Your digestive system, especially your liver, is important to maintaining overall health and, specifically, to maintaining optimal body weight. That's because the liver is the primary organ for filtering out pollutants and chemicals from your food and, just as important, metabolizes fat. Detoxifying and cleansing the liver makes it more efficient so that nutrients are absorbed, waste and toxins are cleared, and fat is burned more effectively.
Eating organic foods and avoiding over-the-counter drugs as much as possible is the first step in helping the liver do its job. The next is to drink those eight glasses of water! Last, cleansing the liver is absolutely essential.
A juice fast to cleanse the liver and lymphatic system is one of the keys to your health. You'll feel better, and it'll help your liver work with you as you begin to lose weight. Here is a simple plan for a liver cleanse:
Day 1: Pre-cleanse: Eat only raw foods — no dairy, no grains, no animal protein. Here are some suggestions:
Make a fresh, raw fruit juice for breakfast and a midmorning snack.
Either eat ten raw almonds throughout the day or grind them and stir half of them into your breakfast and midmorning juices.
Make a fresh green salad for lunch and dress it with 2 tablespoons of organic, cold-pressed nut, avocado, or olive oil mixed with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
In the midafternoon, make a fresh, raw vegetable juice with a beet and some greens — you can pick a vegetable juice recipe and add the beet and greens.
For dinner, either eat a fresh vegetable salad or drink a vegetable smoothie. In the mid-evening, drink a vegetable smoothie.
Be sure to drink eight glasses of pure water throughout the day. You can have herbal tea, but no coffee or black tea.
Days 2, 3, and (optional) 4: Cleanse: Drink only pure juice or water. Here are some suggestions:
Upon rising, drink a glass of fresh pure water mixed with the juice of 1/2 lemon. Wait an hour, and make a fresh, raw fruit juice as your breakfast.
Juice 4 cups fresh cranberries and 1 apple; measure the juice and add an equal amount of pure water. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator. Drink 1 cup midmorning and 1 cup midafternoon.
At noon, drink a vegetable juice and drink a vegetable juice again every two hours after that.
Be sure to drink eight glasses of pure water throughout the day. You can have herbal tea, but no coffee or black tea.
Day 4 or 5: Post-cleanse: Eat only raw foods — no dairy, no grains, no animal protein. Here are some suggestions:
Make a fresh, raw fruit juice for breakfast and a midmorning snack.
Either eat ten raw almonds throughout the day or grind them and stir half of them into your breakfast and midmorning juices.
Make a fresh green salad for lunch and dress it with 2 tablespoons of organic, cold-pressed nut, avocado, or olive oil mixed with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
In the midafternoon, make a fresh, raw vegetable juice with a beet and some greens.
For dinner, either eat a fresh vegetable salad or drink a vegetable smoothie. In the mid-evening, drink a vegetable smoothie.
Be sure to drink eight glasses of pure water throughout the day. You can have herbal tea, but no coffee or black tea.