The Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Solution

The Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Solution

A 28-day plan to reverse fatty liver, detox your body and return to a

great health

By: Julissa Clay

(ii)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted for resale

or use by any party other than the individual purchaser who is the sole authorized user of this

information. Purchaser is authorized to use any of the information in this publication for his or

her own use only. All other reproduction or transmission, or any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage or

retrieval system, is prohibited without express written permission from the publisher.

LEGAL NOTICES: While all attempts have been made to provide effective, verifiable

information in this Book, neither the Author nor Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors,

inaccuracies, or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice

concerning medical conditions is needed, the services of a qualified professional should be

sought. This Book is not a source of medical information, and it should not be regarded as such.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the

subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in

rendering a medical service. If expert medical assistance is required, the services of a competent

professional person should be sought. As with any medical advice, the reader is strongly

encouraged to seek professional advice before taking action.

Published by: Blue Heron Limited

Copyright © 2019 Blue Heron Limited All Rights Reserved

(iii)

Table of Contents

The Silent Disease .......................................................................................................................... 1

Part I Getting to know Fatty Liver................................................................................................. 3

The liver’s role in your health ............................................................................................................... 3

Your liver: Filter, detoxifier, vitamin store .......................................................................................... 3 Transforming food into fuel ................................................................................................................................ 4 Protecting the body .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Processing &neutralizing toxins .......................................................................................................................... 5 Defending you from infection ............................................................................................................................. 6 Waste disposal ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Processing hormones ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Glutathione production ........................................................................................................................................ 6

What is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? ............................................................................................ 7 What happens if you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? .............................................................................. 8 Do you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? ................................................................................................... 9 Genetics ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 High cholesterol ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Obesity and visceral fat ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Metabolic syndrome .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Insulin resistance and diabetes .......................................................................................................................... 12

Symptoms of NAFLD ........................................................................................................................... 13

Diagnosing NAFLD .............................................................................................................................. 13

Causes of NAFLD ................................................................................................................................. 14 Diet .................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Sugar ................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Sugar and liver fat ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Sugar and inflammation .................................................................................................................................... 16 Sugar and free radicals ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Sugar and overeating ......................................................................................................................................... 18 High-fat foods ................................................................................................................................................... 18 Processed foods ................................................................................................................................................. 21

Gut health - another piece of the puzzle in NAFLD .......................................................................... 23

Your environment and fatty liver ....................................................................................................... 25 Water & your liver ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Fluoride ............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Chlorine ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 Trichloroethylene (TCE) ................................................................................................................................... 26 Clean up your water .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Air pollution and your liver ............................................................................................................................... 26 Clean up your air ............................................................................................................................................... 27 Toxic toiletries and your liver ........................................................................................................................... 27 Which chemicals do you need to look out for? ................................................................................................. 28 Liver-friendly personal care products................................................................................................................ 29

Part II The 3 Pillars of Liver Health: Detox, Diet, Exercise ...................................................... 31

Principles of a liver detox .................................................................................................................... 31 Kidneys ............................................................................................................................................................. 32

(iv)

Lungs ................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Colon ................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Skin .................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Lymphatic system .............................................................................................................................................. 33 The four stages of detoxing ............................................................................................................................... 33 Liver-loving foods ............................................................................................................................................. 34 Carbs: role, benefits, and how to choose the best ones ...................................................................................... 37 Choosing the best fats for health ........................................................................................................................ 39 The best foods to strengthen your microbiome .................................................................................................. 41 Best gut-friendly foods ...................................................................................................................................... 45 Probiotics ........................................................................................................................................................... 45 Prebiotics ........................................................................................................................................................... 46 Liver-supportive supplements ............................................................................................................................ 47 Milk thistle ......................................................................................................................................................... 47 Dandelion ........................................................................................................................................................... 47 Curbing Over-eating .......................................................................................................................................... 48

Best Exercises for Healthy Weight Loss ............................................................................................. 49

Exercises to reduce visceral fat ............................................................................................................ 50 HIIT (High Intensity Internal Training) ............................................................................................................. 51 Core Exercises ................................................................................................................................................... 52

Keep it moving ...................................................................................................................................... 55

Part III 28-Days Liver Detox ........................................................................................................ 57

WEEK 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 57 Going organic .................................................................................................................................................... 58 Quick & tasty ways to prepare cruciferous veg: ................................................................................................ 59 Keeping a food diary .......................................................................................................................................... 60 Setting up a sleep routine ................................................................................................................................... 60 Include gentle exercise ....................................................................................................................................... 61 Week 1 task........................................................................................................................................................ 62 Week 1 recap ..................................................................................................................................................... 62

WEEK 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 62 Removing liver-stressors ................................................................................................................................... 62 Restocking your cupboards ................................................................................................................................ 63 Healthy alternatives ........................................................................................................................................... 64 Effortless home-cooking .................................................................................................................................... 66 Hydrate .............................................................................................................................................................. 67 Week 2 recap ..................................................................................................................................................... 68

WEEK 3 ................................................................................................................................................. 69 Adding probiotic foods ...................................................................................................................................... 69 Increase your exercise ........................................................................................................................................ 69 Week 3 recap ..................................................................................................................................................... 70

WEEK 4 ................................................................................................................................................. 70 Antioxidants & supplements .............................................................................................................................. 70 Intermittent fasting ............................................................................................................................................. 71 Week 4 recap ..................................................................................................................................................... 72

Maintaining your healthy liver ............................................................................................................ 72

Part IV Recipes ............................................................................................................................. 75

SALADS ................................................................................................................................................. 75 Orange, kale & cranberry salad ......................................................................................................................... 75

(v)

