Thursday, January 24, 2008

Liver Detox

I know- just the post you were hoping to read today- LoL. I have to admit a great interest in health and healing matters. I can't help but feel that there are many natural options to deal with our health ailments. But I also can't afford to go to the local healthstore and stock up on all those wonderful little bottles that can work wonders for a person. So I try for a good balance, and hopefully a low-cost one.

Enter good ol' cranberry juice. I love the stuff in almost any form. And cranberries are a power food.

Next on the list : Flaxseed. This is the first time I tried this. Hubby thinks it tastes a little funny. I thought it tasted a little bit like Oatmeal (when mixed with liquid). With it's mild flavor, it's definitely something I could learn to live with. And great fiber. So a few tablespoons added to a drink, or even yogurt, helps you feel full. And I recommend ground flaxseed (Bob's red mill if you can get it), and don't forget to refrigerate it to keep it fresh.

The first phase of the liver detox I'm describing is done in 24 hrs of only liquids allowed. This is followed by 2 days of a specific diet (not weird, really workable) which is supposed to both cleanse your liver AND kickstart metabolic fat-burning. You can lose 5-7 pounds this way, but safely (I'm a big stickler for that).

So here's the recipe if you want it:


  1. 80z all-natural cranberry juice (concentrate-NOT diluted) I used R.W. Knudsen brand.
  2. 56 oz of water - Okay, I messed up on this part when I did it. For some reason I thought this meant a gallon of water, while it is actually only a 1/2 gallon of water- I wondered why it made so much!

Bring to a light boil. Place 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg in a tea ball and steep for 15 minutes. Cool the mixture, then stir in 3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice, and 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Add SleviaPlus natural sweetener to taste (my store didn't have plus so I just used reg.Stevia).

The first 8oz of cranberry mixture of the day you will add 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed to. Then hourly ( for the next 12 hours) you alternate between water (8oz) and the cranberry mix (you only add the flaxseed to the first and last cup of the day).

The next two days your diet needs to be the following:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, veggies, water with lemon

Snack: Yogurt (with live cultlures) sprinkled with ground flaxseed, fresh or frozen berries ( I used Nancy's nonfat vanilla yogurt)

Lunch: 60z protein, Salad with beets, artichokes. *Okay, so maybe it's a little weird with the beets and artichokes, but it's much better than the diets I've seen that make you eat really weird stuff. There is a method to the madness here: beets and artichokes contain an antioxidant that increases fat-dissolving bile. Just plug your nose and swallow! *I did only beets and skipped the expensive artichokes.

Snack: Baked apple with cinnamon and nutmeg. Now THAT is just yummy!

Dinner: 6oz lean protein, cruciferous veggies (cauliflower, broccoli) These enhance the liver's ability to break down fat.

I found this in a woman's magazine. I heard the book "the fat-flush plan" has a similar recipe. I've never read the book, perhaps I should. Anyway, I just thought I better say that.

And I realize that I actually love veggies so this was an easy one for me, but if you don't care for broccoli and beets, maybe not so easy for you. It was very hard for me to eat so much protein, it was atleast twice as much as I eat in a typical day.

Hope this helps somebody else. If not- I now have another place to find the recipe when I lose it next time!

**I lost about 3 lbs over 3 days, but many people lose 5-7 lbs. I was already on a low-fat, high fiber diet before doing this and that may account for the difference. Also, the afore mentioned fact that I watered down the juice mixture could have affected it, since I made it probably only half as potent. I plan to try it again in a month or so.


4 comments:

Stylin said...

That sounds great.There is a link on my blog called Mind,Body and spirit,she blogs about natural remedies(I am supposed to be guest blogging there but I havent done a post in forever!!!)
barley boiled in water(like pasta)and the resultant water which is called barley water is great for the kidneys

MyKidsMom said...

Frasysoo- I will definitely check her out, Thanks!

ConservaChick said...

I had a friend that just did one of these. She didn't mention the great weight loss results. Hmm, I took a ton of advil last week because of the flu. I bet a liver detox would be good for me! ~K

MyKidsMom said...

Conservachick- Thanks for the laugh! I tell my hubby I should own stock in Advil Liquid gels at the rate I go through them. (Great- now I sound like a druggy!) But they ARE one of the best OTC pain killers out there (okay, now I should get a commission for advertising). LoL And it WAS for that reason that I wanted to do the liver detox.