Hilary Beckwith 9/20/23 Hilary Beckwith 9/20/23

What’s Missing from Your Detox Liver Cleanse

As a holistic practitioner, I do not recommend doing a liver detox or liver cleanse without supervision of a qualified professional. In fact, I do not recommend them commonly at all.

A liver detox can have its place, and can be beneficial sometimes. But without being individually assessed by a holistic practitioner, unsupervised liver cleanses and liver detoxes can be more harmful to your health, than good.

Especially when they are missing these components…

Image of tea, lemons, turmeric root and ginger, with subtext: "what's missing from your detox protocol"

never do a liver detox without these 3 things

Who wouldn’t want a clean slate now and then?

I commonly hear this from clients who’ve been struggling to lose weight, or just feel like they’ve been off their game for a while, and want a fresh start.

A liver detox, or liver cleanse can sometimes help you feel better, and might even help you lose weight.

I WANT TO BE CLEAR HERE:

As a holistic practitioner, I do not recommend doing a liver detox or liver cleanse without supervision of a qualified professional. In fact, I do not recommend them commonly at all.

Especially when they are missing these components…

Possible Reasons for doing a Liver Detox

You might ask your holistic healthcare provider about doing a liver detox for the following symptoms or conditions:

blood sugar handling issues, hypoglycemia, signs of insulin resistance
history of alcohol or drug use
lab results confirming toxicity, including heavy metals, bacterial overgrowth, mold, or parasites

Although sometimes an intensive liver cleanse may help with these symptoms, more commonly I find that a simpler approach will relieve symptoms.

These are NOT reasons to do a liver detox

The following are symptoms that may be helped by assessing liver health, but are not cause for a liver detox, in and of themselves. Other factors may need to be considered.

weight loss, or struggle to lose weight
acne, eczema, skin issues
seasonal allergy symptoms
digestive symptoms: IBS symptoms, diarrhea, constipation, bloat, heartburn, or stomach pain
irregular periods, PMS, or period symptoms

I would never do a liver detox without these 3 things

BINDERS

A liver detox or liver cleanse, is typically designed to help clear out your liver of built-up toxins and improve detox pathways.

When these built-up toxins die off, they need to be eliminated from the body. Toxins, be it excess hormones, medications, alcohol, excess cholesterol, or excess sugars, must be removed from the body, or they simply get re-activated and re-absorbed.

All your hard work, wasted.

Think of it this way:

The liver acts as a filter. Everything in the blood has to be processed through the liver, so that it can find toxins, and convert them into structures that can be removed from the body by other mechanisms.

These converted structures must be escorted out of the body. They need to be bound to something that will carry it through the proper exit points.

There are many different types of binders, each having an affinity for certain toxins. The type of binders used, depends on the type of toxins being removed.

For instance, if detoxing from heavy metals, chlorella or citrus pectin would be most effective at binding to the metals, and escorting them out. Whereas if you are detoxing from mold, clays would be a more effective binder.

Your healthcare practitioner will be able to direct you as to which binders you need to use.

ELIMINATION PATHWAY SUPPORT

Above, we discussed how the liver is responsible for filtering toxins, but the toxins must be removed through other mechanisms.

These mechanisms are known as elimination pathways.

Most liver cleanses and liver detox instructions will tell you which nutrients are needed to help support the liver, and filter toxins more intensively. But what they do not commonly tell you is how to support elimination pathways (or that it’s incredibly important to make sure these pathways are open PRIOR to starting a liver detox).

ELIMINATION PATHWAYS INCLUDE:

skin (sweat) - If you find you do not sweat easily, or do not include ways of producing sweat in your daily routine, this elimination pathway is not open, and could lead to resorption of toxins.
colon (feces) - If you are commonly constipated (one bowel movement or less per day), this elimination pathway is not clear, and needs to be addressed prior to doing a liver detox.
kidneys (urine) - If you are not drinking enough water, or have poor mineral balance (swollen ankles, water retention, do not urinate often, urinate slowly), your kidneys may not be an effective elimination pathway.
lymph (an essential component of the immune system) - Lymph is a fluid that runs through channels and vessels similar to veins and arteries. It is responsible for moving nutrients, waste products, and white blood cells (immune cells) to and from body tissues.
lungs - Commonly struggling to “catch” your breath, feeling winded, feeling “air hungry”, or having a diagnosis of COPD (or similar), may be reason to better support this elimination pathway.

I do not recommend a liver detox if any of these pathways are not working well.

ADDITIONAL ELIMINATION PATHWAY SUPPORT

When actively detoxing, or actively killing off any toxin or pathogen such as doing a liver detox or liver cleanse, I recommend giving your elimination pathways an extra boost, in addition to simply ensuring they are routinely working well.