Zucchini noodle salad ........................................................................................................................................ 75 Orange, grapefruit and fennel salad ................................................................................................................... 76 The Greek .......................................................................................................................................................... 76 Make your own salad ........................................................................................................................................ 77 Create Your Own Dressing ............................................................................................................................... 78

DRESSINGS, SAUCES, DIPS & SNACKS ....................................................................................... 79 Olive tapenade ................................................................................................................................................... 79 Basil pesto sauce ............................................................................................................................................... 79 Rainbow guacamole .......................................................................................................................................... 80 Creamy avocado dressing .................................................................................................................................. 80 Hummus ............................................................................................................................................................ 81 Sweet Miso Dressing ......................................................................................................................................... 81 Peanut sauce ...................................................................................................................................................... 82 Toasted paprika seed mix .................................................................................................................................. 82 Rosemary crackers ............................................................................................................................................ 83 Kale Crisps ........................................................................................................................................................ 83

HEARTY PLANT-BASED DISHES .................................................................................................. 84 Sweet potato hash .............................................................................................................................................. 84 Garlicky sautéed greens ..................................................................................................................................... 85 Roasted Roots .................................................................................................................................................... 85 Cauliflower Rice ............................................................................................................................................... 86 Roasted Asparagus ............................................................................................................................................ 86 Creamy Squash Soup ......................................................................................................................................... 87 Hearty Vegetable Soup ...................................................................................................................................... 87 Miso vegetable soup .......................................................................................................................................... 88 Rich and creamy mushroom pasta ..................................................................................................................... 89 Hash browns ...................................................................................................................................................... 89 Coconut curry .................................................................................................................................................... 90 Black bean burgers ............................................................................................................................................ 91 Roasted Broccoli with Basil Sauce .................................................................................................................... 92

SMOOTHIES, DESSERTS, SWEET SNACKS ................................................................................ 92 Green detox ....................................................................................................................................................... 92 Morning detox ................................................................................................................................................... 93 Chocolate peanut butter shake ........................................................................................................................... 93 Berry smoothie .................................................................................................................................................. 94 Peanut butter banana ice cream ......................................................................................................................... 94 Coconut mousse ................................................................................................................................................ 95 Banana Oatmeal Cookies .................................................................................................................................. 95 Coconut energy balls (4 flavors) ....................................................................................................................... 96 Autumn fruit & chia seed compote ................................................................................................................... 97 Dark chocolate truffles ...................................................................................................................................... 97 Banana porridge ................................................................................................................................................ 98

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 99

References .................................................................................................................................. 101

BlueHeronHealthNews.com 1

The Silent Disease

Imagine a disease that does not announce itself. One that attacks your most powerful

detoxification organ, putting your entire wellbeing in danger. It creeps up on you unnoticed,

progressing secretly until one day it is discovered. But by then, it’s almost too late to do anything

about it.

This is what you’re dealing with when you’re faced with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

(NAFLD). It’s so silent, the early stages often remain undiagnosed. This is a problem because

advanced stages of NAFLD affect everything from your body’s ability to eliminate harmful

toxins, to your blood sugar levels, to the quality of your blood. And when those things are

affected, your mood and your energy levels crash down, and you’re at higher risk of other

chronic diseases.

Diane never suspected she had fatty liver. She felt a little bit lethargic but had put that down to

being busier of late, and carrying a few extra pounds. There had been a lot of stress at work,

which had led her to eat more and spend much longer at her desk. She’d not really noticed at

first, but soon she wasn’t able to fit in her suits. Then there were other little things, like lack of

enthusiasm for the activities she usually loved to do, hiking and yoga, and waking up feeling

tired even when she slept for 8 hours. After three months of feeling not quite herself, she decided

to get a full check-up. Her husband thought she was being a bit of a hypochondriac, but her

blood tests came back showing elevated liver enzymes, so her doctor ordered an MRI scan. The

scan showed deposits of fat in her liver - the early stages of NAFLD.

When I first met Diane, I was struck by how determined she was to tackle her fatty liver head on.

Her father had had liver problems which had developed into cirrhosis and liver failure. Having

seen what it can do to quality of life, she was determined to reverse her fatty liver before things

got serious. Together we reviewed her diet and lifestyle to identify where changes could be

made. She was comfort-eating and turning to the very foods that were causing her fatty liver and

making her feel more tired and lethargic.

There wasn’t much she could do about stress at work, but she started swapping the types of food

she turned to when she was stressed. Instead of donuts and strong coffee, she made energy balls

and got her caffeine kick from green tea. She swapped her usual ready meals for home-cooking,

and filled up on vegetables and liver-loving foods. And she also began including more

movement into her day. The first week she confessed she had to talk herself into these new

habits, but by the second week she began feeling the benefits. By the end of the first month, her

energy levels increased and she was able to reconnect with her active lifestyle. Six months later

she had another liver scan - the fatty deposits had melted away.

I wrote this book because Diane is not an isolated case. In fact, doctors believe that fatty liver

affects over 20% of the population. As it is the number one factor in liver failure and liver

cancer, it needs to be addressed.

2 BlueHeronHealthNews.com

The good news is that it CAN be addressed. Fatty liver is caused by our lifestyle - the foods we

eat, our lack of movement, and the environmental toxins that surround us. These are things we

have control over, and this means we can take control of our liver’s health.

In this book, you’ll learn:

How the liver works and how it affects your entire health.

How non-alcoholic fatty liver disease develops.

The medical conditions that make NAFLD more likely.

Which ingredients harm your liver, and how you can easily avoid them.

Which foods support your liver, and how to include them into your life.

The best exercises to melt away liver fat.

How to support your liver by supporting your body’s other detox organs.

The principles of a liver detox.

A 28-day plan to reset your body and your liver.

How to maintain liver health long-term.

