Love Your Liver

Greetings, and Happy 2009!

Around here, it's that time of year again - time to embrace all things non-alcoholic, now that the period of holiday over-consumption has passed. I decided against embarking on a full-fledged cleanse or fast, but I am doing my best to eat well and be kind to my liver, and thought I'd share some tips about how you can do that simply through eating and drinking the right stuff!

Fortunately, I've been cooking and eating an abundance of Indian food recently, and using turmeric frequently. Besides being a lovely shade of yellow, turmeric is a digestive aid, and assists in removing toxins in the body. It's also a great anti-inflammatory agent. In fact, turmeric has so many health-promoting qualities, that is listed as one of the World's Healthiest Foods.

Rosemary is another herb that has so many great qualities, it's another of the World's Healthiest Foods! Not only is it great with potatoes or in soups or sauces, but it's great for the immune system, has many anti-inflammatory properties, is great for digestion, and helps the liver to work more efficiently.

Artichokes may not be on the list of healthiest foods, but they sure can't hurt. Artichokes are great for the liver, gall bladder and kidneys, all helpful in detoxification. Plus, they taste great and are so much fun to eat!

I drink dandelion root tea year round, mostly cause I like the taste - it's kind of roasted-nutty tasting, and this works well for me in my post-coffee life. How nice to know that it also happens to be rich in minerals and vitamins A, C, D and B complex, and great for the liver, kidneys, pancreas and spleen.

I won't lie - I miss wine & beer, damnit! And for that matter, I miss pizza and french fries and cookies! But despite that, it does feel nice to be doing good things for my body. And on that note, I'm off to make a cup of dandelion root tea!