Nowadays, spring cleaning isn’t just for your house, but also for your health. Just as we go through all the clutter and dust that has built up over the winter in our homes, so too must we sweep clean our bodily systems, leaving them clean, fresh, and functioning optimally. And, guess what? The New Year (or even Monday!) is just the time to do it!

So where do we start when we’re feeling weighed down and sluggish after eating heavy holiday foods? What do we do when we just need a restart in general?

Incorporate detoxifying herbs!

Detoxifying Herbs for Spring Cleaning Your Body

Herbs, especially herbs for detox, are powerful allies to have when aiming for clearer skin and a better functioning body. Adding them to your diet is an easy and effective way to start cleansing elimination pathways naturally.

Incorporating detoxifying herbs into your diet will allow you to reap some pretty amazing benefits, some of which include:

• Flushing out the liver and kidneys
• Cleansing and detoxifying the colon
• Improved gallbladder function
• Removal of heavy metals
• Clearing acne and improving other skin conditions
• Cleansing and building the blood
• Ridding the body of parasites
• Nourishing and strengthening detoxification pathways
• Boosts immune response

So, as you can see, using herbs for detox can be a handy tool in your arsenal when trying to get rid of acne because if you weren't already aware, acne is largely an internal problem.

The Best Detoxifying Herbs for the Liver

The liver's health is SO important, especially when it comes to eliminating built-up toxins, cellular wastes, and other impurities from the body.

The liver is responsible for:

• Producing bile, which breaks down fats and carries away toxins during digestion
• Producing specific proteins for the blood
• Producing proteins and cholesterol to help carry fats through the body
• Regulating blood levels
• Converting glucose into energy
• Storing iron and processes hemoglobin in order to use is iron
• Converting ammonia into urea (which is then eliminated through urine)
• Cleansing the blood of toxins
• Regulating blood clotting
• Removing bacteria from the blood
• Resisting infection

If the liver becomes toxic or overburdened, all of these crucial functions can become impaired, so it's important to give out liver a break and help it detox more effectively!

You can accomplish this by using the following herbs:  

Dandelion Root

Dandelion is a wonderful digestive aid. It stimulates the release of bile from the liver into the gallbladder, which is really important if your liver isn’t working properly because of toxic buildup.

Why is bile so important you may wonder?

Bile is absolutely critical for digestion, especially in regards to the proper digestion of fats and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K in the small intestines. Most toxins and waste products are secreted into the bile to be carried out of the body via elimination. If you don’t have enough bile, you can see how easily toxic overload can occur.

Dandelion Root solves this problem quite effectively not only by improved bile secretion but also by producing a slight laxative effect, which causes steroid hormones to break down faster. This results in reduced acne!

Not only does dandelion improve digestion, the release of toxins, and help heal skin conditions, it also helps shed water weight because it happens to be one of the best herbal diuretics out there. So say goodbye to puffiness and excess water retention.

How to use Dandelion Root

The easiest way to use dandelion is taking it as a capsule. You can also take it as a tincture or as a tea. 

Milk Thistle

One of the best herbs for cleansing and detoxing the liver is milk thistle. Its most redeeming effects include the detoxification of pharmaceuticals, drugs, alcohol, and environmental chemicals from the liver via bile secretion.

Milk thistle also balances the blood’s lipid (cholesterol) levels and is used as a treatment for liver ills such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, gallstones, and jaundice. Milk Thistle has even been used for kidney ailments. One very notable benefit of taking milk thistle is how effective it is (if not directly) against acne and other skin ailments. Detoxing the liver is essential for achieving the clearest skin possible.

How to use Milk Thistle

Milk Thistle can be taken by tea, tincture, or as a capsule.

Best Detoxing Herbs for the Lymph System

So, what does the lymphatic system do exactly? In essence, the lymphatic system is responsible for washing and draining bodily tissues of toxins. These toxins are then passed into the bloodstream so that they can be filtered out of the body via the liver and kidneys. When your lymphatic system is clogged with an abundance of toxins, you end up feeling sore, sluggish, sick, fatigued and even depressed.

Physical signs of poor lymphatic drainage include:

• Tonsillitis
• Swollen lymph glands (these are located on the sides of the throat, the underarms, the groin, chest, and abdomen)
• Cellulite (who knew!?)
• Spontaneous bruising
• Impaired taste
• Poor muscle tone
• Low immune response
• A sense of heaviness in the limbs
• Tender lymph nodes

Sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it? If you're experiencing these symptoms, perhaps it would be good to give a few of the herbs below a try.

