Herbs That Are Good for Liver

Safe and effective herbal remedies are available for virtually every condition. There are alternative herbal treatments, which take the place of traditional medical treatments, and complementary herbal treatments, which are in addition to traditional medical treatments. Check with your care provider to discuss what is right for you to keep your liver healthy.

Herbs are widely available in natural food stores as well as online. Make sure you purchase natural herbs, not synthetic substitutes.

General Liver Health Maintenance

• The liver is the main filtering system for your body and must be kept healthy. One of the best things you can do, and the easiest, is stay hydrated--water is extremely important to every system and especially to the circulatory system, which includes the liver.
  To help keep your liver healthy, avoid alcohol and fatty foods.
  Eating as many of your foods in their natural raw state helps your liver to function more easily.

Herbs For Liver Function

• Dandelion, licorice, milk thistle, burdock root, alfalfa and fennel all enhance and maintain good liver function. These herbs are available in pills, teas and decoctions in natural food stores or online. Tinctures should be avoided, because they have alcohol added.

What to Avoid

• To help your liver function, avoid comfrey, gentian, kava kava, pennyroyal, peppermint, sassafras, senna, hops and valerian, which all can cause toxicity or other problems for the liver.

Benefits

• As the main filter for your body, anything you can do to maintain a healthy liver helps your entire body. An unhealthy liver can be the source of many disorders.
  The benefit of regularly using herbs to maintain liver health is cost. Herbs are quite inexpensive compared with the cost of prescription medication or poor health.

Your Blood

• Keeping your blood clean is the major function of the liver filtering system. The liver filters toxins from your blood and keeps them from building up in your system. Your liver function is tested by a blood test from your primary care provider, and the tests can tell what your high-density lipids, low-density lipids and triglyceride readings indicate. These are indicators of general heart health.