If you’ve been diagnosed with NAFLD, or if you suspect that you have it - don’t worry. In this

book you’ll find all the information you need to reverse this condition and return to great health.

I’m excited to take you on this journey! Let’s go.


Part I Getting to know Fatty Liver

The liver’s role in your health

Our organs are something that remains very abstract. We do not see them - they are neatly

packed away within the body. When they are functioning well, we do not feel them. So we don’t

really think about them. But as a result, we might be harming them without even knowing it.

The first part of healing is understanding. When you know what’s happening, you’re able to do

something about it. So, in this section we’re going to dive into the liver’s many roles before

taking a closer look at non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and what it means for your health.

Your liver: Filter, detoxifier, vitamin store

Your liver is amazingand has many important functions for your health. It transforms what you

eat into useable nutrients, stores these nutrients, and provides them to cells when they’re needed.

It also neutralizes toxins - either by converting them into harmless substances, or by making sure

they are eliminated from the body. It’s a bit like one of those HEPA particle filters - your blood

passes through the liver, and the liver filters out any undesirable elements, releasing clean blood

back into your body. It does so without ever taking a break, working around the clock to keep

you healthy.

The liver is your largest solid organ. It is located on the right side of your body, halfway between

your waist and your armpit, behind your ribcage. It’s about 10-15 cm large and weights between

1.4 and 1.8 kg (around 3 pounds). It is made up of a right lobe and a left lobe, which are

separated by a strip of connective tissue that attaches the liver to the abdominal cavity. At any

given time, your liver holds around one pint (just over half a liter) of your blood.

Blood is delivered to the liver from two directions. The hepatic artery brings in blood from the

heart, and the portal vein brings in blood from the intestines. Your liver’s principal job is to

cleanse that blood by removing or neutralizing any harmful substances. Once the blood has

passed through the liver, it flows out via the hepatic vein.

Your liver’s functions can be broken down into three main areas. It’s important to mention that

without it, your body would not survive:

Detoxification

Synthesis

Storage


1. Detoxification: As blood flows through the liver, it filters and eliminates toxins - toxins

from our diet and environment, but also toxins from the body’s natural cellular processes.

For exampleammonia, which is produced when your body breaks down proteins into

amino acids.

2. Storage: the liver stores fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K, and B12. It stores the minerals

iron and copper. It stores carbohydrates in the form of glycogen which it can release into

the body when energy is needed. The liver also helps to form active Vitamin D, a vitamin

essential for the absorption of minerals.

3. Synthesis: the liver metabolizes carbohydrates, fat and proteins - this means it transforms

them into molecules your body can make use of. It produces bile, an essential part of

digestion and fat break-down. It makes proteinsthat are necessary for blood clotting.

Under a microscope, the liver reveals more of its secrets. Liver tissue is made up of around

100,000 lobules (tiny lobes) where blood vessels and hepatocytes (liver cells) act as exchange

zones. Blood from the digestive organs, which carries nutrients and other substances like

medications or toxins, flows into the liver through the portal vein. Once it reaches the liver,

hepatocytesgo to work processing, storing, altering, and detoxifying the blood. The liver then

releases the blood back into circulation, and sends waste product to the digestive system to be

eliminated. And it does all this without taking a break. Pretty remarkable don’t you think? This is

how the liver gets rid of alcohol in your system, or is able to get rid of the by-products from

medications or your body’s natural processes.

Transforming food into fuel

The liver also has a big role in the metabolism of macronutrients. It works with the gall bladder,

pancreas and digestive system to help you make use of the food you eat by breaking it down into

tiny particles that your cells can absorb.

Fat:

Liver cells break down fatty acids and generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is

important for muscles to contract and relax properly.

Liver cells also produce between 800ml and 1,000 ml of bile a day. Bile is a green, brown

or yellow liquid that is stored in the gallbladder and sent to the small intestine, where it

helps the body to break down and absorb fats.

Liver cells also produce cholesterol, and use this cholesterol to make bile salts.

Carbohydrates:

If your blood sugar is low, your liver calls on its glycogen reserves. It breaks it down into

glucose and releases it into the bloodstream.

If your blood sugar is high, your liver takes that glucose and converts it into glycogen and

triglycerides (fat) for storage.

Your liver can convert some amino acids and lactic acid into glucose.


Your liver can convert sugars (like fructose and sucrose) into glucose, which it can then

deliver to cells as a fuel.

Protein:

The liver makes up all the body’s globulins (except gamma globulins, which are made by

the immune system). Globulins, also known as plasma proteins or blood proteins, do

many different things, from transporting fats, hormones, vitamins and minerals to where

they are needed, to helping the immune system function properly.

When you eat protein, your body breaks it down into useable amino acids. The liver helps

to de-aminate excess amino acids - this involves removing part of the amino acid (the -

NG2 part), which allows amino acids to be recycled - either to be converted into ATP,

carbohydrates, or fats.

Protecting the body

Your liver protects you in several different ways. For one, it helps to remove substances that

either don’t serve a useful purpose, or that are harmful to the body, for example ammonia, or

alcohol, or medications, or toxins in our food. It filters all of your blood, removing toxins and

microorganisms before allowing the blood to flow back into your circulatory system.

Processing &neutralizing toxins

The liver is one of six pathways your body uses to eliminate toxins. The other five are the

kidneys, digestive system, lungs, lymphatic system and skin. In Part II you’ll discover how to

stimulate these other five detox pathways to reduce the burden on your liver and help it do its job

more effectively.

Many of the toxins entering the body are fat-soluble. This means they dissolve in fat and not in

water. One of the ways the liver detoxifies is converting these fat-soluble toxins into water-

soluble toxins which the body can then excrete. It does so in two phases: Phase 1 is the oxidation

phase, and Phase 2 is the conjugation phase.

