#LiverCleansingMonday: AVOCADO

For the past three (3) weeks, we have dedicated our Mondays to liver cleansing; we have employed important cleaning agents like Grapefruits, Garlic, and Walnuts. The liver is a vital organ in the body and the importance of detoxifying and keeping it green has been clearly overemphasized in this series.

Its Liver cleansing Monday and it time to do the clean after a long weekend. The Liver magician for the day is AVOCADO.

Avocados can help the body produce a type of antioxidant called glutathione. Glutathione is needed by the liver to filter out harmful substances and protect liver cells from damage. Likely due to experiencing repeated injury, those with chronic liver disease are often found to be low in glutathione. Avocados are the leading food source of this master antioxidant.

In addition to glutathione, avocados are rich sources of Vitamin C and Vitamin E, antioxidants that neutralize free radicals. Neutralizing or deactivating harmful free radicals in the liver is instrumental in protecting liver cells from damage.

Often cited as a staple in an anti-inflammatory diet, avocados contain both Vitamin E and Vitamin K, two nutrients that are known to quell cellular inflammation. Because liver cell inflammation precedes cellular injury, anti-inflammatory intervention is a trusted approach towards liver health support.

For those with a fatty liver, avocado’s “healthy” fats can improve the body cholesterol profile by lowering low-density lipoproteins (also known as LDLs or bad cholesterol) and raising high-density-lipoproteins (also known as HDLs or good cholesterol).

Fatty liver disease is characterized by a surplus of fat in the cells of the liver, which can lead to liver inflammation and hardening. Replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated fat, and eating low-glycemic foods, such as vegetables and some fruits, instead of high-glycemic foods, such as chips and sugary snacks, can help individuals with the fatty liver disease. Avocados not only contain monounsaturated fat but also function as a low-glycemic food. According to a 2007 animal study published in the “World Journal of Gastroenterology,” daily consumption of monounsaturated fat and limited saturated fat may help lower triglyceride levels in the liver, particularly among individuals with the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Give your body a green treat today.

Follow @thegreenfoodshop on Instagram for more recipes and tips.

Olubunmi

#LiverCleansingMonday: GARLIC

The weekend made me lazy already, I had so much to eat, but the start of the new week excites me because it is time to clean up again.

It is Liver cleansing Monday and the Liver magician for the day is GARLIC.

Garlic contains numerous sulfur-containing compounds that activate the Liver enzymes. It also contains allicin and Selenium, two powerful nutrients proven to protect the Liver from toxic damage and aids it detoxification process.

Garlic cloves can be added to salad dishes and consumed raw, it can also be added to dishes during cooking to improve Liver health.

Give your body a green treat today.

Follow @thegreenfoodshop on Instagram for more recipes and tips.

Olubunmi Ayodele

#LiverCleansingMonday: WALNUT

Welcome back from the short weekend, I wish it could be longer and I’m sure a lot of people will back me up on this one. Today is another Monday and I have come again with my ‘give the liver some attention’ sermon.

The week is about to get busy again, filled up with activities that will make us adopt cultures that will kill the liver slowly if we don’t take precautions.

Work is so busy the best option we have is the junk meals on the go and in the evenings we drown ourselves in alcohol as per YOLO or to get over the nasty boy-girl issues.

So, I’m here with my bells ringing, screaming loud in my microphone and saying its Liver Cleansing Monday again and the Liver magician of the day is WALNUT.

Walnuts contain a high level of l-arginine, an amino acid, glutathione and omega-3 fatty acids. They help detoxify the body of disease-causing ammonia.

Walnuts also help oxygenates the blood and extracts from their hulls. They are often used in liver-cleansing formulas.

Apart from its ability to cleanse the liver, walnuts contain a compound called melatonin, responsible for conveying messages regarding the cycle of light and dark to the body. Since melatonin is already synthesized by the body, consumption of walnuts increases the blood levels of melatonin, thereby inducing sleep. That’s why eating walnuts can be an excellent way to improve sleep.

Walnut is a good ‘hair food’ too. This is because it contains biotin (vitamin B7) that helps strengthen hair, reduce hair fall and improve hair growth to certain extent.

Walnuts are great multi-taskers, they will heal your liver and support various body parts altogether.

Give your body a green treat today.

Follow @thegreenfoodshop on Instagram for more recipes and tips.

Olubunmi Ayodele

#LiverCleansingMonday: GRAPEFRUIT

The liver is the largest glandular organ in the body and performs multiple critical functions to keep the body pure of toxins and harmful substances. Without a healthy liver, a person cannot survive.

The liver secretes a substance called bile. Bile’s salts break up fat into smaller pieces so it can be absorbed more easily in the small intestine.

In addition to producing bile, the liver detoxifies the blood to rid it of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs, stores some vitamins and iron, converts stored sugar to functional sugar when the body’s sugar (glucose) levels fall below normal, breaks down hemoglobin as well as insulin and other hormones, converts ammonia to urea, which is vital in metabolism.

Now you don’t want to mess with this organ. You want to keep it healthy and you want to keep it pampered considering what you stand to lose if anything goes wrong with it. It wouldn’t be too much to give it some attention once in a week right?  Let’s dedicate Mondays to cater for and pamper our Liver.

I will unlock a secret liver magician every Monday and you can make whatever dish, salad, smoothie or juice out of it. The Liver magician for today is GRAPEFRUIT.

Grapefruits are rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, two powerful liver cleansers. Grapefruits contain compounds that boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes. It also contains a flavanoid compound naringenin which causes the liver to burn fat rather than store it.

Give your body a green treat today.

Follow @thegreenfoodshop on instagram for more recipes and tips.

Olubunmi