Cleavers

Detoxing and cleansing the lymph system is one of the best ways to restore energy and cleavers does it very well. Known as one of the best “blood cleansing herbs”, cleavers is also diuretic, flushing various toxins from the body through the urine. Cleavers is also, of course, a fantastic lymph tonic. When the body becomes backed up with toxins from our diets and environment, it leads to poor lymph drainage.

Cleavers acts as a stimulant by kicking your lymph into gear so that it can do its job properly; throwing those disruptive toxins into the bloodstream to be harmlessly carried away! Using a detoxifying herb like cleavers will inherently improve your body function and general health.

How to use Cleavers

Cleavers is most easily available as a tincture and can be found here or at your local health food store. 

Cranberry

Cranberry is not only known for its urinary health benefits. Did you know that they’re great for your lymphatic system as well? Cranberries are excellent at carrying toxins out of the body via the lymphatic system, the bowels, and the kidneys. They contain a number of compounds that remove fat from the lymph, keeping it flushed, clean, and working properly. They are also a great source of anti-oxidants and vitamins, so be sure to drink up!

How to use Cranberry

Cranberry is best consumed as a 100% pure, unsweetened, organic juice.

Best Herbs for Kidney Detox

The kidneys are responsible for removing toxins, waste, and chemicals from your body via urination. They balance the acid content of the blood and the amount of water in the body. When proper kidney function becomes impaired, not only is it bad for the urinary system, it can become quite stressful for your liver as well.

Sluggish kidneys can result in:

• Foul moods
• Acne
• Kidney infection
• Bladder infection
• Kidney stones
• Aggravated liver 

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is a wonderful multipurpose herb. Its medicinal properties heal ailments of the sinuses, lungs, skin, eyes, and kidneys. When the kidneys become stagnant and burdened by toxins, urine can become scanty and infrequent. This causes the liver to become stressed because the kidneys have become exhausted.

Symptoms of a stressful liver and boggy kidneys include:

• Cystic acne
• Dry bloodshot eyes (due to uric acid buildup)
• Bad skin (over oily, flaky, dull, ruddy, pallid skin tone)

Goldenrod protects against the formation of kidney stones (which are usually caused by low water intake). It tightens and tones the urinary system, helping the kidneys eliminate toxins more effectively. It is truly a supportive detoxifying herb!

How to use Goldenrod

Goldenrod is available as a capsule, tincture, and as a tea. 

Parsley

Parsley may only be considered a culinary herb, but don’t be fooled! Parsley packs a potent punch when detoxing and cleansing the kidneys due to its diuretic properties. It does this by increasing the volume of fluid that passes through the kidneys, taking impurities and toxins with it.

Parsley’s vitamin and mineral content nourish and flush the body, support the liver and kidneys, clear the skin, and eliminates bodily odors when taken daily in a green juice. You can also add it to your green smoothies and in other daily meals as a spice. Its properties are at their best when parsley is used raw. I like to add a large handful to my daily green juice. You can, however, take parsley as a tea or capsule.

How to use Parsley

The best way is to juice it raw, but it can also be used in your soups, stews, dips, and salads.

Essential Oils for Detox

Another amazing way to help the body detox inside and out is to use detoxifying essential oils. 

I can't rave about EOs enough! In fact, I even started a whole seperate blog that just talks about essential oils, their benefits, and essential oil recipes. 

To learn more about how essential oils can help you detox, check out the following articles:

Detoxifying Essential Oils and How to Use Them
How to Detox the Liver Using Essential Oils
How to Detox the Lymphatic System Using Essential Oils

Let the cleansing commence! These detoxifying herbs are sure to help sweep out all those toxic cobwebs leaving you fresh and energized!

What have been your favorite herbs for detox? Please share them in the comments!

You may also enjoy reading:

Energizing and Detoxifying Charcoal Lemonade
How to Take an Epsom Salt Detox Bath
How to Detox your Liver for the New Year with Herbs!
Acne and Detox after the Holidays
Taking Time for You: Detox Bath Recipe
Got Plaque? Want to Detox? Try Oil Pulling! (It’s Not as Crazy as it Sounds)
My Top 6 Detox Survival Strategies
10 WAYS TO DETOX DAILY

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