The liver deserves some extra love and attention. After all, it's the most overworked and undernourished organ in the human body. It has many roles and is responsible for over 500 vital functions that help keep us feeling vibrant and healthy. Everything that we consume - from food and water to environmental toxins, goes through the liver for processing and is either circulated through your blood for future use or detoxified and eliminated from your body through urine or stool.

Although the liver repeats this cycle on autopilot, it can quickly become overburdened by the toxins we are exposed to daily. Our well-being depends on the functioning of our liver, and when we neglect it through poor sleep, inflammatory oils, long sedentary work days, and toxic products, we're setting ourselves up for hormonal imbalances and a handful of other problems.

When you adopt some of these liver-loving tips and build them into your daily routine, you'll get a healthy functioning liver and working elimination pathways. The result? A more energized and rejuvenated you.

Consume liver-loving foods.

The liver is directly involved in the digestive process. One of its primary jobs is to filter and eliminate any toxins we ingest, most of which come from the foods we choose to put in our bodies. Changing how we eat can be incredibly healing for our mind, body, and spirit. I invite you to take a second and create an intake of what you consume daily and how. Are you cooking your meals at home? Are they balanced with protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fat? What about the oil they were cooked in? Being aware of how we eat is the first step to nourishment. Start by ensuring your liver has adequate nutrients for detoxification with a whole, balanced diet. Include a variety of colourful organic fruits, vegetables, and proteins.

Eat plenty of protective leafy greens like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower. They're rich in fibre and contain potent liver-supportive plant compounds called glucosinolates. Other foods that your liver loves are artichokes, lentils, salmon, beets, grapefruit, and berries, which are antioxidant powerhouses that support detoxification.

Make water your new bestie.

Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to boost liver function, and it helps maintain the fluid content of the blood. When you become dehydrated, the blood becomes thicker - and since your liver is responsible for filtering blood, its thickness can affect its detoxification ability. Drink half your body weight in ounces of filtered water daily to flush out toxins and waste from your system.

Focus on gut health.

When you have gut issues like leaky gut, toxins can enter your bloodstream, overwhelming your liver. To avoid this, ditch processed foods, sugar, excess caffeine, alcohol and food sensitivities. Instead, fuel up on nutrient-rich foods. Once you've got the basics down, you can add probiotic-rich foods to your diet to further support gut and liver health.

Reduce the toxins in your life.

Exposure to non-organic produce, plastic, cleaning products, wax candles, air fresheners, and personal care products creates a heavy "toxic load" on the liver. They contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (pesticides, parabens, BPA) that interfere with the normal functioning of our liver and hormones. Buy organic when possible to minimize your intake of pesticides, avoid plastics and gradually swap out heavy chemicals for natural, fragrance-free, non-toxic products. Start by switching to a glass or stainless steel water bottle instead of plastic.

Start your day with a warm lemon water.

Drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning has been a practice of mine for the last couple of years. Lemon water is a liver stimulant and helps to encourage liver detox while supporting bile output. Not only is it great for your liver, but sipping on this tonic in the early hours also creates a beautiful and peaceful routine.

Move your body daily.

Moving your body improves circulation and helps eliminate unwanted waste through sweating and breathing. Focus on activities like hot yoga, cycling, or walking uphill to stimulate blood flow to the skin, boost metabolism, and reduce inflammation, which are all essential to the rejuvenation process. Sitting in an infrared sauna or a hot epsom salt bath is a great way to get your body sweating as well.

Support with healing herbs.

If your liver needs extra support, herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion root, burdock root, Schisandra, and turmeric help cleanse and restore the liver. They reduce inflammation, stimulate bile production, enhance detoxification, and protect the liver from environmental damage.

Practice self-care.

Too much stress in your life creates internal oxidative stress, which is taxing on your liver. Honour and prioritize your body's needs often. Book a massage or try soaking in an aromatherapy bath with Epsom salts + lavender or eucalyptus essential oil once a week. Using a gua sha or dry skin brush before you bathe or shower is also a good self-care ritual to increase lymphatic circulation - helping to clear toxins from the body. Take this time to "wash the day away" - actively releasing what is no longer serving you.

Check on your emotions.

Your emotions and liver are deeply connected, and one of the most important functions of liver energy is to regulate emotions. Among all the energetic systems, liver energy is the most sensitive to the effects of stress. Find an outlet that allows you to express your feelings. This could be journaling, a creative project, meditation, dancing, or even a conversation with a friend. Remember that the way you feel matters, and if we don't address the anger or sadness in your body, it can manifest into an overwhelmed liver.