26 Foods to Detoxify Your Body

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Generally I am not someone who believes in ‘detoxes’ or ‘cleanses’. Our liver is an amazing organ capable of carrying out many incredible functions. One of those functions is detoxification. The liver is responsible for transforming toxic substances into substances that can be excreted from the body. Unless you have a problem with your liver, detoxification is taking place inside you every minute of every day.

That being said, there are some compounds found in foods and drinks that help the liver do its job. A number of foods, drinks, and bioactive compounds have been shown to have an actual or potential positive impact on the detoxification process. Therefore, while it might not be necessary (or effective) to follow a commercially available ‘cleanse’, if you feel the need to ‘detox’ you can increase your intake of certain foods to detoxify your body.

What is interesting, however, is that some of these foods have been shown to have a negative impact on detoxification if consumed in too high an amount. What does that mean in practice? The answer is to adopt a moderate approach. Don’t overdose on one particular food or start taking supplements. Instead, eat a varied diet including plenty of foods from the following list of 26 foods to detoxify your body.

1. Allium vegetables – includes garlic, onions, spring onions, shallots, leeks, and chives.
2. Apiaceous vegetables – includes caraway, carrot, celery, coriander (cilantro), cumin, dill, fennel, parsley, and parsnip.
3. Black raspberry
4. Black tea
5. Blueberry
6. Broccoli
7. Chamomile tea
8. Chicory root
9. Citrus
10. Coffee
11. Cruciferous vegetables – includes cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts and other green leafy vegetables.
12. Dandelion tea
13. Fish oil
14. Garlic
15. Ghee
16. Ginger
17. Grapefruit
18. Green tea
19. Honeybush tea
20. Peppermint tea
21. Pomegranate
22. Purple sweet potato
23. Rooibos tea
24. Rosemary
25. Soybean/black soybean
26. Turmeric

Source:

Hodges, R. E., & Minich, D. M. (2015). Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. J Nutr Metab. 760689.

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