Think green for supporting the liver. Nope, I’m not talking about green juice (although I do enjoy a green juice now and then.) I know this may be controversial, but you don’t actually need a fancy juice cleanse or anything that requires restrictive eating to detox the body. Thankfully our body has organs that already do that, one of them being the liver. The body can cleanse itself if we are taking good care of it and feeding it well on a regular basis.
In traditional Chinese medicine, food is viewed a little bit differently than what most of us are used to. Overall food is seen as being more medicinal and each food has its own energetic properties. In addition, common food flavors are associated with an internal organ of the body and each organ is paired with a season and color. So to eat seasonally according to Chinese medicine, you want to add in the colors, energetics and flavors of that season according to TCM. Spring time happens to be the season associated with the Liver-which is also associated with the color green and the taste of sour foods.
Spring Foods for Liver Support
Color: Eat foods that are vibrant in color, especially foods that are green. Bright and dark greens are naturally cleansing for the liver so make sure you’re adding lots of dark leafy greens like spinach, bok choy, kale, dandelion greens and mustard greens. Other green vegetables will be beneficial to the liver as well. It’s preferable that your greens are slightly cooked. A light steaming or sauté will do the trick. This helps your body digest the vegetables more easily and avoids overtaxing the digestive system (this uses up vital energy that we should be preserving.) If you must have a raw salad, make sure to add something warming to balance out the cold energy of raw vegetables such as pickled ginger or pickled onions or maybe try throwing some cooked vegetables on top of your raw salad. Get creative!
Taste: Sour is the taste associated with the liver. Delicious ways to add this flavor into your diet include lemons, vinegar and fermented foods. Try mixing up a vinaigrette with vinegar and lemon juice to top of your partially cooked salad or to drizzle over steamed veggies. Sour fruits that are good to add to your spring diet include granny smith apples, lemons, limes, grapefruits, pomegranates, plums and tomatoes.
Recipe: Spring Greens and Quinoa salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
Here’s a delicious salad recipe that I came up with early in the pandemic (i.e. when I had a lot of time on my hands). This recipe includes a variety of foods that are supportive of the liver while also balancing out the cold energy of the raw greens to help prevent negatively affecting the digestive system. The cooked asparagus and quinoa can be added while still hot to slightly wilt the raw greens making it even easier to digest.
Green Salad
-A couple handfuls of mixed greens (I like a spinach, dandelion greens and kale combo)
-Pickled red onions
-Lightly sautéed asparagus (with your choice of seasonings-I like olive oil, sea salt and pepper)
-About 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
-Pomegranate seeds
Lemon Tahini Dressing
-1/4 cup tahini
-3 tbs to 1/3 cup water (more as needed to create smooth consistency)
-1 tbsp maple syrup
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 lemon, juiced
-1 garlic clove, minced
-Course sea salt and black pepper to taste
Putting it all together
Place the mixed greens first, then top with cooked quinoa and sautéed asparagus. Sprinkle on pomegranate seeds. Add pickled red onions to taste. Drizzle with Lemon Tahini Dressing and Enjoy!
