Liver Cleanse with Ayurvedic Food
Updated: Aug 17
If you are worried about cholesterol levels, experiencing hot flashes, irritability, or a bitter taste in your mouth without explanation, it might be time to show some love to your liver with this recipe that treats food as medicine. Remember, your liver carries out more than 500 crucial functions.
Explore more on the Saumya Blog, selected top Ayurveda blogs and websites to watch.
Why Liver Cleanse with Ayurvedic Food?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the liver has over 500 vital functions, including:
"Production of bile, which helps carry away waste, break down fats in the small intestine during digestion
Production of certain proteins for blood plasma
Production of cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body
Conversion of excess glucose into glycogen for storage (glycogen can later be converted back to glucose for energy) and to balance and make glucose as needed
Regulation of blood levels of amino acids, which form the building blocks of proteins
Processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (the liver stores iron)
Conversion of poisonous ammonia to urea (urea is an end product of protein metabolism and is excreted in the urine)
Clearing the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances
Regulating blood clotting
Resisting infections by making immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream
Clearance of bilirubin, also from red blood cells. If there is an accumulation of bilirubin, the skin and eyes turn yellow."
Explore More: Hot List of Common Pitta Imbalances
According to Ayurveda, the liver is the home of Pitta dosha which is associated with metabolism and transformation. The liver supports several key functions including digestion and metabolism.
It clears the body’s inner ocean, known as rasa and rakta dhatu (think of blood and plasma) of ama (toxins) to prevent them from entering the blood stream and circulating around the body and organs. In other words, the liver purifies the blood to keep the garbage out.
Ayurveda also recognizes the liver cholesterol connection. According to Harvard University Medical School, “your liver and intestines make about 80% of the cholesterol…” only 20% comes from food.
"We worry about our fat intake, but do we think about our liver? It's time we do as modern living is stressful, especially to this organ. This is why Saumya clients will hear me say, ‘Let’s love up your liver.’ Labs can come back in the normal range, but that does not mean the liver is optimized." -- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
When we balance the liver through herbs (plant nutrition), food as medicine, and Ayurveda lifestyle tools, the liver produces more good cholesterol. How much good cholesterol the body manufactures is determined by how well the body metabolizes and digests fats.
An ounce of prevention? What a difference it makes!
Over time, ama - or toxins - can accumulate in our bodies and minds. This makes seasonal cleanses a vital part of an Ayurveda lifestyle.
Our bodies and minds build up ama - toxins and energetic gunk - as we move throughout the world. Every day, we’re assaulted with more than we can digest: food, stimulation, stress, environmental pollutants... the list goes on and on.
An ounce of prevention? What a difference it makes! Regular cleansing helps us reset, repair, rest, and rejuvenate. When the tsunami of stimulation ceases, our bodies and minds know what to do. In the gentle slowness of cleansing time – we heal.
To learn more about our 7-day detox programs are customized to your goals, current dosha state and life circumstances, and seasonal challenges where you live, click here.
“I was looking for a home cleansing program and Saumya Ayurveda delivered! I work full time, have a family, sports, commute, --and this cleanse was manageable! I had such a positive cleanse experience; I plan to do it again and I have it on my planner already." - A.B., White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Related Resources:
How to Detox Emotionally|10 Ayurvedic Practices for Emotional Cleansing 30 Reasons Why You Need an Ayurveda Emotional Detox
Ayurveda, the science of health, describes the world as being made up of five elements, Aakash (space), Jala (water), Prithvi (earth), Teja (fire), and Vayu (air). These five elements come together to form 3 distinct humors referred to as the Doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Take a look at the Saumya Ayurveda logo. Earth, water, fire, air and ether are represented in the flower petals.
The Doshas, in turn, create a one-of-a-kind you. Nature does not standardize. There are no two leaves on a tree that are exactly identical and there are not two humans who are the same. Everyone is a comprised of a one-of-a-kind mix of the Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas. The doshas give shape to the physical body, sleep, digestion, hair, voice, intellect and more.
Pitta dosha governs metabolism, it is the element of fire and water. Think of Pitta as an unctuous watery quality and as the fires within. Picture an old heating system in which there is a pilot light (a main fire) and then several radiators throughout the home which are also fires. The fires need to be balanced just so--not too high, not too low.
Attention needs to be paid to managing Pitta outside and inside to keep Pitta dosha from spreading. Ever feel irritable in the summer heat? Ever loose your cool when you're over heated? Big reactions to small bug bites? Heartburn? Stools the consistency of soft serve ice cream? If so, read on and also explore The 3 Ayurvedic Doshas and Their Impact on Your Life.
