5 Signs Your Liver Needs a Detox

Feeling groggy the morning after drinking? Tired of not feeling at your best after a drink? Always feeling bloated after eating or after a night out? We have some good news - there are some great foods and supplements to reach for so you can wake up feeling refreshed, and naturally purify your body. 

It is only natural to feel you need a detox after drinking, or feeling fed up with bloating, or concerned by a change in your stools, energy levels or skin condition. Dora Walsh, expert nutritionist (mBANT, CNHC) and UK Health Radio presenter, shares the signs your liver needs a detox and how to avoid a toxic overload, that hungover feeling the morning after, low energy, weight gain and even potentially serious health conditions. 

5 signs you need a liver detox

If you're looking for a natural solution to preventing that feeling you've overdone it the night before (feeling hungover), then reach for Debloat & Detox, which is a pre-drinking supplement with clinically studied natural ingredients that combat toxin overload and is the most effective supplement to take before going out. Taken with or after drinking, or with your meal, Debloat & Detox helps with bloating and ensures you wake up feeling refreshed, at your best and up for your social life, work, the gym or the kids.

If you're experiencing persistent symptoms of toxin overload, here are the 5 tell-tale signs to watch out for and when it may be time to give your liver a complete detox, and the best changes to your diet that you can make. You may also enjoy 'The best foods for detoxing your liver'. 

1. Fatty floating stools

Bile produced from the liver plays a vital role in separating nutrients from toxins and waste, as well as digesting fat in the small intestine. An under-functioning liver produces less bile and a lack of bile from the liver can lead to a build-up of toxins in our bodies, causing fatty, floating stools due to the fats not being absorbed or broken down properly.

Your poo matters! There are 7 types of poo and your poo says a lot about your health. Learn more in 'What does your poo say about your health'. 

Discover Gut Works | 6 clinically studied strains | 50bn

2. Being overweight

As a major fat burning organ, your liver plays a big role in weight loss and your ability to lose weight.

A liver overloaded with excess sugar, alcohol and toxins can become damaged, inflamed or fatty, reducing its efficiency. When your liver becomes inefficient, it stops burning fat and instead begins to store fat, causing you to gain weight. If you feel you're gaining more weight than you'd expect with your diet and lifestyle, it can be a sign your liver needs a detox. 

Read our nutritionists' advice for 'Losing weight healthily'. 

3. Tired all the time

The liver plays an important role in converting dietary fibre and carbohydrates into energy. An under-functioning liver doesn't produce the energy from your diet that your body needs and can be at the root of tiredness and fatigue.

If you feel constantly fatigued or struggle to get up in the morning, or find your energy dwindles too easily during the day despite a good night's sleep and plenty of rest, it can be a sign your liver needs a detox. If you are regularly tired and suffer poor sleep, it might also be due to excess levels of your stress hormone, cortisol, which inhibits melatonin, your sleep hormone. Heightened levels of cortisol make it harder to get to sleep, stay asleep, and enjoy deeper, rejuvenating sleep.

Learn more in 'What is cortisol', including how to lower your cortisol levels.

4. New allergies and sensitivities 

Reduced liver function and a less efficient detoxification system can lead to an accumulation of high levels of toxins in your body, which in turn can lead to new food and nutrient sensitivities you may not have experienced before. 

New allergies and sensitivities resulting from a reduced liver function can include:

• Frequent headaches
• Rhinitis (inflammation of the inside of the nose)
• Laryngitis (when your voice box becomes inflamed from irritation or infection)
• Asthma
• Itchy skin or rashes
• Muscle and joint aches
• Inability to focus and concentrate
• Hyperactivity. 

5. Over exposure to toxins

Your liver works to transform toxins to be released out of your body, but your liver doesn't have an infinite capacity to remove them. 

If you're constantly exposed to toxins from fast foods and snacks, air pollution, pesticides, toiletries and beauty products with high chemical contents, or home detergents and cleaning products that you can encounter in everyday life, these can all put your liver under strain without you realising it.

 

A body overburdened with toxins will show various signs and symptoms such as a change in your stools, weight, skin health and others, and unless released, the toxins end up stored deep in your body's fat. 

How to detox your liver: 4 tips for liver health 

There are simple changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle to improve your liver health and help naturally detoxify your liver. Great foods for detoxifying your liver include onions, garlic, artichoke, brazil nuts, lentils, grapefruit and beetroot.

Learn more in 'The best foods for detoxifying your liver' and here are some simple tips to follow.

1. Eat bitter foods and herbs 

Reach for bitter foods, herbs and spices such as rocket salad, beetroot, artichoke, curcumin and turmeric, dandelion, chicory, and fenugreek seeds - these can all help stimulate bile production and support the liver at fulfilling its job of removing toxins from the body. 

2. Eat cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale are all excellent for helping naturally detoxify your liver. These foods help increase the liver's natural detoxification enzymes, protect it from damage, and improve your blood levels of liver enzymes.

Why not try our Baked Chilli tofu with Kale & Noodles recipe.

3. Hydrate yourself well

While dehydration affects your brain's performance and will lead you to feeling tired and lethargic, it will also directly affect your liver's ability to detoxify your body, making it harder for waste products to be expelled.

Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, preferably filtered or mineral water, and drink more in hot weather or when you're exercising to replace fluids you lose through sweat.

 

4. Avoid aerosols and toxic personal care products

If you do use aerosols, make sure you do so in a well-ventilated area and wear a mask to avoid exposure. Or you can try sustainable, plastic and toxin-free deodorant from Wild Deodorant. 

Wear gloves and long sleeves when using cleaning solutions, insecticides and other toxic chemicals and if you're inside, keep the room well ventilated. Also, make the switch from chemically based to natural personal care products to avoid further toxic burden on the body.

Signs a liver detox working

If you are adopting a healthier lifestyle by eating well and staying hydrated, you may notice several changes that lets you know that your liver is detoxing:

• Improved energy levels
• Less bloating
• Better, healthier digestion
• Clearer skin
• Better focus
• Weight loss
• Improved mood
• Better blood test results

Dora Walsh is a Registered Nutritional Therapist mBANT CNHC and Registered Nutritionist mBANT. She runs Nutriheal, specialising in nutritional therapy and lifestyle medicine.

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References

Jackson, E., Shoemaker, R., Larian, N., & Cassis, L. (2017). Adipose Tissue as a Site of Toxin Accumulation. Comprehensive Physiology, Volume 7, Issue 4, P. 1085–1135. 

Ziem G, McTamney J (1997). Profile of Patients with Chemical Injury and Sensitivity. Environmental Health Perspectives. Volume 105, (Suppl 2), pp 417–436.

Valussi, M., (2011). Functional foods with digestion-enhancing properties. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Volume 63 (sup1), pp.82-89.

Hodges, R. and Minich, D., 2015. Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, Volume 2015, pp.1-23.