While it’s especially important to ensure your elimination pathways are working well PRIOR to doing a liver detox, additional measures can be taken to enhance the elimination of these toxins and pathogens.

Here are some ways you can additionally support your elimination pathways during a detox:

skin (sweat):
- DRY SAUNA, OR INFRARED SAUNA - adding a daily sauna routine will optimize this pathway during a detox. Remember, just as toxins can exit through the skin, they can also be absorbed through the skin. Make sure to shower immediately after a sauna practice.
- MOVE! - If intentional movement is not something you do daily, add this to your routine. It can be as simple as taking a 15-minute walk, but remember: the point is to break a sweat for at least 5-10 minutes. Walking the dog won’t cut it unless your walk is intentionally paced to help you sweat.
colon (feces):
- FIBER - it’s no secret that adding plentiful, good quality fiber to your diet will help you poop. ADD: Lots of green, leafy veggies, more fibrous fruits like pears, apples, or avocados, and whole grains like wild rice, are a great way to get fiber into your diet. In more extreme circumstances, your holistic practitioner might recommend a high-quality fiber supplement like this one. AVOID: It’s best to avoid fiber-focused packaged foods (brands like Fiber-One), as they tend to be poor quality and add to your health problems. Dried fruit tends to be higher in fiber, but also MUCH higher in sugar, so I recommend avoiding these items.
- HYDRATION - drinking enough water will help you poo better. For most humans not dealing with kidney issues, drinking ONE FLUID OUNCE PER TWO POUNDS OF BODY WEIGHT, daily, is considered adequate. Think of it as taking half your body weight, and drinking that many ounces of water. Avoid/minimize dehydrating factors, like high sodium foods, alcohol, or caffeine.
- GET A COLONIC - these are not for everyone and should be done minimally, and under supervision of a holistic care provider. Colonics are an intensive, quick method, of removing everything from the colon. I mean, EVERYTHING (including all your good gut bacteria). Doing a colonic without properly addressing the health of your microbiome is a recipe for further health issues, like IBS. A good practitioner will help you re-establish your gut bacteria, and improve colon health going forward.
- ABDOMINAL MASSAGE - Something I commonly find in my clients with constipation, is that regardless of how much fiber and water they take in, poops are still difficult. This can be due to lesions that form in the intestines over time. Breaking up these lesions is simple, but requires time and consistency (although you will likely see results shortly after starting this technique - keep going!).
  - This technique is known as Peristaltic Manipulation. In a gentle massage motion, similar to a ”tickle”, begin massaging your belly, just above your right hip. Work your way upward toward your ribs, stopping just below your rib cage. Massage your way horizontally across your belly, then downward when you reach your left rib cage. Continue massaging down until just above your left hip, then return to starting point. Do this entire cycle 3-4 times, 1-2 times per day. (I love hearing people’s success stories with this technique. Tell me in the comments how it works for you!)
kidneys (urine) - Hydration is the main key for supporting urine flow. Refer to the colon (feces) section for hydration instructions. Another key component to optimize hydration, and the mechanisms involved in kidney function, is mineral balance.
- MINERAL BALANCE - minerals, specifically electrolyte minerals, create electric charges that impact the transfer of nutrients (including water) across cell walls. Eating plenty of whole foods, and avoiding packaged foods, is a great way to make sure you are getting good minerals. For someone who needs supplemental support, here are some product I like:
  - BioMins, by Thorne: I like this product because it has the best balance of minerals, ensuring they do not “compete” for one another, creating imbalance.
  - LMNT: I was skeptical of this product at first. It seemed too good to be true. But the more I researched it, the more I like it. I would not recommend it for anyone who consumes a high amount of packaged foods or fast foods. Use this link to get a free gift with your first order.
lymph (an essential component of the immune system) - There are three ways to support better lymph flow:
- hydration (see a pattern here?)
- massage
- movement
lungs -
- MILD CARDIO: If your lungs are not struggling due to a pulmonary condition, the easiest way to improve lung health is by exercising. Keep it simple - 20-30 minutes of brisk walking every day should help. Improve your respiratory health by practicing cardio with your mouth closed, breathing only through your nose.
- BREATHWORK: intentional breathing techniques, such as Box Breathing, or yogic breathing, are fantastic for improving lung health.
- NAC: NAC, or N-acetylcysteine, is a precursor to glutathione (essential for cellular health and liver detoxification), and is known to support the health of mucosal lining of tissues (lungs, sinuses, intestines). For someone needing a little extra support, I often recommend this supplement.