We don't often think about our liver and until we have to, but how much better we'll feel with an ounce of prevention.
“A year ago, after some lab tests, I was told I had an "abnormal" liver. I thought of my mother, who had died fairly young from liver disease. Veena's Ayurvedic recommendations, which included herbs and healthy foods, turned things around in less than six months. My liver was retested, and each lab result was in the "normal" range. This testifies to my longstanding mantra: In Veena I Trust.” -- Don, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Chock-full of antioxidants, Ayurvedic Liver Cleanse Veggie Dish is a recipe to cleanse old Pitta dosha from the liver and to ground and nourish Vata dosha, making use of the blood purifying and liver-healing properties of carrots, beets and daikon.
Use this recipe as a delicious part of your Ayurvedic cleanse, as food as medicine. Integrate into your Ayurvedic diet.
Supports healthy hormone balance all the way along that path and especially during the menopausal transition.
For Pitta dosha, choose Chioggia or golden beets rather than the standard red ones and use plenty of cilantro. For Kapha dosha, add a hot green pepper and cook the vegetables more lightly to avoid releasing the sugars. Serves approximately 6.
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Ingredients:
4 medium carrots
2 beets- I like to use the beet tops as a daily green
1 daikon
2 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
1 bunch bitter dark greens
1'' fresh turmeric, finely chopped, or 1 tsp organic turmeric powder
1" fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
Pinch hing/asafetida
½ tsp salt
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped.
Wash and slice the root vegetables. Heat half the ghee in a wok or frying pan and stir fry the vegetables. When they begin to soften, add the greens, cover and sauté to the desired tenderness.
Meanwhile, in a small fry pan, heat the rest of the ghee or your best oil from your Saumya Ayurveda Food Program. When it is hot, but not smoking, lower the heat and add cumin, turmeric and ginger. Sautee until the cumin seeds brown, add the hing and toss into the vegetables. Stir in the salt and cilantro and serve with Cleansing Kitchari.
Selected top Ayurveda recipe blogs, check out our Recipe Box for more inspiration.
More information on How To Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda. One of the best ways to cool off and chill out and reduce that flaring Pitta dosha, is regular relaxation. You're invited to make daily use of our free guided practices. Learn to Diaphragmatic Breathing and Change Your Life. Keep your cool.
Liver cleanse with Ayurvedic food and your food becomes medicine. To learn more about the Saumya Ayurveda healing trifecta of food is medicine, plant medicine (herbs), and Ayurveda lifestyle toosl, click below.
Create a path to health and healing with Food as Medicine, herbs, and Ayurvedic lifestyle practices.
A liver cleanse with Ayurvedic food is gentle and delicous way rid the body and mind of excess heat.
“I was inflamed. I had trouble keeping weight on, I was diagnosed with incurable ulcerative proctitus, my energy was very low, and I was taking medications daily for a skin condition, and I had severe migraines.
Following Veena’s guidance, all of these conditions have been nearly eliminated! The incurable ulcerative proctitus was given a Mayo Clinic Score of 0, normal or inactive disease.
I’m very grateful to Veena for the wonderful results and the healthier quality of life we have attained together. Without reservation, I highly recommend Veena at Saumya Ayurveda.”
---Chris Schirber, Yoga Teacher, Minnesota
"Veena is an awesome partner and she really helped me investigate my issues, including eczema, and developed an Ayurveda plan that was easy to integrate into my life and now I am thankfully, eczema free."
-Rachel R., Denver, Colorado
“Veena has been great. I suffered with burning mouth syndrome for many years. Doctors and dentists had no idea what I was even talking about, much less solutions. Veena knew immediately. Within in a few weeks of using the herbs and protocols she recommended, I am not experiencing any of the symptoms I did previously. And, my thinking is clearer, I am nearly free from hot flashes, and I feel more like myself.
Everything has been easy to incorporate into my life, which is the best part. This feels sustainable. I highly recommend working with Veena.” – Liz Pfeffer, Albuquerque, NM.
Peruse our client's stories to learn how Saumya clients created lasting change in their lives.
"When we combine our treatment trifecta of food as medicine, herbs, and Ayurveda techniques, they work together, clients see the changes they've hoped for."
-- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
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Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
These childhood experiences were the seeds of a lifelong passion. For over 30 years, Veena has dedicated her life to the world’s oldest healing system: Ayurveda.
She draws on this ancient wisdom to help others find their compass to a healthy life – and support those left wanting by Western medicine.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually. Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
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