13 Best Foods To Eat For A Healthy Liver

Kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are powerful brassica vegetables that contain high levels of sulfur, which supports your liver in its detoxification process and helps trigger it to remove free radicals and other toxic chemicals.

Dandelion is another good dark leafy green. One of its chemical components, taraxacin, is believed to stimulate the digestive organs and trigger the liver and gallbladder to release bile, which supports digestion and fat absorption.

After oxygen, your body needs water more than any other substance to survive, including food. Because water flushes toxins and waste products from your body, you feel more energized and alert when your body is fully hydrated (which most of us usually aren't!). Usually eight to 10, eight-ounce glasses will do the trick. Just don't overdo it—too much water can be harmful, too.

Skip the ice when you're drinking water in between meals. Your body uses energy to warm the ice, diluting important digestive enzymes.

MORE: I Drank A Gallon Of Water Every Day For A Month, Here's What Happened

Cruciferous vegetables contain vital phytonutrients—flavonoids, carotenoids, sulforaphane, and indoles—to help your liver neutralize chemicals, pesticides, drugs, and carcinogens. Cruciferous foods include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, and daikon, a root rich in phenolic compounds, which could prevent the formation of carcinogen in your stomach in response to foods made with hydrogenated oils and sodium nitrite.

One of the oldest inhabitants of the earth, sea vegetables detoxify your body by preventing assimilation of heavy metals, such as cadmium, as well as other environmental toxins. Studies at McGill University have revealed that a compound in brow algae (arame, kombu, and wakame) reduced the uptake of radioactive particles into bone. (Check out these five creative uses for seaweed.)

The energy contained in a seed, grain, nut, or legume is ignited through soaking and sprouting. And those sprouts are super high in enzymes, proteins that act as catalysts for all of your body's functions. Broccoli sprouts appear to be in sulforaphane, which triggers your body's natural cancer protection.

MORE: The 11 Healthiest Whole Grains You Should Be Eating

Garlic
One of the oldest land-based medicinal foods on the planet, garlic contains an active sulfur-based compound called allicin, a critical supporter of liver detoxification. It helps your liver rid your body of mercury, certain food additives, and the hormone estrogen. (Here are 11 signs your hormones are seriously out of whack.)

Onions, Shallots, and Leeks
A relative of garlic, these foods also contain those smelly sulfur compounds that support your liver in its production of glutathione, the compound in every cell of your body that neutralizes free radicals.

Eggs
Eggs provide some of the highest-quality protein, containing all eight essential amino acids, cholesterol, and the essential nutrient choline. Your liver needs these essential amino acids to perform detoxification processes. Choline, a coenzyme needed for metabolism, is found in the egg yolk and protects your liver from a wide range of toxic substances, while detoxifying heavy metals.

Artichokes
Two phytonutrients found in artichokes, cynarin and silymarin, have been shown to nourish your liver, increase bile production, and prevent gallstones.

Medicinal Mushrooms
Maitake, shiitake, and reishi mushrooms are thought to provide significant healing nutrients that nourish and support your immune system. These mushrooms contain a powerful antioxidant called L-ergothioneine, which neutralizes free radicals while increasing enzymes that boost antioxidant activity. Mushrooms are also high in vitamin D. 

MORE: I Ate 3 Eggs Every Single Morning For A Week, Here's What Happened

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries are among nature's superfoods because they contain phytochemicals—antioxidant-rich plant compounds that help your liver protect your body from free radicals and oxidative stress, which have been linked to chronic diseases and aging. Anthocyanin and polyphenols found in berries have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in the liver.

Apples, like berries, contain powerful phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, which can fight inflammatory disease. They also contain pectin, a valuable source of soluble fiber than can help eliminate toxic buildup.

MORE: The 5 Fruits With The Highest (And Lowest) Sugar Counts

Prebiotics are indigestible fibers that feed your beneficial gut flora, known as probiotics. Probiotics are living microorganisms that support your health and wellbeing. Prebiotics are nonliving dietary fibers that help probiotics grow and flourish. Prebiotics are found in asparagus, leeks, cruciferous vegetables, and several root vegetables—burdock, chicory, dandelion, beets, and Jerusalem artichoke. (Here are five ways to sneak more fiber into your diet.)

These include kimchi—a traditional Korean dish made of fermented cabbage, radish, garlic, red pepper, onion, ginger, and salt—and sauerkraut. Fermentation (an ancient form of preservation in which food is naturally transformed by microorganisms that break down all the food's carbohydrates and protein) aids in digestion, thanks to a plethora of healthy bacteria like lactobacilli. Real miso is another example of fermented food. (Here are six surprising health benefits of eating miso soup.)

Flax Seeds
A great source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, these seeds help regulate hormone levels. (These four gentle yoga poses will help balance your hormones.)

Hemp Seeds
A mix of clean omega-6 and omega-3 fats, these seeds help ease inflammation while lowering dangerous blood fat levels.