Phase 1: The liver neutralizes the toxin or changes the structure of the toxin to a form

which can be neutralized by phase 2. During this process, free radicals are produced. Free

radicals (also known as reactive oxygen species) are unstable molecules that contain

oxygen and can react with other molecules in a cell to cause cellular damage (damage to

DNA and even cellular death - hence why free radicals are known to be one aspect of

premature aging). If there are too many free radicals, these can damage liver cells. The

liver balances these unstable molecules by producing glutathione, a powerful antioxidant

that neutralizes free radicals and stops them from causing damage. We’ll take a closer

look at glutathione in a moment.

Phase 2: Once the structure of the toxin has been altered, the liver adds another substance

(like the amino acids cysteine and glycine, or sulfur) to make it even less harmful. This


turns the toxins from fat soluble to water soluble so that they can be eliminated via bodily

fluids like urine or bile.

Defending you from infection

Your liver produces and houses Kupffer cells. These cells are constantly exposed to the toxins,

microbes and bacteria from your digestive system (these flow into the liver from the portal vein).

In response, Kupffer cells produce a number of different substances, like cytokines (immune

cells), and actively change the way other immune cells behave in response to infection, toxins

and other stresses. Their primary function is to remove bacteria and senescent cells - that means

cells that are old and no longer beneficial to the body (one example is bilirubin - old blood cells).

Waste disposal

The liver gets rid of bilirubin. Bilirubin is a component of bile that comes from aged blood cells

(erythrocytes) that need to be eliminated. The liver produces bilirubin from erythrocytes, then

secretes them into bile fluids. The bile ends up in the small intestine, where it is metabolized by

the bacteria there and eliminated with digestive waste as feces.

The liver converts ammonia (which results from de-amination of amino acids) into urea, which

the body can excrete as urine. This is important because ammonia is highly toxic and urea less

so.

Processing hormones

The liver processes certain hormones and maintains hormone balance - particularly sex

hormones (like estrogen), thyroid hormones (like thyroxine), and adrenal hormones (like

cortisone). It also removes any excess hormones from the body - this is vitally important since

many of the environmental chemicals we come into contact with every day mimic certain

hormones (for example plastics, which mimic estrogen). Getting rid of these is important if we

want to remain healthy. If the liver isn’t functioning properly, hormone levels can become

unbalanced, and this can trigger a cascade of negative effects - from mood swings to cancer.

Glutathione production

Another amazing thing your liver does is convert amino acids into a powerful antioxidant called

glutathione. Glutathione provides many benefits, such as:

Supporting the immune system - important to keep you free from disease.

Making DNA - which protects your cells from mutations.


Breaking down free-radicals and reducing oxidative stress - which prevents premature

aging.

Regenerating vitamins C and E - these are other powerful antioxidants vital for your

immune system and general health.

Helping the liver and gallbladder process fats - which helps you use the fat in your diet to

protect your cells and your brain.

As you can see, your liver is quite extraordinary. Without it, you would simply not survive.

Think about it. Your blood is always circulating within your body, from the day you’re born.

You don’t obtain it from a new source. You can’t go to the supermarket and grab yourself a pint

of “clean blood”.

Blood is in constant flow throughout your body, and while it flows, it picks up all sorts of

undesirables: bacteria and viruses breathed in from the air, chemicals from junk foods, chemicals

from the toiletries and cleaning products you use. At the same time, it becomes clogged with the

by-products of the body’s natural processes - the breakdown of food, the death of cells, the

processes of metabolism. If your blood wasn’t constantly being filtered by the liver, it would

quickly become too poisonous to sustain life.

We owe our liver a lot. And we owe it to ourselves to keep this essential organ as healthy as

possible, for as long as possible.

One of the most common issues with liver health these days is a silent killer: non-alcoholic fatty

liver disease. Silent, because it creeps up on you mostly undetected. It’s caused by our diet and

our lifestyle - two things that are well within our power to address. In the next section, we’re

going to take a closer look at NAFLD to see how it develops, what it does to the body, and how

you can diagnose it. From there, we’ll springboard into the best lifestyle strategies to reverse

fatty liver.

What is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

As the name indicates, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition where there is too much fat

in your liver.A healthy liver does not have any fat, or has very little. For most people, a small

amount of fat in the liver does not cause any major problems. But if your liver contains more

than 5-10% fat, you have fatty liver. Eventually, this fat can build-up andcauses issues. You can

think of NAFLD has having the following stages:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver, or steatosis - there are fat deposits in the liver.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH - fat deposits plus inflammation

NASH with fibrosis - fat deposits, inflammation, and scarring

Cirrhosis - fat deposits, inflammation, scarring, and liver cell death

Failure to address the first stage can leave your liver vulnerable to further damage.


Fat can build up in the liver if there is an excess of triglycerides. We get triglycerides from our

diet (from high fat and high sugar foods), and these are also made in the liver from sugar and

protein. The liver synthesizes triglycerides into lipoproteins, which it sends into the bloodstream

for the body to use as energy. However, when the secretion of lipoproteins from the liver is

impaired, or if the flow of triglycerides to the liver intensifies, this creates a build-up of fat

within the liver.

Too much alcohol can also trigger the liver to make more triglycerides, which then cause an

accumulation of fat. If alcohol is the cause, this is known as alcohol-related fatty liver disease.

Fatty liver that is not caused by alcohol is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - and that’s

the condition this book will help you to reverse.

What happens if you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Until quite recently, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was considered quite rareand pretty

harmless because it was not thought to progress to chronic liver disease. Now, we know

different. NAFLD can progress to something called non-alcoholic related steatohepatitis (NASH)

- and this is where it gets more serious.

