Sure! I’ve got some thoughts (and apparently the desire to draw a little liver). There are some simple spices you can use and even some fun concoctions if you want to get a little fancy.
1. Tumeric is a good one – they come in capsules or you can use in cooking.
2. CCF Tea (Cumin, Corriander, Fennel – all seeds). Take 1 tsp of each and boil in a pot of water for 5 min. Strain the seeds and drink. You can drink warm or room temp. Sip all day! It’s way tastier than it sounds ;)
3. You can make a hot infusion of Corriander seeds (1 tsp) and Cumin seeds (1/2 tsp). Boil water. Crush the seeds. Dump the seeds into the water and let it sit over night. In the morning, strain the seeds and drink the water first thing in the morning. This will cleanse the kidneys, urinary tract and liver.
The liver and blood is governed by pitta. If pitta has run amuck and it’s affecting the liver, that means it will also affect the blood, the skin, and possibly the eyes (all pitta parts). This is how Ayurveda encompasses the entire being because the problem is not just in one area. And therefore, we don’t fix just the area, we treat the person. Three cheers!!
Using spices to heal is a great start, but you will need to include lifestyle changes also. Reducing stress, regular exercise, getting good sleep (bed by 10!), eating fresh foods, reducing salty, spicy, fermented foods, all will help lower pitta and will therefore keep your little liver healthy! Oh, and don’t forget to breathe. So hummmm. xo!
3 responses so far ↓
1 Shabnam // Jun 12, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I put tumeric in warm milk at night as well as cooking with it. It has helped my Pitta dosha and my BM. A cup of warm milk every night with tumeric and honey and i don’t have to take any supplement (like in the past) to help me stay regular!!!
2 Jessica // Jun 15, 2010 at 7:19 am
Also, if you don’t like messing around with all the spices, Yogi Tea (available at most major grocery stores and health food stores, and even some yoga studios) have a few teas recommended for liver cleanse, and they have a lot of the ingredients listed in the blog post. They are easier to use though because you just pour boiling water over them, and take the tea bag out when it’s as strong as you want it.
Be warned, they can be a bit bitter, so I always flavor mine with a little clover honey or brown sugar.
3 Monica // Jun 16, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Yeah! The Yogi teas are great!! There are a lot of flavors – some that just taste good and some that are really helpful. Good call Jessica!! xoxo
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