By the USANA ANZ
Marketing Team
The next meal or snack you choose, spare a
thought for your liver…
It's your body’s second largest organ (after your
skin), and your liver works hard to filter out nasties and detoxify substances to
ensure that your body is kept free from harmful constituents – whether these
are from living organisms or chemicals in your foods/drinks and/or those that
you breathe in. It also has an important role in digesting foods and storing
vitamins.
Healthy foods nourish all of your body. But
some components in foods are especially liver-protective. So, once you’re in a
healthy weight range, you’re sure that you drink enough water for optimal
hydration and don’t overdo alcohol, fat or sugar, here are some foods that can
boost your liver health.
1.
The green goodness of
garden veggies
 |
| Eat up those greens! |
Sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli
contain a wide range of phytonutrients including flavonoids, carotenoids,
indoles and the anti-cancer compound, sulphurophane. All of these active
ingredients help your liver neutralise chemicals, pesticides, drugs, and
carcinogens. These cruciferous veggies also contain an antioxidant substance
called glutathione. Glutathione attaches itself to toxins and takes them out of
your body. The process works best if the foods aren’t heated though – heat
destroys the enzymes they contain so raw is best or lightly stir-fried in olive
or avocado oil.
Spinach, kale, bok choy and asparagus contain high levels of sulphur, a mineral that supports your
liver’s detoxification processes. Sulphur encourages your liver to neutralise
free radicals and other toxic chemicals.
2.
Garlic
 |
| Go for garlic! |
The active ingredient in garlic, sulphur-based
allicin, can help your liver to cleanse itself. Garlic also contains the
mineral selenium which also helps the liver cleaning process.
Onions and leeks, (relatives to garlic) also
contain beneficial sulphur compounds to support your liver in its glutathione
production. Remember, glutathione is present in every cell of your body and its
job is to neutralise free radicals.
3.
Peanuts
 |
| Delicious and nutritious! |
Peanuts and other legumes like soy beans
contain choline which your liver needs to metabolise fats – including the fat,
cholesterol. Lack of choline could result in an accumulation of fat in the
liver. Choline also partly powers a
chemical process called methylation. This is where the amino acid homocysteine
is converted into another amino acid called methionine. This is beneficial
because high levels of homocysteine are associated with raised risk of several
chronic conditions. But methionine helps fat removal from the liver and protects
it from toxins, too!
4.
Turmeric
 |
A cousin to ginger, turmeric is a powerful
anti-inflammatory, too! |
Used widely in Indian cooking and in Ayurvedic
medicine for centuries, lots of research is proving the powerful anti-inflammatory
effects of this golden yellow spice which works as a detox for your liver. Like
its cousin, ginger, turmeric helps your body digest fats and stimulates the
production of bile. Ginger also contains antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory, antiviral,
and antimicrobial properties; it aids cleansing by encouraging circulation in
the liver, lowering blood cholesterol and generally unclogging in your liver.
5. Artichokes
 |
Artichokes are a member of the thistle family
just like the liver protector, milk thistle |
Artichokes are thistles which
contain two
phytonutrients called cynarin and silymarin (which is also found in a relative
to artichoke, milk thistle). Both of these phytonutrients have been shown to
nourish the liver, increase bile production, and even prevent gallstones.
If you would like to know more about liver health,
talk with your doctor. And, if your liver could do with a little lovin’, USANA’s unique Hepa Plus™ is a great choice.
The active ingredients include broccoli
concentrate, turmeric and close to 200mg of milk thistle extract. It also
contains Meriva® curcumin in a patented form that has been shown to boost
bioavailability by 30 times compared with regular curcumin. It’s a formulation
that’s been created based on peer-reviewed science
and produced with the same commitment to quality, safety, and purity that you
have come to expect from USANA.
Item#
135
SVP 25
Price
$42.60 AU / $55.00 NZ
Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet.
USE ONLYH AS DIRECTED, ALWAYS READ THE LABEL
Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet.
Labels: #liverlovin'cleanse, #USANA Australia #USANA New Zealand, curcumin, HepaPlus™, liver, milk thistle
