Some of the best herbal teas for liver support include milk thistle, liquorice, turmeric, dandelion root, and artichoke. Find out how these herbal allies can boost your liver health naturally.
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If you’re someone who cares about their health, you’ve likely heard a lot about the importance of your gut to your physical and mental wellbeing.
Often, conversations about gut health focus on the stomach and intestines. Vital though those organs are, we can’t overlook the liver, which plays an essential role in digesting our food and processing nutrients. Of course, the liver is also the organ responsible for detoxifying and cleansing our bodies.
The liver has other jobs too, such as regulating our blood sugar levels and producing proteins that we need to make blood plasma. And it makes bile, which may sound unattractive but is actually crucial to the digestive process.
In other words, a healthy liver should be a priority for us all. Unfortunately, liver disease is on the rise, with a 400% increase in deaths from liver disease since the 1970s, according to the British Liver Trust.
The good news is that 90% of liver disease is preventable, often through lifestyle changes that protect our livers and keep them healthy for the long term.
Some of the most important things you can do to protect your liver health include:
- drinking less alcohol
- eating a healthy diet
- getting plenty of exercise
- staying away from toxins (including recreational drugs)
- avoiding contact with other people’s blood, which can result in viral hepatitis
But there are also some herbal teas that have been used for centuries to support our liver health. Although they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, these herbal remedies can support your efforts to keep your liver working efficiently.
Here’s a list of our favourite herbs to incorporate into your diet to protect your liver and keep it healthy.
1. Milk Thistle
One of the best-known herbs for liver support is milk thistle. This is due to one of its active ingredients, silymarin, a group of compounds that act as antioxidants, reducing inflammation and protecting your liver from damage.
These antioxidants also help your liver to repair itself and may slow the progression of liver diseases like hepatitis. Milk thistle tea helps protect your liver from alcohol damage too, which is why it is traditionally used as a cure for hangovers.
2. Liquorice
Liquorice tea has many benefits for our health, including supporting our livers. Like milk thistle, liquorice is an anti-inflammatory and helps to protect our livers from the effects of drinking too much alcohol.
Its main active component is glycyrrhizin, which has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties in addition to combatting inflammation. Glycyrrhizin also helps to suppress the enzymes associated with liver disease, helping to prevent damage.
3. Turmeric
Turmeric is a well-known anti-inflammatory, so it is no surprise to find it is as good for our livers as it is for our hearts and brains.
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and gives it many of its health-boosting powers. Research has found that taking curcumin can significantly reduce liver fat and LDL cholesterol, keeping our livers healthy and improving the symptoms of liver disease.
We combine milk thistle, liquorice, and turmeric in our NutraLiver blend to create a herbal tea that supports your liver health and keeps your digestive system balanced.
4. Dandelion Root
The humble dandelion may not be welcome in a pristine lawn, but it is prized by herbalists for its many health benefits, which include supporting your liver.
Dandelions contain polysaccharides that increase bile production and protect your liver from damage after drinking too much alcohol. They also act as antioxidants, helping to reduce inflammation and keep your liver healthy.
5. Artichoke
OK, you might argue that artichoke is more of a vegetable than a herb. Nonetheless, it makes a delicious addition to any herbal tea blend and is a great option for liver support too. Plus, we’d point out that artichokes are actually a type of thistle, so you could put them in either camp.
When it comes to boosting our liver health, artichoke leaves help to protect against damage and encourage bile production. Artichoke also supports your liver in growing new tissue, helping it repair and regenerate.
Artichoke is one of the main ingredients in our NutraCleanse tea, combined with milk thistle, dandelion root, liquorice, and other herbs that support your liver and kidneys.