NASH happens if you leave your NAFLD untreated. It is a more aggressive from of NAFLD,

where inflammation is present. This can cause your liver to enlarge and feel painful. Over time,

this ongoing inflammation can cause scar tissue to develop in your liver, a process known as

fibrosis, and can develop into cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Cirrhosis happens if your liver is continuously damaged due to inflammation. Instead of being

smooth, your liver becomes harder, and covered in nodules. It eventually runs out of healthy

liver cells, and is unable to perform all its vital functions. The result: complete liver failure.

It’s believed that non-alcoholic liver disease will be the leading cause of liver transplants by

2020. This seemingly benign condition, that remains so silent for so long, can be devastating.

Your liver is a bit like your own personal clean up team. Imagine you’re a beautiful lake in a

nature reserve. Every day, people come and picnic around the lake, and leave their rubbish

behind, or throw it into the water. But this is ok because the clean -up team work around the

clock, walking around the lake and picking up the rubbish. NAFLD is like that team getting

smaller and smaller. At first, it isn’t really noticeable, because it’s still able to get to most of the

rubbish. But over time, rubbish begins to accumulate, and the clean-up team just can’t keep up.

Before you know it, the site is one big toxic rubbish dump.

This is why it is imperative to treat NAFLD before it progresses. As we’ve seen, the liver is

responsible for keeping your blood free from toxins, producing certain essential vitamins, as well

as giving you a helping hand to fight free radicals by making your very own powerful

antioxidant. If it stops working correctly, it doesn’t take long for your health to deteriorate.


According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths caused by

liver disease and cirrhosis has risen every year since 2007, and is now among the top 15 causes

of deaths for Americans. It is a very real risk, and one that you need to address if you want to

stay healthy into your old age.

Do you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

So, now I guess you’re wondering whether you’ve got NAFLD, how can you tell, and what can

you do about it.

As a general rule, the more overweight you are, the higher the chances that you have NAFLD.

Typically, it is more common in people over 50, and more so in men than in women.

Alarmingly, however, more and more children are now also being diagnosed with fatty liver - it

is the most common chronic liver condition in overweight and obese children and teenagers.

Since NAFLD is so difficult to diagnose, doctors do not know precisely how many people have

this condition, but they estimate that between 80 and 100 million Americans are affected. And

many don’t even realize it.

Other than being overweight and over 50, certain other factors put you at higher risk of NAFLD:

Genetics

Two genes are involved in the development of NAFLD. If you have one or both of these, you are

at higher risk of getting fatty liver. These genes are patatin-like phospholipase domain-

containing 3 (PNPLA3) and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2). But genes are

not the whole story.

Do you know about epigenetics? This is the study of how genes are switched on or off. Here’s a

simple analogy to illustrate the theory of epigenetics. Imagine a human life as a long movie.

Your cells are the actors and actresses - the essential units that make up the movie. DNA is the

script - it provides instructions for all the actors to perform their roles. The DNA sequence is the

words within the script, and genes are blocks of these words that instruct key actions to take

place. Genetics is like screenwriting. But epigenetics is like directing. Your script might be the

same, but the way it is directed has the power to dramatically alter the finished product. After all,

the same script directed by Woody Allen or the Cohen brothers would be dramatically different!

Here’s quick crash-course in genetics and epigenetics:

Cells are the working units that make up your body. They get their instructions from the

chemical deoxyribonucleic acid - also known as DNA.

DNA is made up of around 3 billion nucleotide bases, grouped into four types - adenine,

cytosine, guanine and thymine - abbreviated as A, C, G and T.

The sequence, or ordering, of these bases is what makes up the instructions that shape us.


Within those 3 billion bases, around 20,000 are genes. Genes are specific sequences of

bases that instruct cells to make proteins - these proteins are complex molecules that

support every function of the human body.

But the question epigenetics poses is this: what makes certain genes switch on or off? The

answer is: your environment. Take the case of twins, for instance, who are genetically identical.

Subjected to different environments, identical twins will experience very different physical

health - one may develop a disease where the other one doesn’t.

And this is good news for all of us - because it means that no matter what our genes are, they are

not an absolute marker of future health or disease. We have a big part to play in our healing,

through the choices we make in our day to day lives: our diet, our environment, and even the

thoughts we have on a regular basis. All these things play a part.

So, even if you have one or both of the genes that pre-dispose you to fatty liver, it is by no means

game over. This book will share strategies to help you take back control of your health and

reverse non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

High cholesterol

Unsurprisingly, if the amount of fat in your blood is high, you’re at higher risk of having a high

amount of fat in your liver. A study in the American Journal of Medical Sciences examined the

link between NAFLD and dyslipidemia - a term which describes abnormalities in blood lipids.

This includes elevated total cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, or elevated low-density

lipoprotein cholesterol. Researchers found that people with high cholesterol were more likely to

have NAFLD, and that this risk increased if there was more than one abnormality. For example,

if you have high triglycerides as well as high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, you’re more at

risk of NAFLD than if you just have high cholesterol.

You have two main types of cholesterol in your body. One is high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the

other is low-density lipoprotein (LDL). For your cholesterol levels to be healthy, these levels

should be:

LDL: less than 100mg/dL

HDL: less than 40mg/dL

HDL is sometimes referred to as “good cholesterol”. It takes cholesterol from your body into the

liver, for the liver to break it down or eliminate it as waste.

LDL does the opposite. It takes cholesterol from the liver to the cells, for them to use as energy.

But too much can begin to build up in the arteries and can cause blockages - hence why LDL is

often called “bad cholesterol”.

Whether good or bad, too much of either LDL or HDL not only increases your risk of heart

disease and strokes, it also increases your risk of NAFLD.


