Cleansing herbs are the roots, barks, mushrooms, seeds and berries of various plants that help to “cleanse” and purify the body of internal toxicity accumulated from environmental pollutants as well as toxins absorbed from substances we ingest.
Cleansing protocols are often accomplished specifically through the use of herbal substances that help to promote liver function. Likewise, herbs that encourage bowel regularity and a healthy intestinal tract are highly valued for opening up the detoxification pathways and releasing toxic residues.
Many holistic health experts agree that the root cause of most chronic conditions and diseases begin when these two fundamental organs of elimination are blocked and their proper functioning is inhibited.
Using liver herbs, together with colon cleansers, can work to directly release the burden of a toxic overload that can, over time, have negative repercussions on the body, especially our mental capacities and emotional equilibrium.
These herbs can be added as teas or supplements to one’s current dietary regime, but are more effective when used in sync with a health promoting diet and lifestyle.
In addition, periodic routine cleanses can also be helpful to facilitate the body’s own healing mechanisms so it can naturally do what it does best, clean and heal itself when given the opportunity to do so!
Implementing a yearly or bi-yearly detox ritual, using cleansing herbs, water fasting, green juices and/or other purifying superfoods, can be extremely beneficial to one’s overall health and well-being during the course of a lifetime.
This is a proactive and preventive approach to what many believe to be a large component of what causes sickness and disease in the first place.
Purifying to the Blood and the Liver
Some of the primary cleansing herbs for detoxification involve the purification of the blood and the liver is the “master detoxifier” and blood filtering center largely responsible for the condition of our bloodstream. By strengthening the liver we can improve the quality of the blood which runs through and effects every organ system.
Stated in the words of world renowned herbalist Rosemary Gladstar,
“The blood that runs through our bodies is much like the rivers and streams that nourish the Earth. Those rivers running clean and untamed from the mountains sparkle with life. They feed and nourish the Earth that they pass through. Rivers that run through cities become sluggish and thick with chemicals, toxins and environmental wastes. The waters that were once life-giving turn to poison much the same way a human system becomes loaded down with toxins.”
Many disorders associated with the kidneys, heart and skin as well as the respiratory and endocrine systems are considered by many alternative health practitioners to be the direct result of an over-burdened liver.
The liver is also a major organ of the digestive system and processes every substance we ingest and take in, both nutritive and toxic. It not only filters out and neutralizes metabolic wastes as well as chemicals, drugs or other impurities that find their way into our bloodstream, but is also involved in nutrient break down and absorption.
All nutritional substances are only metabolized after they have been acted upon by bile secretions produced by the liver. Likewise, the blood from the gastrointestinal tract passes, via the portal vein, to the liver where it is filtered and nutrients are processed.
In addition, our liver is also in charge of synthesizing and secreting several important hormones beneficial for a balanced well-functioning endocrine system.
When we nourish this all important organ (the largest one in the human body) and keep it healthy, our entire body, mind and spirit as well as all other organ systems feel the results.
Using Liver Cleansing Herbs
We are all exposed to environmental contaminants on a day to day basis, so it is good take herbs, supplements and drink teas that help clean them out on occasion.
This cleansing process helps the liver and body to detoxify from potential poisons like pesticides, PCB’s, dioxin, chlorine, automotive exhaust, radioactive isotopes and numerous heavy metals. Unfortunately, these are many of the substances that are still to a large degree found in the water we drink, the foods we eat and the air we breathe.