Making Your Liver Happy

"Stop! That's enough, pleeeeease! Don't give me any more work to do!"
Can you hear it? I know the voice is muffled, but it's still talking to you. Yup, it's your liver, protesting in agony at all the detoxification work you've assigned it. Didn't seem like it would be much when you swallowed that herb or popped that salt tablet, did it? You didn't know that you'd be asking your poor liver to be Super Organ.

Fortunately, you can ease its burden. The easiest way is through a coffee enema, enhanced by a beet-carrot-cucumber beverage a couple of hours prior. The enema helps to stimulate the release of toxins from the liver and gall bladder, as do the veggies. Don't worry, these aren't difficult. Just awkward at first, although when you tell a friend on the phone that you're having a cup of coffee, you might not want to explain how.

Milk thistle or a combined herbal product containing milk thistle likewise aids in liver health. A good combination product to try is Liv-52.

Then there's glutathione, which is vital for liver detox reactions. It may not be ideal to get an IV of this super anti-oxidant, but sublingual tablets are thought to be nearly as effective as IV's and can be purchased through a few pharmacies in the U.S. Oral glutathione is another option and is available over-the-counter and tends to be less expensive than an IV or sublingual form, though its effects are thought to be lesser than IV or sublingual glutathione.
Consider that L-methionine (an amino acid) and NAC, N-acetyl-cysteine, when taken together, also increase glutathione in the liver.

Also, make sure you are taking a good balance of vitamins and minerals, through foods and supplements. Deficiency in one nutrient causes a cascade of inefficiencies in the liver's healing and detoxification mechanisms. Low levels of magnesium, for example, cause reduced levels of glutathione.

Finally, if you are strong enough, consider an intensive liver detoxification protocol, such as that devised by Hulda Clark, for which you need only to procure some epsom salts, olive oil, grapefruit juice, and a weekend free of activity so you can rest.

If you can employ any one of the above strategies, your liver will quiet its protests, guaranteed! And you just might get a little more sleep, literally.