Liver - Part 4

Part 4

Part 4: The Gentle Liver Reset

A 2–4 Week Plan to Feel Lighter, Clearer, and More Balanced

By now, you understand the magic of your liver and how much it’s been doing behind the scenes to keep your hormones, digestion, and energy in check.

Remember: your liver doesn’t want or need a harsh or difficult cleanse. It already knows what to do, it just needs some support. That’s what this Gentle Liver Reset will do.

This 2–4 week gentle liver reset is designed to help your body:

Clear out excess estrogen and cortisol
Reignite sluggish detox pathways
Ease inflammation and water retention
Restore energy, mood, and digestive flow
Support sustainable changes to body composition

FIRST! Make Sure the Exits Are Open 🚪

Your liver can detox all day long, but if your Phase 3 detox pathways (a.k.a. your body’s exits) aren’t working properly, all those toxins and hormones have nowhere to go.

That means:

You need to be pooping daily
You’re drinking enough water
You’re supporting bile flow and lymph (with fiber, bitters, movement, magnesium, and rest)

If those exits aren’t open, ramping up liver detox (with herbs, supplements, or intense food protocols) can actually make you feel worse.

Not Sure If You’re Eliminating Well Enough?

Try the Transit Time Test:

This simple test helps you see how long it takes for food to move through your digestive system, giving you a clearer picture of whether your bowels are moving efficiently enough for liver support.

How to do it:

Choose a marker food that’s easy to spot in your stool — like 1 cup of corn, or beets.
Eat a normal meal, including that marker food, and note the time.
Watch your stool over the next 24–48 hours and record when you first see the marker food pass.

What you want to see:

Ideal transit time is 18–24 hours.
Under 12 hours? Things might be moving a little too fast (less common).
Over 24–30 hours? You may need to focus on hydration, fiber, bitters, magnesium, or addressing constipation before adding in deeper liver support like milk thistle.

Liver Reset - in a nutshell

Here’s a simple overview of what you’ll be doing over the next 2–4 weeks.

Daily Essentials:

Lemon + warm water first thing in the morning
Gently wakes up digestion, supports bile flow, and gets your system moving
1–2 cups of dandelion root tea
Kinda tastes like dirt (but in a good way?) and amazing for your liver, hormones, and digestion
Protein-rich meals + fiber (especially cruciferous veggies + chia or flax)
Fuel for Phase 1 + 2 detox and help for Phase 3 elimination
Poop daily
It’s a non-negotiable.
Hydrate
Water = movement. Movement = detox. Aim for at least 2L/day
Gentle movement + rest
Walk, stretch, rest — your nervous system and liver are connected
Sleep before 11pm if possible
Your liver does its deepest work overnight — give it the space to do it well

You’ll get more detail in the sections ahead, but this is the heart of it.

Liver Reset - More Detail

This is not a diet and you don’t need to cut out every joy food or eliminate whole food groups. But there are a few things to prioritize, and a few to reduce temporarily if you want to feel the full benefits.

Focus on:

Cruciferous veggies + bitter veggies (daily!)

Cruciferous: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts
Bitter: arugula, dandelion greens, radicchio, or a squeeze of lemon to your meals. Digestive bitters also count here :)

High-quality protein (aim for about 80g per day, or 20g per meal)
Hydration (2–3L/day)
Fiber (chia, flax, veggies, oats)
B vitamins + magnesium (through food or supplements)
Regular meals (don’t skip)
Gentle movement + rest

Reduce for 2–4 weeks (if you can):

Alcohol
Highly processed foods
Excess sugar
Fragrance-heavy products
Late-night eating
Information overload… seriously, protect your nervous system too

Optional Upgrades (If You Want to Go Deeper)

These aren’t required, but they can add a lovely layer of support if one or two feel interesting:

Castor Oil Packs (2–3x/week)
Castor oil packs are deeply soothing for the liver and pelvic area. They help reduce inflammation, promote gentle detox, and support hormone balance (especially if you’re dealing with bloating, cramps, or heavy periods).

How to use: Apply castor oil to your abdomen, cover with a flannel cloth or old T-shirt, and place a hot water bottle on top for 30–45 minutes while you rest.

Digestive Bitters (before meals)
Bitter herbs help “wake up” your digestion by stimulating bile and stomach acid, both are crucial for breaking down fats and clearing toxins.

How to use: Take a few drops of a liquid digestive bitter formula on your tongue or in water about 10–15 minutes before meals. You can also eat bitter greens (like arugula or radicchio) as your first bite. My favourite is Canadian Bitters by St. Francis.

Dry Brushing or Sauna (2–3x/week)
These help stimulate your lymphatic system, aka your body’s secondary detox pathway. This is especially helpful if you feel puffy, sluggish, or inflamed.

How to use: Dry brushing takes 2 minutes just use a natural bristle brush on dry skin before a shower, brushing toward your heart. If you have access to an infrared sauna, short sessions (15–20 minutes) can also help support detox and reduce stress.

Here’s a how-to video on Dry Brushing

Epsom Salt Baths (2–3x/week)
Soaking in magnesium-rich salts helps relax the nervous system, ease muscle tension, and support liver detox, especially if you’re not sleeping well.

How to use: Add 1 cup of Epsom salts to a warm bath. Soak for 20–30 minutes in the evening, and hydrate well afterward.

