Crystal Nelson
Garlic’s natural protective compounds gently support our body’s detoxification while helping to lose weight. Learn how the liver cleanses work here.
Around 30 percent of Germans suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver and are therefore at increased risk of chronic inflammation of the organ (liver cirrhosis), diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Most of them without knowing it. Those affected only have symptoms in the last phase of the disease, cirrhosis of the liver. Constant tiredness can indicate damage earlier. But we can protect ourselves by protecting our liver and promoting its detoxification because the liver is the body’s central detoxification organ. The good news is that liver cells are constantly being regenerated, so the organ can usually fully recover if we do something in time.
Fatty liver: the result of wrong nutrition?
In the long term, fatty liver can only be cured with a balanced diet. Animal fats such as in sausage, trans fats such as in ready meals, white flour, and sugar should be avoided as far as possible. Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and cheese, on the other hand, do not have a negative effect. Some foods, such as artichokes and milk thistle, even protect the organ. Researchers have now discovered another medicinal plant that supports the liver in detoxifying: garlic.
Liver cleanse with garlic
Garlic significantly reduces body weight and body fat percentage in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This is the result of a study conducted at the University of Isfahan, Iran. The study participants were 110 patients. They received garlic tablets (2 x 400 mg) or a placebo for 15 weeks. Nutritional behavior and physical activity were recorded using questionnaires, and body fat was determined using what is known as bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
The daily dosing of garlic powder resulted in greater losses in weight (-2.6 percent to -0.8 percent) and body fat mass (-2.9 percent to -0.4 percent) compared to placebo. This clinical study confirms the effects of garlic on NAFLD, which have so far only been demonstrated in animal models. The scientists attribute the positive influence on the so-called fatty acid synthesis to the garlic ingredients S-allyl mercapto cysteine and diallyl disulfide. These sulfur-containing substances activate enzymes in the liver, which are particularly responsible for the elimination of toxins from the body.
How does a fatty liver come about?
The ability to cleanse itself is one of our body’s most important abilities. The liver does most of the work. It rids our blood of toxins and pollutants and breaks them down with the help of enzymes so that they can be excreted. But occasionally our self-cleaning program reaches its limits: if we eat too much fat or sweets, drink too much alcohol, or if pollutants get the upper hand in our organism, they can no longer be completely disposed of. They then accumulate in the connective tissue and impair the central nervous system and the immune system.
Chronic fatigue and flu-like symptoms can be the result – but also irritation of the stomach and respiratory tract. But we can protect ourselves from it.
