Five Great Foods That Will Keep Your Liver from Conking Out
Ask anyone how healthy the typical Western diet is, and they’re likely to say ‘Not very!’ One of the first organs to fall victim to bad eating is the liver, due to its many functions and variety of stresses placed upon it. If you want your liver to still be healthy and to work with your metabolism, you’ll have to add a little something special to your diet.
However, these additions don’t need to be huge alterations to your lifestyle. Most of the things that will keep your liver going for the long haul are perfectly ordinary foods that cost less than what you’re already eating!
Fruits known for being high in antioxidants are one of the key things your liver needs.
This can be fresh fruit or fresh fruit juice, but shouldn’t generally be processed fruit products. This is because processed food tends to process out all the useful nutrients while adding in sugars and other unhealthy additives that are little better than junk food.
Prunes, raisins, apples, and various kinds of berries such as strawberries are highly preferable and can be eaten as regular snacks or turned into beverages in juice form.
If fruits aren’t something you fancy, then there are other plant-based options for a meal that makes your liver happy. Like salads? Then you might want to try adding in some
chicory, dandelion greens, or endive.
These are versatile ingredients that can be added in small, non-obtrusive amounts to most kinds of salads. Therefore they’re one of the least demanding of pro-liver foods you can add into your life.
Onions and garlic are two flavorful favorites that can add a lot to a meal, and unlike most strongly-flavored ingredients don’t have a negative impact on the liver. However, you don’t get the same benefits from just using a powder or flavor supplement based on these vegetables. Use the real thing, or don’t bother.
You might notice that all of these suggested foods are plant-based. It’s true that there are very few meat-based foods that your liver needs.
However, if you stick to
lean varieties of meat and eat it only moderately, you’ll find that your liver can handle pretty much anything reasonable that you throw at it. Make sure that you also consume healthy calves liver also. So don’t feel the need to become a vegetarian!
As a final cautionary note, don’t forget to
avoid excessive alcohol, which is a definite bane of your poor long-suffering liver. You can remove the liver-harming elements by using it as a cooking agent instead of drinking it directly.
So you see, there are plenty of ways to include all the things you normally enjoy in a liver-healthy life… without really needing to give up the flavors that make life worth living!
The abs are a rather special part of your body. Getting them looking great isn’t the same as getting your biceps or triceps huge. Yet a vast amount of people start working on their abs as though they’re any other body part, using techniques for things they’re not intended for. But if you truly want those washboard abs, the first thing you need to do is drop all those misconceptions so you can approach your body in a way that will get you meaningful results.
Let’s begin with ab-specific exercises. There are no exercises that will specifically drop the fat from your abs but not from the rest of your body. No, if you want to trim down, you’re going to have to do it the hard way: through good old-fashioned cardio and other methods that slim your whole body. There’s simply no other realistic options. Once you’re on a program that will take you to your ideal fat level, there’s definitely a place for exercises just for your abs, to bulk up their muscles. But that’s not the top priority in your exercise scheme, and overdoing it can actually damage your tissues. Ab exercises two to three times a week is plenty. And when you’re picking out those exercises, don’t just go for endless crunches and situps. Work smarter, not harder, by doing fewer repetitions of more effective exercises on ab-focused equipment such as the exercise ball.
A lot of people won’t connect good abs with dieting, but honestly, a healthy diet is just as important as cardio for defining your abs. It’s not just about how much fat you work out of your body, but how much fat you put in, too. If you’re eating a lot of junk foods, you’re going to have to exercise that much harder to get your abs looking the way you want. Very few people in the standard Western society environment are physically active enough to match their diets. So, drop the sweets and switch to whole grains and fruits and vegetables. No one likes hearing it, but just like cardio, it’s the only honest answer you’ll ever get. While you don’t have to turn into a vegetarian, you do have to reduce your meat intake and cook that meat in a healthy manner.
Once you’ve stepped out of the misconception that there’s a ‘get good abs’ quick solution, you’ll be able to address things with a realistic lifestyle. If you’re ready for it, you really can have those abs you want… but you have to work for it and make it a part of your lifestyle. Temporary measures are always doomed to failure.
