It seems like every year there’s a new Celebrity Diet or trendy weight-loss book making news. But the diet book I keep going back to—the one I trust implicitly because it improved my health—has the catchy subtitle, “Love Your Liver and Live Longer.”

This little book, written 15 years ago by Australian physician and naturopath Dr. Sandra Cabot, explains that the liver is the major fat-burning organ in the body and the main filter of toxins that can compromise our health. When you reduce the amount of work your liver has to do to filter out harmful organisms and chemicals from your blood, you give it a chance to function more efficiently. In Cabot’s words, your liver “will then give a big sigh of relief and merrily get on with its job of regulating metabolism and burning fat.”

Well…I never heard my liver sigh, but I definitely lost weight and felt healthier than I had in years after adopting Cabot’s recommendations. Here are some of them:

• Don’t eat if you’re not hungry. Eating meals according to the clock instead of your hunger level needlessly overworks your liver.
• Avoid eating refined sugar and flour. They cause the liver to work much harder and often result in the overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria and fungi (e.g., candida) in the body.
• Avoid wheat and dairy products, which can put a heavy digestive load on the liver.
• Eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables (you liver loves them!) and drink water throughout the day. This will help you avoid constipation.
• Avoid saturated or “damaged” fats, as these will harm your liver if you eat them regularly. Be sure to consume essential fatty acids (EFAs).

 Cabot’s book also discusses natural therapies for the liver, including psyllium, milk thistle, globe artichoke, slippery elm bark, and dandelion. Today you can find a variety of liver-supporting supplements that contain these ingredients.

 The bottom line is this: if you dedicate yourself to “loving your liver” (i.e., following a liver-cleansing diet), your liver will reward you with a stronger immune system and a slimmer body.

Paula Detwiller, All Vitamins Plus contributor

Follow these links for two excellent liver care supplements :

Himalaya Herbal LiverCare Liv52: http://www.allvitaminsplus.com/605069005111.html

Renew Life Liver Detox Kit: http://www.allvitaminsplus.com/631257624505.html