But the good news is that cholesterol levels can be addressed and reduced with a healthy

lifestyle. Part III will dive into strategies that help you reduce your cholesterol AND clear your

liver of excess fat.

Obesity and visceral fat

Scientists believe that the recent rise of NAFLD is due to the increase in obesity.In the US, 36%

of the population is obese.The very things that cause obesity - a sedentary lifestyle, high calorie

intake, too much fat and sugar in the diet - are the same factors involved in NAFLD. So, it isn’t

surprising the two go hand in hand. In addition, the more excess fat you have in your body, the

more fatty acids are circulating in your blood. Your liver can only do so much, and these fats

begin to deposit in the liver, leading to NAFLD. Scientists believe that around 75% of obese

patients have NAFLD.

You are obese if your body mass index (BMI) is over 30. A BMI of between 19 to 24 is

considered normal, between 25 and 29 is considered overweight, between 30 to 35 is obese,

between 35 to 40 is significantly obese, and over 40 is morbidly obese. The more your BMI is

above the normal range, the higher your risk of liver damage.

The BMI formula was originally devised by a mathematician in the 1800’s. It uses your weight

and your height to work out your body fat and degree of obesity. While it isn’t fool-proof (for

example, some heavily muscled athletes will have a high BMI because muscle weighs more than

fat), it is a good indicator of whether your weight is in the optimal range, or not.

BMI = [your weight in kg] / [your height in meters]2

For the imperial measurement, the formula is BMI = [703 x your weight in pounds] / [your

height in inches]2

For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and are 5ft4 (or 64 inches), your calculation would look

like this:

BMI = [703 x 160] /[64 x 64] = 112480 / 4096 = 27.46

Excess body fat is definitely a factor in NAFLD, but visceral fat is even more of an issue. Fat is

either subcutaneous (under the skin), or visceral (intra-abdominal). If you are apple-shaped, you

have too much fat around your abdomen, and this releases fatty acids into your body. Constantly

elevated levels of fatty acids can increase your risk of insulin resistance - a factor we’ll look at in

a moment.

High-risk abdominal obesity is defined as a waist circumference of:

Over 40 inches for men

Over 35 inches for women

Calculate your BMI and measure your waist - are you in the high-risk group? Even if you are,

don’t worry - studies show that losing weight dramatically reduces fat build up in the liver. And


if you can get your waist circumference down to under 37.6 inches (for men) or 31.5 inches (for

women) you will reduce your risk of NAFLD. In Part IIyou’ll find exercises that will help you

melt away that visceral fat and get your waist back.

Metabolic syndrome

For a while, doctors were unsure whether metabolic syndrome was a cause of NAFLD or

whether NAFLD caused metabolic syndrome. The answer is now clearer.

Metabolic syndrome is the medical term for the combination of physiological conditions that

increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. These conditions include

increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol levels, and excess fat around the

waist (visceral fat). Fatty liver is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome - in other

words, it is how metabolic syndrome manifests itself in the liver. If you have any of the

conditions I’ve just mentioned, then you’re at higher risk of NAFLD.

So, what causes metabolic syndrome in the first place? Your diet. Your environment. Your

lifestyle. Too many high fat and high sugar foods increase body fat, and put you at higher risk of

the problems mentioned above. These foods also trigger the formation of free radicals in the

body, leading to an increase in inflammation, which in turn places a lot of stress on the body and

makes it more likely you will suffer from metabolic syndrome. If you are in a high-stress job,

you are also more likely to experience physical problems that put you at higher risk of NAFLD.

We’ll look at these factors in detail in a few pages.

Insulin resistance and diabetes

Statistics show that at least 50% of people with diabetes have fatty liver. How? Researchers have

found that one of the principle ways NAFLD develops is through insulin resistance. Let’s

explore what that is first of all.

Your body produces insulin to help your cells absorb and make use of glucose.

When you eat sugar or carbohydrates, your digestive system breaks these down into glucose.

Your pancreas then secretes insulin, which sends a signal to your cells to absorb the glucose so

they can use it for energy.

If there is more glucose than what is needed on a regular basis, two things happen. The first is

that your pancreas has to pump out more and more insulin to get your cells to absorb the glucose.

In time, your cells begin to ignore the signals - they become resistant to the insulin, hence the

term “insulin resistance.” This is the first step towards type 2 diabetes. And scientists now know

that type 2 diabetes is the strongest predictor for NAFLD and consequent issues like liver

fibrosis and cirrhosis.


The second thing that happens if you’re eating too much sugaris that insulin signals to your body

to store the excess as body fat. Some of this fat gets deposited, you guessed it, in the liver.

The type of carbohydrates and sugar that you eat don’t all have the same effect on the body, and

not all of them will trigger insulin resistance and NAFLD. We’ll explore this in more detail in

Part II.

Symptoms of NAFLD

The early stages of NAFLD typically don’t manifest with any specific symptoms, which means it

doesn’t tend to be picked up in a routine physical exam, unless you or your doctor are concerned

about it. That said, here are some things to look out for, which might indicate that NAFLD is

developing into NASH.

Dull pain, ache or swelling in the top right part of your stomach

Extreme tiredness

Unexplained weight loss

Feeling weak

If NASH develops into cirrhosis, symptoms include:

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes - this is caused by the liver being unable to

detox bilirubin)

Edema (swelling of the tummy, legs, feet or ankles)

Itchy skin

If you have a family history of liver problems, or any of the conditions that make NAFLD more

likely - such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol - it’s a good idea to

speak to your doctor to investigate whether you have any fatty deposits in your liver. The earlier

you catch it, the easier it will be for you to do something about it.

