The benefits of olive oil are extensive and well-known, and the uses of lemon as a home remedy are nearly countless. These two mainstays of the Mediterranean diet, so commonly found together in salads and other tasty-yet-healthy meals, can also work to heal, protect and cleanse your liver.

Whether used separately (for example lemon water) or together, lemon and olive oil treatments are healthy and natural ways to give your liver a detox so it can perform optimally over your life span. Read on to find out how you can use them to create a powerful detox drink for your liver.

The Importance of the Liver

The liver plays a major role in metabolism and is the master detoxifier – it cleanses the system not only of environmental toxins, but also of metabolic waste. So as you can see, the health of our body is directly related to the liver functioning at its peak.

When the liver gets over-worked, you may end up having breakouts on your skin. The next time you’re dealing with skin eruptions, you’ll want to remember that true beauty starts from within.

Looking after you liver is also one of the 70 habits featured in my e-book 70 Powerful Habits For A Great Health which will teach you how to take positive steps to improve your wellness and overall health.

The Benefits of Lemon for Detoxifying your Liver

Lemons are one of the best foods to cleanse your liver. They can help your liver detoxify in a few different ways:

Enzyme-boosting power

According to Dr. Alexander F. Beddoe, the liver can make more enzymes out of fresh lemon juice than any other food element. Given more of the raw materials needed to function properly, the liver’s efficiency gets a boost from lemon consumption.¹

Fatty Liver Disease

The peel and rind of lemons was shown to reduce liver cholesterol levels in a 2002 study performed by a Dutch research team. The results, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, showed that lemons could be beneficial are effective in lowering blood and liver cholesterol levels.²

Although performed on animal subjects, these results suggest that lemon peel consumption could be beneficial to those with fatty liver disease.

Toxin-eradicating vitamin C

Just one lemon has 88 percent of the daily recommended allotment of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which is needed to manufacture glutathione.³

I’ve already mentioned that glutathione is one of the most powerful antioxidants in your body and it’s considered “the mother of all antioxidants”. It is found in every cell in the body, and it protects the cell’s engine, called the mitochondria, from bacteria and viruses as well as toxins.

Low levels of glutathione leave you susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And your liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

Protective properties of hesperidin

Lemons, like other citrus fruits, contain a compound called hesperidin.

This compound was found to have protective properties in an Indian research study published in the BMC Pharmacology journal in 2005.

During the study, subjects were given a toxin after being given the hesperidin compound and observed. Their livers took less damage than they would have had they not been administered hesperidin, making a powerful argument for the liver-protecting properties of the mighty little lemon. The authors concluded that hesperidin demonstrates a protective effect on the liver.⁵

How Olive Oil Can Help Cleanse Your Liver

Lemons are not the only thing that can deliver your liver from toxins. Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, has antioxidant properties.

A 2010 study performed by a multi-national research team found that extra virgin olive oil provides powerful antioxidant protection against toxins that cause oxidative stress and damage to the liver.

These results, published in the Nutrition and Metabolism journal, show that olive oil has a lot of promise as a detoxifying agent for a damaged liver.⁴

How to Flush Your Liver With Olive Oil & Lemon Juice

Olive oil and lemons are healthy in so many ways, and the research shows that they can help heal an ailing liver or keep a healthy liver at top performance. Why not add a little extra of one or both to keep your liver in good working condition? Here’s how.

Lemon & Olive Oil Liver Cleanse

Ingredients:

– Juice of 1/2 small lemon
– 1 – 2 tablespoons cold-pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Mix the ingredients in a small glass and consume daily for best results.

Other ways to Detox Your Liver

You can create a delicious and powerful detox smoothie to cleanse your liver. Find all the information in my post about the ultimate liver super detox smoothie.

There are certain foods that are particularly beneficial for liver cleansing and you can read about them in my article about the best scientifically proven foods to cleanse your liver.

You can get further information on how to naturally detox your entire body in my e-book The Detox Guide which will help you to discover the most effective natural methods to neutralize harmful toxins from your body to enhance your vitality and increase your energy levels.