Who really needs a liver cleanse?

What does the liver do

Very much: more than 500 of its functions are already open. The most famous of them:

• the production of bile, which helps break down fats in the intestines;
• assembly of proteins that will carry this fat throughout the body (lipoproteins, including cholesterol);
• production of blood proteins;
• creation of an energy reserve from glucose in the form of glycogen;
• the production of certain hormones and antibodies;
• neutralization of poisons and toxins;
• involved in drug metabolism.

In general, the liver not only creates useful substances, but is also a natural filter. Blood containing harmful elements flows into it, and already purified flows out. Neutralized poisons and toxins are then excreted with urine or, if they enter the bile, with feces.

The liver does not accumulate harmful substances. She transforms them and sends them for recycling.

What is a liver cleanse

Cleansing the liver, some call tubazh. This is an old medical procedure by which you can speed up the excretion of bile from the gallbladder - a kind of sac on the liver. The patient needs

drink choleretic drug or special mineral water and lie on a hot heating pad under the right side for two hours. Previously, this procedure was prescribed for biliary dyskinesia (BBD). This is a condition in which bile does not flow from the gallbladder for some reason. Now recommend drugs and bubble removal.

But those who cleanse the liver with tubage believe that getting rid of old bile somehow helps the body produce new and generally be healthier.

The matter is not limited to this. On the Internet, you can find hundreds of programs that remove toxins and toxins from the liver. Knowledge willingly - more often for money - is shared naturopaths: someone suggests drinking juice for several days, someone advises a cocktail of dietary supplements and herbs, and someone recommends a coffee enema. It all depends on the imagination of the healer.

In official clinical guidelines, such advice is not found.

Who needs a liver cleanse

Nobody. Toxins are not deposited in the liver, and slags are something from metallurgy, they are not in the body.

If you are addicted to alcohol or eat wrong, liver cells may get damaged. The good news is that this miraculous organ is able to regenerate itself. But only up to a certain point. Further, the working cells - hepatocytes - will begin to die, and scars that are useless for us will form instead.

There is simply nothing to clean here: prayer, milk thistle and coffee enema will not start the process in the opposite direction.

The beauty of liver cleansing programs is that they make you give up for a while. alcohol and junk food. But other aspects are not so useful.

How a liver cleanse can harm

There are non-zero chances not only to regret the money thrown to the wind, but also to spoil your health. How much will depend on the breadth of the naturopath's idea: boundless imagination sometimes produces amazing techniques. Let's go through the most popular.

Castor and olive oils will cause diarrhea

This is the base, they are advised by almost everyone. It must be said that the inability to move further from the toilet than at arm's length is the criterion for a good cleaning. Castor oil is laxative, so the effect, of course, will be obvious. Olive oil is drunk in such quantities in which it becomes laxative.

There is no evidence that this will have a beneficial effect on the liver and gallbladder. And in diarrhea No nothing good: because of it, useful substances are washed out and bacteria, fluid is lost, microtears appear on the mucous membranes. With frequent use of even natural laxatives, ulcers can appear on the intestinal mucosa.

Cholagogues will also cause diarrhea

Many use choleretic drugs, such as a combination of activated charcoal, bile, garlic and nettle (allochol tablets), as a ready-made cocktail for cleansing the liver. All of the above is true here. If you don't believe read online reviews.

We agree with the author on one thing: when profuse diarrhea is released, it is as if you are being born again. But it's better to somehow do without it.

Diets can ruin your digestion

healthy eating should be balanced and cover all the needs of the body. But hard mono-diets, hunger strikes and similar strange advice is harmful. For example, if you start drinking liters of juice, especially on an empty stomach, it will irritate the mucous membranes, disrupt digestion and even increase the risk of developing diabetes.

Raisin water can quickly raise blood sugar levels

For recovery, it is recommended to brew raisins and drink this infusion. At first glance, there is nothing to worry about. But it is important to remember that raisins for the most part consists of from sugar, so his level may rise sharply. Also, this water has a laxative effect, and diarrhea has nothing to do with the benefits.

Oats will lead to bloating and possibly weight gain

Most often, oat grains are brewed: they are poured with hot water, insisted overnight, and then they drink the resulting jelly. Others go the easier way - eat oatmeal as often as possible.

By words nutritionist Lisa Young, oats are generally a healthy product. It contains protein, so it saturates for a long time. Fiber also helps with bowel movements (not cleansing the liver), lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels. But if you start to absorb this product in huge quantities, then because of the beneficial fibers it will swelling intestines. In addition, people do not particularly like empty oatmeal on the water, so they add nuts, seeds, fruits, jams - and this is already the path to weight gain.

Because of the infusion of oats, you won’t gain extra pounds, after all, they usually don’t add anything high-calorie to it. And swelling will be easy, because these are the same fibers, but in a swollen form. And nowhere is there evidence that after such experiments, the liver becomes healthier.

Coffee enema will cause burns, inflammation and even cardiac arrest

It is difficult to understand why enemas with coffee so many fans. After all, there was a man who looked at his mug in the morning - and it dawned on him.

But even if you do not think about the technical side, there is no evidence that this method is of any use. But for sure knownthat coffee enemas cause:

• burns and intestinal injuries;
• inflammation of the colon, or colitis;
• change in the ratio of potassium and sodium ions in the blood, which leads to cardiac arrest.

It is clear that not everyone gets burned or dies. But why do such experiments?

Supplements can lead to toxic hepatitis

Eat evidence that herbal medicine, in general, can help the liver. For example, milk thistle, turmeric, artichoke have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, so they are useful. But that's in theory. On practice There is two big problems:

1. Drugs interact with the body and the medications taken in different ways.
2. Additives may be of questionable quality.

dietary supplements no one really checks. So it remains only to hope for the honesty of the manufacturer. This is rather reckless when it comes to health, but let's face it. Imagine that the manufacturer has studied everything and really collected only the right high quality ingredients in the right dosages. But even in this case, a person can suddenly refuse the liver.

This is not some kind of fantasy, but a very common problem that called toxic hepatitis. Most often, it is caused by drugs and additives or substances that were formed when some components reacted with each other. Sometimes a reaction occurs for no reason at all, and then it will be called idiosyncratic: everything is in order with the drug, but the body responded to it in such a paradoxical way. As a result, a lot of hepatocytes die at once, the liver can no longer cope with its work, acute liver failure begins, which ends in organ transplantation or death.

20% of cases of acute liver injury in the US are happening due to supplements.

Is it possible to protect the liver from diseases

All of the above does not mean that nothing can be done. In fact help the liver very simple. For this need to:

• Maintain a healthy weight. You can focus on the body mass index: it should be less than 25. To calculate it, you need to divide the weight by the height squared.
• Eat properly. This means prioritizing vegetables, whole grains, wholemeal products, lean meats, plant-based sources of protein, and unsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, and seeds. At the same time, limit added sugar, fatty foods and salt.
• Drink water instead of sweetened drinks.
• Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. For example, walking, cycling, swimming.
• Give up alcohol or at least drink less.
• Stop smoking and using drugs.
• Control your diabetes and avoid spikes in sugar.
• Reduce cholesterol levels.
• Avoid unprotected sex, injectable cosmetic procedures and dubious medical interventions.
• Avoid untested supplements and medications.
• Get vaccinated against hepatitis B.

You can use these tips for free, so feel free to skip the paid consultation with the gurus from social networks.