Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Is this liver detox drink bogus?: mix water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and real maple syrup.

flag	asked Jun 3 at 19:17 Lyndsay 6,227●5●33

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I am looking for something to promote liver healing/recovery. I am a recovering alcoholic who also has gluten intolerance. I'm trying to get my body healthy again. – Lyndsay Jun 3 at 21:59

Lyndsay, good for you! – MathGirl72 Jun 3 at 22:47

I'm a recovering alcoholic and addict. I've heard of a liver flush. It involves alternating fasting with drinking a quantity of oil, it's supposed to stimulate the bile ducts, even to the point of passing gallstones. I've never tried it myself. The thing you describe sounds like this tincture an old friend of mine used to make that he called "Cyclone Cider." It was garlic and cayenne infused in honey and ACV. Immune system booster, he said. – Nanoo Jun 3 at 23:19

Nanoo, my husband used something similar to what you mention to clear his gallstones. Every hour or two he would drink olive oil and lemon juice (ACV could also be used). The only other thing he could drink that day was unfiltered apple juice. It actually worked. He occasionally gets "hiccups" in his gallbladder area, but the stones are gone. – MathGirl72 Jun 4 at 0:25

Thanks MathGirl and Nanoo :) I am extremely vitamin deficient and malnurished from over a decade of alcohol abuse and undiagnosed celiac (my sister's test came back positive, I can't afford to test). Anyway, I've always suffered from tons of bruises and as a teen, my doc told me I was severely vitamin deficient, but dismissed my stomach problems and told me I needed to eat more. Now I'm in my 30s, have wrecked my body with beer. Am trying to nourish myself as quickly and efficiently as possible. Thanks for the help, guys. – Lyndsay Jun 4 at 1:14

John the Drunkard · Answer 1 · 2012-06-03 21:51:05Z UTC

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The idea of 'detoxing' is often used to promote trivial, silly or dangerous ideas. As a bad idea, 'detoxing' is a sort of extension of the medieval notion of expelling 'bad humours' from the body. It is the same rationale that caused physicians to bleed patients for every imaginable condition.

As a 'good' idea e.g.: transition out of a bad habit, ceasing consumption of a bad substance etc. the idea of 'detoxing' can be legit.

For more information on bogus 'detoxing' check out Quackwatch's page. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox.html

answered Jun 3 at 21:51

John the Drunkard
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Absolutely agree, but want to point out that these things tend to be a sort of a fast, where by not consuming the foods you normally consume, you give your digestive pathways a rest and, in the case of disease, the opportunity to heal. You, of course, also starve them of the very nutrients they may need to heal. So you'd probably be better off with something like a 24h fast, or IF instead of these quakish plans. – raydawg Jun 3 at 22:14

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Haven't read through the quackwatch site thoroughly, but from what I've seen they seem to ridicule anything that isn't conventional wisdom (and paleo is NOT conventional wisdom). If they don't relate to alternative treatments in a serious matter, it's worse than useless – Glither Jun 4 at 14:10

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Quackwatch is a bunch of wrinkly old doctors that ridicule everything by using the worst example is society. Ie to ridicule a natural therapy, they will find the "non qualified" natural therapist and use them as a representative of "all" natural therapists. – HippiPaleo Jun 12 at 22:13

foreveryoung · Answer 2 · 2012-06-12 22:06:41Z UTC

Lemon juice- contains limonene which helps promote helps the liver clear bile and assists the glutathione s-transferase in the liver. So I'd incorporate lemon into your diet (salads, in water, etc.)

cayenne pepper- contains capsacin which stimulates the production of bile

maple syrup- probably just to make the concoction palatable?

Other things you can do:

eat more kale (and other crucifers)- contains sulforaphane, assists in the conversion of toxins to nontoxic waste.
eat eggs- eggs contain sulfur-based amino acids with assist in the bile production and acts as a transporter in the phase 2 detoxification pathway.
drink cranberry juice- through some combination of the anthocyananins and antioxidants it assist both phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification pathways.
avoid supplements containing green tea extract or watch your liver enzymes closely while ingesting them.

And for what it's worth I wouldn't worry too much if you've wrecked your body long-term from alcoholism. We are very resilient creatures, and your liver can entirely regenerate itself in a matter of months.

AmandaLP · Answer 3 · 2012-06-03 20:15:41Z UTC

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Bogus. Try kombucha for a real liver detox.

answered Jun 3 at 20:15

AmandaLP
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	Thank you. I drink it occasionally. – Lyndsay Jun 3 at 20:19
	Burdock would also be a good thing to add, alongside kombucha, for liver support. – JeJ Jun 13 at 3:40

raydawg · Answer 4 · 2012-06-03 22:26:01Z UTC

Just be careful of anything containing fructose (or sucrose which is half fructose) as it hits the same kinds of pathways as alcohol does in the liver. Maple syrup for example is fairly high in sucrose. You're probably better off doing an IF instead.

An intermittent fast, or even an extended one where you consume some good quality coconut oil (as a source of ketones) might work better. But don't over do it as you'll need quality protein for repairs.

Daphne · Answer 5 · 2012-06-03 20:55:53Z UTC

Well, the lemonade fast wasnt easy to do but it did help me when I did it for 7 days. It helped reset my palate and it made me realize how much we eat out of boredom. It also kept me from starving or getting low blood sugar...I quit smoking when I started this fast and by day seven I had completely forgot about cigarettes as all I could think about was food! It also was one of the gateway experiences toward a healthier lifestyle...so I can't knock it. It is not bogus...it does take discipline. I think there are many different paths to a healthy lifestyle.

Sol · Answer 6 · 2012-06-03 22:18:39Z UTC

The answer to your question is not a simple one. In my understanding and experience, holistic health approaches involve multiple practices that come together to support healing. Doing something like the Master Cleanse requires an understanding of how detox works, of supporting elimination pathways, of being ready to deal with emotional stuff that may come up, of understanding how to come off the detox, and other factors. Doing a liver cleanse without understanding the bigger picture can be ineffective at least and potentially dangerous. Plus, if you're going to do a cleanse for more than 2 or 3 days you risk losing muscle mass.

If you're interested in holistic health I'd encourage you to start small, maybe do some intermittent fasting or fast one day a week or do a day or two of juice or broth to understand how your body does without solid food.

Jill · Answer 7 · 2012-06-03 20:22:55Z UTC

It's called the master cleanse. http://themastercleanse.org/ and http://calorielab.com/news/2008/07/17/master-cleanse-in-detail/

I did it for three days two years ago and didn't see any major results. You're supposed to do it for 10, but I decided that 10 days was too long to intentionally make myself miserable. The "lemonade" was awful as was the tea you're supposed to drink at night. I do have a few friends who did it for the full 10 days and all said that while they'll probably never do it again it was rejuvenating.

Liver Detox Drink?

7 Answers