5 Superstar Spring Foods for Your Liver

By Kate Sciolino

According to Chinese Medicine, spring is the season flush toxins from your liver and to cleanse your body in general. Why? Because nature is already doing it! Watch how the rivers surge with fresh water as snow and ice melt, pushing all dead leaves and debris that have accumulated out of the way so the river can flow with ease and purpose. Your liver craves that kind of movement to push through stagnancy so you can feel alive with the hope and enthusiasm of spring.

You may have needed that extra bit of cheese or hot cocoa to make it through the cold, dark winter months, all of which congest and tax the liver. Stagnant liver energy can leave you feeling frustrated, resentful, irritable or depressed.  Now is the perfect time to get with nature and start a clearing out project of your own. You may find that you are already naturally craving lighter, leafier foods, so go with that feeling. 

In the spring, Chinese Tradition recommends eating less greasy, heavy, or starchy foods like animal products, dairy, bread and sugar, and choose instead foods that cleanse the entire body and heal the liver in particular. 

5 Superstar Spring Foods for Your Liver:

1. Chives dry up excess dampness in the liver caused by alcohol and greasy foods.

2. Cucumbers push stagnant heat out of the liver and gallbladder.

3. Asparagus contains glutathione, which cleanses the liver.

4. Kale and all bitter greens detoxify, rejuvenate and cool an overworked liver.  Also try lettuce, watercress, alfalfa and collard greens.

5. Turmeric stimulates a stagnant liver and clears excess heat. Try adding it to your morning veggie juice!

Bonus Tip: Avoid alcohol, dairy, eggs, sugar and all sweeteners, and white flour (or all gluten) while cleansing. These are difficult to digest, cause build-up in the body, and demand the most work from your liver. 

I also recommend making an appointment with an acupuncturist for a seasonal tune-up.  Treatment will help rejuvenate and detoxify the liver, so you will feel lighter, more energized, and in harmony with the season, while keeping symptoms of dis-ease at bay.