Diagnosing NAFLD

Since the early stages of NAFLD does not tend to come with any symptoms, most people find

out they have NAFLD by accident, for example if the doctor does a liver function test - either an

alanine aminotransferase test (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase test (AST) -and this test

comes back abnormal. Elevated liver enzymes are a sign of liver inflammation, and NAFLD is

one of the potential causes.Further tests are then needed to determine whether you have fatty

liver.

NAFLD is sometimes diagnosed during an abdominal scan for something else, like gallstones.

Itcan also show up during a routine blood test if results show elevated liver enzymes in the


blood. Having said that, it doesn’t always show up on blood tests. Sometimes a specialized

ultrasound scan (fibroscan) is needed to diagnose NAFLD, or a biopsy.

It is easy to detect excess liver fat using an imaging modality like MRI, CT scan, or ultrasound,

and your doctor can prescribe this if you are worried about fatty liver or if you have a family

history of liver problems.

If you have any conditions that put you at higher risk of NAFLD, such as metabolic syndrome or

diabetes, you should have an ultrasound scan of your liver every 3 years.

Causes of NAFLD

We’ve looked at the risk factors involved in NAFLD. Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly,

the very same things that cause high cholesterol, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity also

cause fatty deposits to build up in the liver.

The first piece of the puzzle, and the largest one, is diet. What you put in your body has the

power to heal or to damage. It makes sense, after all, we eat at least three times a day, and

everything we eat gets processed and absorbed by our digestive system and our cells. What we

choose to put on our plate therefore plays a huge role in our health. In this section I want to

explore with you how certain foods directly impact your liver and cause NAFLD. Then, in Part

II, we’ll look at which foods can reverse the damage and support your liver to be its healthiest

self.

Diet

Sugar

The white stuff is literally everywhere, and we’re eating way too much of it. Did you know that

the average American consumes 152 pounds of sugar a year? That’s around 3 pounds a week (or

6 cups). Nutritionists agree that a healthy diet should contain no more than 13 teaspoons of sugar

a day. We’re eating over 40 teaspoons every day.

We didn’t always use to consume this much sugar. Two hundred years ago, the average person

ate around 2 pounds of sugar a year. But with the industrial revolution and the invention of

industrial food manufacturing, our diets dramatically changed.

Around 75% of the excess sugar we eat comes from pre-made foods - fizzy drinks, baked goods,

desserts, cereal, candy and ready-meals. The other 25% comes from table sugar, the type we add

to our tea and coffee, often without even thinking about it. Most of us don’t check the labels - if

we did, we’d see that even savory foods like salad dressings, crackers and microwave meals

contain added sugars.


Is it a coincidence that levels of obesity and other diseases have risen in parallel with levels of

sugar consumption? No. Not only does sugar directly stress out your liver, making it more likely

to become inflamed and fatty, it also creates the very conditions that make NAFLD more likely

to occur.

But sugars are not created equal. Let’s look at the three main sugars and how they affect your

body.

Glucose: This is the most important type of sugar for your body because it is your muscles’ and brain’s

primary source of energy, which they use to power every single one of their various functions.

Most of the carbohydrates you eat (whether bread, pasta, fruits, sweets, etc.), will be converted

into glucose. Your body then releases insulin, which signals to your cells to absorb the glucose

and either use it immediately for energy, or store it in the muscles or liver as glycogen, for later

use.

Fructose: A sugar found naturally in many fruits, but now also added to fizzy drinks and processed food

(for example high-fructose corn syrup). Fructose is not the body’s preferred source of energy,

and it is processed differently to glucose. It is not absorbed by cells for energy. Instead, it is

metabolized (processed) by the liver - this means if you eat a lot of fructose, your liver has to

work harder, and this can lead to inflammation and fatty deposits. Another thing to note is that

fructose doesn’t trigger the release of leptin, which is a hormone that regulates energy intake and

expenditure - this has led some scientists to be concerned that high intakes of fructose can disrupt

hunger signals and lead to over-eating - and this again links to NAFLD since being overweight

increases your risk.

Sucrose:

Also known as table sugar, which is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. Sucrose is a di-

saccharide (translated as two-sugars). That means it is made up of one molecule of glucose and

one molecule of fructose. When consumed, your body breaks it down into glucose and fructose.

Insulin is released and signals to your cells to use the glucose for its primary source of energy,

while storing the excess fructose as fat.

So it seems that fructose is the sugar to watch out for. Worryingly, it happens to be a key

component of many of the foods we consume in high quantities. But the good news is that with

some key changes, we can dramatically reduce how much sugar we eat, and remove this primary

liver stressor from our lives - you’ll discover how in Part II.


Sugar and liver fat

The fact sugar, and in particular fructose, can increase fat in the liver, has been established for

centuries - since ancient Rome. The famous Roman chef, Marcus Apicius, would make the

delicacy fois gras (which translates to“fatty liver”) by feeding geese dates and honey (both of

which are high in fructose). What we’re doing now is basically making our own livers fatty by

over-consuming fructose from high fructose corn syrup and sucrose.

This can also happen in the absence of weight-gain, and even if you’re on a calorie restricted

diet. In one study, scientists found that a low-calorie diet that is high in sugar caused fatty liver to

develop. And this finding is worrying when you consider that many diet foods are high in sugar.

Researchers from the University of Florida found that patients with NAFLD consumed 2 to 3

times more fructose-sweetened drinks than patients without NAFLD. The more of these drinks

are consumed, the more likely it is that fatty liver will develop.

