Liver? I hardly knew ‘er!

My nutritionist has decided that my liver might benefit from detoxing.

Now, my immediate reaction was “What? No way.” But the procedure consists largely of eating a lot of weird veggies, so I figured it couldn’t hurt. Plus, all the staff there did it, and liked it.

Details for the curious:

The instructions are adapted from “The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet” to fit with my own food limitations/preferences.

1. Each day choose at least 1 liver-supporting food from each group:
   1. The Crucifers (stimulate the phase 1 and phase 2 liver detox pathways): cabbage or broccoli
   2. Green Leafy Vegetables and Herbs (powerful blood purifiers): parsley, kale, watercress, chard, cilantro, beet greens, collards, escarole, dandelion greens, or mustard greens.
   3. Sulfer-Rich Foods (sulfer is a critical part of sulfation, a process by which the liver eliminates toxins): garlic, onions, daikon radish.
   4. Liver Healers (various benefits): Artichoke, asparagus, beets, celery
2. Each day choose at least 2 of the following colon-supporting foods: powdered psyllium husks, ground flaxseeds, carrot, apple, pear, or berries.
3. Each day drink half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of purified water.
4. Each day make sure you have at least two servings of protein in the form of lean, hormone-free beef, skinless chicken, turkey, or fish.
5. Each day have 1-2 tbsp of oil in the form of olive oil or coconut oil.
6. Avoid the following Detox Detractors:
   1. Excess fat, especially trans fats
   2. Sugar and all its relatives
   3. Artificial sweeteners
   4. Refined carbohydrates, including white rice
   5. Gluten
   6. Soy protein isolates
   7. Caffeine
   8. Alcohol
   9. Mold from over-ripe fruit
7. If you don’t need to lose weight or if you are prone to depression you can also choose from these sources of fiber: nuts and seeds or friendly carbs (chickpeas, lentils, adzuki beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, sweet potato).

It may not actually help my liver, but eating loads of veggies and whatnot is generally a good idea. Besides, it gives me an excuse to try crazy-ass veggies like dandelion greens. They’re surprisingly tasty!