Chia Seeds
A staple in Central American Aztec and Mayan diets for thousands of years, these seeds are all-around nutritional powerhouses. Three tablespoons contain five grams of protein, 200 milligrams of calcium, 10 grams of healthy fat, and 12 grams of fiber.

Coconut Oil
An extremely healthy saturated fat, coconut oil is easy to digest and is almost immediately broken down by enzymes in your saliva and gastric juices. This means pancreatic fat-digesting enzymes are not essential, which produces less strain on your liver so it can work more efficiently.

Avocado
A vital source of monounsaturated fat rich in oleic acid, avocados contain glutathione, an essential nutrient for liver health. (Bonus: Here's how to grow an avocado tree from a pit!)

Olive Oil
Cold-pressed, unrefined extra-virgin olive oil, specifically. Unadulterated olive oil is rich in phenols, the same anti-inflammatory compounds found in berries and apples. Daily consumption of olive oil supports the liver in decreasing oxidative stress in the body.

Ginger
Gingerol antioxidants possess anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties. Ginger supports detoxification by nourishing your liver, promoting circulation, unclogging blocked arteries, and lowering blood cholesterol by as much as 30%. (Here are seven more surprising benefits of eating ginger.)

Cumin
In one Indian study, cumin was shown to boost the liver's detoxification power while stimulating the secretion of enzymes from the pancreas, which helps your system absorb nutrients.

Coriander
Coriander seeds have been shown to help the liver lower blood lipids among those with obesity and diabetes, lowering triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol, while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol. Fresh cilantro leaves help remove heavy metals from the body, mobilizing mercury, cadmium, lead, and aluminum that's been stored in the brain, spinal cord, and central nervous system so your body can eliminate them.

Cardamom
This member of the ginger family helps improve digestion by stimulating the flow of bile, which is critical in fat metabolism. It accelerates the gastric emptying rate, relaxing the stomach valves that prevent food from entering the small intestine, allowing nutrients to pass on to the small intestine without excess effort.

Cayenne
This detoxer stimulates your circulatory system, increasing the pulse of your lymphatic and digestive rhythms, heating your body.  This "heat" helps get your gastric juices flowing, enhancing your body's ability to metabolize food and toxins.

Cinnamon
Used for centuries for flavoring and medicine, cinnamon keeps sticky platelets from forming clots in your arteries, boosts metabolism, and prevents candida, a condition characterized by yeast overgrowth.

Fennel
The essential oils in fennel prompt the secretion of gastric juices, helping to lower inflammation in your digestive tract and diminish aide product. This allows your body to absorb nutrients more efficiently.

Turmeric
The curcumin compounds in turmeric have been shown to heal your liver, aiding in detoxification and strengthening your whole body. (Here are five things you need to know before taking a turmeric supplement.)

For most of our existence, we've depended on nutrient-rich dietary fats in the form of meats, fatty fish, and bone marrow for at least 60% of our caloric consumption. Factory farms and industrialized ingredients changed all that, and in 1912, the medical community identified heart disease. Eating the right types of animal protein, however, can be good for your entire body. Here are some tips on what to look for.

Grass-Fed Meats
Eat only clean, grass-fed land animals, ones raised without the use of feed grown with pesticides. Avoid factory-farmed meat laden with chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics.

Fatty, Low-Toxin Fish
In general, fish is healthy and protein-rich. Some wild-caught fish, such as Atlantic mackerel from Canada, sardines, and anchovies, are notable for their omega-3 fatty acids and their low level of contaminants. Wild salmon, an excellent source of protein, is also one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids from the krill and shrimp they eat—that's what gives salmon their beautiful color and makes them rich in antioxidants. (Here's more info on the best and worst seafood to eat.)

Grass-Fed Whey Protein Powder
If you choose to eat dairy, grass-fed whey protein concentrate is an excellent source of protein. A byproduct of milk and cheese, whey protein has been promoted for its health benefits since the time of the Greek physician Hippocrates. Much of this has to do with the fact that it provides all the key amino acids for glutathione production, a key protector of your liver and entire body. Look for high-quality whey protein from grass-fed cows. (Here's one of our favorite grass-fed proteins on the market: Vital Proteins Organic Grass-Fed Whey Protein)

We need to eat protein to build new cells, maintain tissue, and synthesize new proteins to perform basic bodily functions. You can do it with vegetarian sources of protein.

Marine-Based
Microalgae contains protein, along with high levels of chlorophyll, which helps heal you by removing toxic drug deposits and heavy metals in your body, improve liver function, and neutralize carcinogens.

Land-Based
Cooked lentils, chickpeas, and black, kidney, and pinto beans contain about 15 grams of protein per cup. A quarter cup of sunflower seeds packs six grams of protein. Greens count, too. Eating a cup each of cooked spinach and broccoli equals about nine grams of protein.

(This article was adapted from Heal Your Whole Body)

The article 13 Best Foods To Eat For A Healthy Liver originally appeared on Rodale's Organic Life.