In my wellness coaching practice, I make it clear that when I say “cleansing,” what I really mean is nourishing, which I define as being kind to our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. As I help clients through a cleanse, I don’t ordinarily single out a particular body part or organ because the body all works together in such specific and amazing ways. But I do like to focus on liver health, since it works so hard for us as a detoxifier. It’s our second-largest organ, and when it is in good shape, the rest of us looks pretty good too—especially our skin. So here are my ideas to help you through a liver cleanse.

Signs Your Liver Could Use a Cleanse

Wondering about your liver health? If you experience any of these symptoms, it might be time to clean house.

• Waking frequently between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. (unrelated to noise/light)
• Feeling stressed
• Frequent headaches or migraines
• Diarrhea, constipation, strong-odored bowel movements
• Dark-colored urine
• Acne, greasy or oily, dry or dull skin
• Brain fog/forgetfulness
• Stubborn extra body weight that’s hard to shift
• Indigestion/bloating
• Exhaustion/fatigue
• Sugar cravings
• Dark circles around your eyes
• Pain in the area around your liver (i.e., upper-right abdomen)
• Feeling overly sensitive/angry much of the time
• Extreme sensitivity to perfume, smoke, or alcohol

Read More: 5 Foods That Help You Reduce Stress

Signs You Might Need a Liver Cleanse

You may also need a liver cleanse if you:

• Regularly consume coffee, alcohol, sugar, “bad” fats, or artificial flavors, sweeteners, and food colorings (and you smoke)
• Are exposed to chemicals (e.g., cleaning products, dry cleaning, perfume, etc)
• Live in a city

How to Cleanse Your Liver

So now that we’ve determined your liver needs a little attention, how do we do it? First try out this popular liver-flush recipe.

Lemon and Olive Oil Smoothie

•  1 whole organic lemon or lime OR 2 small ones (cleaned and cut into quarters)
• 4 cups of filtered water
• 2 tbsps. of olive oil (organic, unfiltered, cold-pressed)
• Optional extra: 1-inch piece of raw ginger root, peeled and cut to small pieces

Toss the lemon, filtered water, and olive oil into the blender Add the ginger. Blend for about a minute until smooth. Strain through a fine, mesh sieve to remove the seeds and pulp. Sip one glass about an hour before bed (save the rest and enjoy over a few days).

Image: William Felker/Unsplash

Whole Foods That Help

Try to regularly include these foods to promote a healthy, happy liver:

• Garlic activates liver enzymes and flush toxins.
• Turmeric regenerates damaged liver cells (pair with black pepper).
• Berries reduce blood sugar, burn fat, and decrease fatty liver.
• Sour citrus provide antioxidants and vitamin C that boost detoxifying enzymes and cause the liver to burn—instead of store—fat. Try a whole grapefruit for breakfast or fresh lemon or lime juice in your morning water.
• Beets help repair damage from toxic build-up.
• Beta carotene-rich vegetables and fruit (e.g., sweet potato, carrot, red cabbage, red bell pepper, cantaloupe, turmeric, broccoli, dark leafy greens, butternut squash, pumpkin) stimulate liver cells.
• Dark leafy and bitter greens stimulate liver cells. My favorites are arugula, dandelion greens, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, young nettle leaves (in spring), and spinach.
• Herbal tea infusions such as dandelion, burdock, nettle, and milk thistle are all good liver-healing choices.

Non-Dietary Changes to Consider

Image: EllenaZ/iStock/Getty Images Plus

There are so many little things to tweak to help your liver out!

• Practice mindful meditation to reduce stress (start with two minutes a day and build to 20).
• Consider getting an air purifier for your home/office, and bring lots more green plants into your life. I suggest starting with easy-to-care-for plants such as a spider plant, dracaena, ficus, aloe, or mother-in-law’s tongue, which are all good detoxing plants.
• Use green cleaning products and personal care products. Instead of perfume, try using pure essential oils.
• Reduce your use of plastic; never heat food in plastic, and it’s best not to store in plastic either (glass mason jars and ceramics are best for storing). Avoid plastic-bottled water.
• Take Epsom salt baths to increase magnesium and pull toxins out of your body. As a bonus, this relaxes and soothes tired muscles and can help improve sleep.
• Increase your exercise to improve your overall liver function.
• Always filter your water, not just for drinking but also for cooking and filling your kettle. Store in a glass pitcher (not plastic) and get a good filter. There are many to choose from, but I really like the filter from Aquaspace, which I place in my glass pitcher. Be diligent about cleaning your filter daily and changing it out according to the guidelines of your particular filter.
• Reduce stress as best you you can. Easier said than done in our society, I know, but stress releases hormones and endorphins into our bloodstream, creating toxins for the liver to process, thus making it (and us) sluggish.
• Reduce or eliminate coffee, alcohol, and sugar.
• Avoid “bad” fats, processed food, “diet” sugar, and artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners.
• Also avoid overeating, speed eating, eating on the run, and eating too late at night.

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Sacha Jones is the founder of Stiggly Holistics, a holistic wellness practice based in New York City and Sullivan County, NY. She studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a lifelong learner. Inspired by her own healing, she has created wellness packages for various learning styles—one-on-one coaching, small women’s groups, and larger group “cleanse & nourish” classes. She is also a Lifecycle Celebrant, trained at the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, and believes very much in the power of ritual for healing and well-being. Find her at Stiggly.com.

A version of this article was originally published in June 2017.