In our body, the liver is the organ responsible for breaking down estrogen and helping to eliminate excess estrogen from the body. If you have an overactive or sluggish liver, and its ability to metabolize estrogen is compromised, this will lead to a buildup of excess estrogen in the body, and symptoms such as:
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Menstrual blood that is dark red or with black clots
- PMS
- Fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts
- Anxiety, irritability and anger
- Mood swings
- Breast tenderness or pain
- Water retention, swollen face, arms and legs
- Bloating
- Pelvic cramps
- Weight gain
- Nausea
- Sugar cravings
- Sleep disturbances
To have healthy menstrual cycles and balanced moods, it’s very important to have a clean, healthy and happy liver, so it can do its job properly.
Unfortunately, in our busy, stressful modern lives, the liver tends to become congested and sluggish for a lot of people.
Today I’m going to share with you some healthy foods that help detoxify the liver, promote the circulation of energy and blood, and improve its ability to metabolize estrogen – which are all essential for healthy menstrual cycles and balanced moods.
Foods that detoxify the liver:
- Aloe vera
- Asparagus
- Beets (including greens)
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Daikon radish
- Greens (Swiss chard, collards, dandelion, kale, mustard greens)
- Mushrooms (especially shiitake)
- Seaweed
- Watercress
- Berries (strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, black berries)
- Whole grains (barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa)
Foods that promote energy and blood circulation, and improve metabolism:
- Basil
- Caraway
- Cardamom
- Carrots
- Chicken eggs
- Crab
- Cayenne, chilly pepper
- Leek
- Onions
- Scallions
- Chive
- Clove
- Coriander
- Dill seed
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Grapefruit
- Kohlrabi
- Marjoram
- Mustard leaf
- Orange and tangerine peel
- Peaches
- Peppermint
- Plums
- Radish
- Squash
- Star anise
- Turmeric
- Turnips
- Vinegar
- Watercress
- Hawthorn berry
Pick some foods from the above list to stock up your refrigeration for the coming weeks. Buy organic, if you can.
Experiment and have fun with it. Perhaps you’ll find a few that you enjoy so much that they’ll become a part of your staple diet going forward.
beachgirl33140 says
September 24, 2013 at 5:51 pmThis is such an amazing list!! I love most of the stuff on here and try to eat it regularly, so I’m pretty much on my way nutritionally. I just have to cut out my nightly glasses of wine, they’re making my body too acidic, I think that’s the culprit bc everything else I eat is pretty good (I should cut out more meat, too. I shouldn’t have meat at every meal.)