Unhealthy living styles affect the natural liver detoxification process. Our livers are not designed to handle accumulated toxins in our body that result from cigarette smoke, environmental pollutants, unhealthy diet and the intake of large quantities of caffeine in combination with painkillers that contain paracetamol.

Ideally, natural detoxification should include three components: exercise to help blood circulation flow, a liver-friendly diet and herbal detoxification. This article focuses on the third component of natural liver detoxification - herbs that benefit liver function. These herbs are all affordable, easy to use, and readily available.

* Globe artichokes (particularly the leaves) contain the chemical cyranin that helps increase the liver's production of bile while strengthening the bile duct gallstones can form when liquid bile secreted by the liver contains high levels of cholesterol, bile salts or bilirubin). Since artichokes can mobilize fat stored in the liver, they are useful for lowering cholesterol too.

* Dandelion stimulates the liver's detoxification function by increasing bile production and flow. It also contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron and significant amounts of choline, a chemical that tones and strengthens the liver. The roots are the most beneficial part of this herb and you can boil them to make a tea.

* Milk Thistle (Latin, Silybum marianum L) is recommended for liver function problems caused by drug and alcohol abuse.

* Rosemary contains caffeic acid and rosemarinic acid, which enhance liver function and reduce inflammation that could cause liver disease. Rosemary extract has been found to hasten the function of liver enzymes (flushing toxins from the liver).

* Liver-cleansing is just one of the wide range of Turmeric's health-promoting properties. This herb contains oils (curcuminoids) that help reduce any build-up of toxins in the liver by increasing the liver's output of glutathione, a powerful enzyme that helps the liver rid itself of toxins. Turmeric, a slightly peppery root that gives a special flavor and a distinctive yellow color to food, is a traditional mainstay of herbal therapy. It is believed to shrink enlarged hepatic ducts (ducts that carry bile from the liver to the common bile duct leading to the small intestines) and it may even be useful in the treatment of serious liver conditions such as hepatitis and cirrhosis.

* Chicory is a well-known coffee substitute. Its flowers, seeds and roots contain chemical compounds that stimulate bile production and cleanse the liver. Since iot is also a mild laxative and diuretic, Chicory helps to alleviate part of the workload of a tired liver. The simplest way to consume this herb is to drink chicory tea or chicory coffee or to add fresh chicory leaves to salads.

Remember that herbs alone cannot be the mainstay of a natural liver detoxification regimen. They are only useful if combined with eating the right foods (i.e. avoiding those that are not) and a healthy life style (exercise, no smoking, alcohol or drug abuse).

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