carcinogens) of our bodies.
Fibers, on the other hand, encourage bowel movement by removing all traces of fatty deposits and residual waste in our intestines. Fibers are also easily absorbed into the bloodstream, where they do the same thing to our blood vessels. With fatty deposits and other constrictions removed from the arteries and veins, a liver cleansing diet lowers the risk for heart diseases.
Common Issues Raised about Liquid Liver Cleansing Diets
Cleansing diets have raised several red flags in some people’s minds thanks to statements from people that have experienced them. Beyonce Knowles, for example, used Stanley Burroughs’ Master cleansing diet to reach the necessary weight for her role in the movie Dreamgirls. Knowles had described the diet as a “starvation diet” where she “felt like dying” for the entire duration.
These concerns are not unfounded. Liver cleansing diets can indeed induce vomiting and diarrhea. However, these are not reasons to raise red flags. You see, when a person who has taken a certain concoction suffers from vomiting and upset stomachs afterward, people will always rule poisoning. However, the vomiting and diarrhea are merely the body’s natural reactions to the toxins that the diet has stripped off from the intestines. It’s not permanent or damaging; the vomiting will wear off in time as the intestines and liver get cleaner deep into the cleansing.
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