Methylated B Complex (daily, if needed)
If you have MTHFR, hormonal imbalances, or chronic fatigue, a methylated B complex can give your detox pathways the extra support they need, especially for estrogen clearance and energy metabolism.

What to look for: Choose a supplement with methylated forms of B12 (methylcobalamin) and folate (5-MTHF). Start slow if you’re sensitive (take it every other day or even 1x week at first and slowly increase). My favourite is Natural Factor’s Active B Complex.

Sleep Ritual (every night, if possible)
Your liver does its deepest work while you sleep. Creating a consistent, calming bedtime ritual can make a bigger difference than any supplement.

Ideas: Shut down screens by 9pm, sip calming tea (chamomile, lemon balm, tulsi), journal or stretch, and aim for lights out by 10–10:30pm. Your liver will thank you.

The Daily Liver Support Rhythm

Here’s what a typical day might look like…you can adjust this based on your schedule and preferences.

Morning:

Start your day with warm lemon water or apple cider vinegar (1 tsp in water)
Eat within 60–90 minutes of waking
Include a protein-rich breakfast with fiber (e.g. eggs + greens, chia pudding with hemp seeds, smoothie with protein)
Optional: gentle movement (walk, yoga, rebounding)

Midday:

Eat a balanced lunch with 2+ cups of veggies (cruciferous if possible)
Add fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi) or digestive bitters before the meal
Hydrate! Aim for at least 1L of water by now
Optional: magnesium-rich foods (leafy greens, pumpkin seeds)

Afternoon:

Light snack if needed (protein + fiber focused)
Optional: take a break for sunshine or deep breathing (stress affects your liver too)

Evening:

Dinner with clean protein + veggies + healthy fat
Include a bitter food (arugula, lemon, radicchio) or take bitters again
A cup of Dandelion Root Tea before bed
No eating 2–3 hours before bed to support overnight liver function
Optional: castor oil pack while you wind down

Bedtime:

Magnesium or Epsom salt bath (especially helpful if sleep or detox is sluggish)
Sleep by 10–10:30pm if possible ( your liver works hardest at night)

Listen to Your Body

Your liver wants support, but doesn’t require perfection. Don’t stress about missing something, just do what you can.

If you forget a lemon water? That’s okay, make a note to remember tomorrow.
Didn’t get your cruciferous veggies today? Tomorrow’s a new chance.

Start with what feels doable and build from there.

If you only have the bandwidth for 1 thing - drink lemon and water when you first wake up in the morning. That has the biggest impact for your liver :)

Whether you follow this for 2 weeks or 4, your liver will thank you and you’ll likely notice:

Less bloating and puffiness
More stable moods and energy
Deeper sleep
Clearer skin
Easier periods or fewer hot flashes
That subtle but powerful sense of lightness returning

Quick Word on Milk Thistle 🌿

(When to Use It and When to Wait)

You’ve probably heard about milk thistle, it’s one of the most popular liver-supporting herbs out there. And yes, it can be incredibly powerful.

Milk thistle helps protect liver cells, regenerate damaged tissue, and boost detox capacity, especially if your liver’s been through a lot (like NAFLD, stress, hormones, and modern life).

But → if your detox pathways aren’t open yet, milk thistle can be too much.

It can sometimes stir things up before your body is ready to clear them out. That’s why I recommend waiting until after you’ve done 3–4 weeks of this gentle liver support work. When your digestion, bile flow, hydration, and elimination are already humming along.

When milk thistle might be a great fit:

You’ve been told you have elevated liver enzymes or NAFLD
You’re still feeling sluggish or inflamed despite other supports
You’re supporting your body after a medication, illness, or high-stress season
You’re not reacting to other liver-support supplements

How to start:
Begin slowly. Get it either in capsule or tincture form, and increase slowly over a few weeks. Start by taking it every 3 days and slowly increase to the full daily dose. Slower is always better than fast, so go really really slowly if your body is sensitive.

Make sure you're still pooping regularly and staying hydrated before adding it in. Milk thistle is powerful because it works…but it works best when your body is already prepared.

Like everything in this guide: go slow, stay kind, and listen to your body.

My favourite: Milk Thistle by Botanica (Canada) or Gaia (US) - this one is very strong and effective, so go slow. Tinctures are best for very sensitive bodies.

Wrapping It All Up

Your liver is a very good friend in your health.

You’ve learned that your liver isn’t just some passive detox filter, it’s your hormone processor, your fat metabolizer, your inflammation modulator, and your silent workhorse behind energy, skin, digestion, and mood.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, sluggish, or like your body just isn’t responding the way it used to, it’s not because you’re doing anything wrong. Your liver is just under-resourced.

Your liver is incredibly resilient and it just needs a little bit of support to really thrive.

What’s Next?

If you’re in the mood to go deeper:

Pick 1–2 food-based upgrades to try this week (like adding cruciferous veggies or eating a more protein-rich breakfast)
Consider layering in a gentle optional support, like a castor oil pack or magnesium bath
Or simply stay curious, and keep noticing how your body feels when you offer it more support, not more restriction

You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel better. You just need to give your body enough breathing room to catch up…to exhale, to let go of what it’s been holding.

Come back to this guide whenever you feel a bit off or each spring and fall. Gentle liver support can be added anytime.

You’ve got this :)

If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)

Part 1