One clinical study split overweight patients into four groups and gave them either regular

(fructose-sweetened) cola, diet cola, semi-skimmed milk or water to drink every day. After six

months, the regular cola group had significantly higher liver fat, visceral fat and cholesterol than

the other groups. If you’re drinking fizzy drinks every day, you are putting yourself at risk of

fatty liver. But you can reverse this. In a study by the University of California, scientists noted

that a reduction in fructose over just 9 days reduced factors of metabolic syndrome such as blood

cholesterol, insulin resistance and blood pressure, as well as reducing fat in the liver by 7%. If

that’s what can happen in just 9 days, imagine what long-term diet changes can do!

Two other things that fructose does is stimulate de novo lipogenesis (this term means the

conversion of excess carbohydrates into fat) and block hepatic fatty acid oxidation (fat oxidation

means the conversion of fat into energy). So here you have an ingredient that not only triggers

your body to convert any excess calories into fat, but also stops your body from efficiently

burning that fat for energy. As if that wasn’t enough, studies have found that daily intake of

fructose reduces your resting energy expenditure - basically it reduces the number of calories

your body burns at rest. The result: fat accumulates in your body and in your liver.

Sugar and inflammation

Inflammation is another factor in NAFLD - particularly when we come to the more advanced

stages, such as NASH.

As we’ve seen, NASH happens when the fatty deposits in the liver build up and begin to damage

the liver’s cells. When this happens, you get liver inflammation. Any foods that increase

inflammation in the body will also impact on the liver, and one of the most inflammatory foods

out there is, you guessed it, sugar - particularly if you eat it in excess.

There are two types of inflammation - acute, and chronic. One is beneficial, the other causes

serious damage.


Acute inflammation is a natural, positive, immune response. For example, if you cut yourself, or

you get an insect bite, your immune system recognizes that something has gone wrong, and

instantly sends white blood cells (cytokines) to the site of injury to help repair the damage.

You’ll get redness, swelling, heat and pain, all of which are part of the healing process, and can

last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

The redness is caused by increased blood flow as the immune system sends immune

chemicals to the site.

The swelling is due to extra fluids, some to carry more immune chemicals to the site, and

others to take away dead cells.

The heat is generated by the extra blood and fluids.

The pain is caused by the by-products of these chemicals stimulating your nerve endings.

On the other hand, chronic inflammation is not a natural healing process. It is one of the key

factors in most of the diseases we are faced with today - from diabetes to heart disease,

autoimmune conditions and cancer, and of course, NAFLD. Chronic inflammation happens when

your immune system is so stressed that it is on high alert all the time and constantly pumping out

inflammatory chemicals, even when there is no real threat. An example of this is someone with

many allergies - their immune system gets triggered at the slightest thing, like dust, or pollen or

pet hair, whereas someone with a strong, stable immune system won’t react.

How does the immune system get stressed? When it has too much to do. Many factors in our

modern lifestyles directly contribute to chronic inflammation:

Our diet - high in sugar, high in fat, high in artificial additives that the body does not

recognize.

Our environment - full of chemicals that the body does not know how to process.

Our lifestyle - we are constantly stressed, the body pumps out cortisol as part of our stress

response, and this activates the immune system’s inflammatory response.

Sugar is one of the most important factors when it comes to chronic inflammation. Studies have

found that diets that include a lot of fizzy drinks, sweets and white bread cause increased levels

of inflammatory markers, like C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is made by the liver in response to

stress. It’s your body’s way of trying to protect itself. The more sugar you consume, the more

your liver pumps out CRP. And while it’s doing that, it has less energy to get on with all its other

functions like filtering your blood and producing certain vitamins.

Sugar and free radicals

Another way sugar causes inflammation is through the formation of free radicals. These

chemicals are a by-product of your cells’ regular functions, but are also triggered by pollution

and certain foods. Free radicals are molecules that are missing an electron, and are therefore

unstable. These molecules go around trying to steal an electron from other molecules, which then

turns them into free radicals, and this causes a damaging domino effect. The more free radicals


your body has to deal with, the more stressed it becomes, and therefore more likely to experience

chronic inflammation.

Scientists have observed that sugar consumption triggers a spike in free radicals between 1 and 4

hours after eating it. The result: your body increases its inflammatory response, and your liver

has to deal with increased levels of inflammation. If you are in the early stages of fatty liver,

you’re taking a step towards NASH with every sugary meal.

Sugar and overeating

Sugar is a serious problem when it comes to the obesity epidemic, because it makes you eat

more.

It makes sense when you think about it. You eat sugar. Up shoots your blood glucose - the sugar-

high we’ve all experienced after eating a bowl of ice-cream, for example. Your pancreas pumps

out insulin to get your cells to absorb this glucose, and down goes your blood sugar - this is the

sugar crash we all know so well. That moment, around 30 minutes to an hour after eating

something super sweet, when we feel suddenly tired and hungry. Most of us end up reaching for

something sweet again, so the cycle carries on. In this way, we end up grazing throughout the

day without really noticing it, because we’re simply trying to keep our energy up. What we’re

actually doing, however, is feeding our sugar addiction.

That’s because the white stuff is as addictive as cocaine. In both animal and human studies,

scientists have observed that sugar creates the very same behaviors as hard drugs - bingeing,

craving, and withdrawal symptoms. This is because sugar triggers the release of dopamine - a

brain chemical that makes us feel good. We are naturally hard-wired to seek pleasure, and

therefore repeat behaviors that trigger that sensation.

Sugar consumption has also been linked with a higher likelihood of depression and anxiety.

Almost all of us have turned to comfort foods when we feel down or worried about something.

But the very comfort foods we choose are the ones that disrupt our brain chemicals and make us

more likely to feel low in the first place. It’s a vicious cycle. But it’s one that can be broken.

Sugar is basically a drug that is available at every street corner. Like a drug, it’s ultimately

damaging to health. The fact it is sold almost everywhere makes it a hard drug to give up - but it

is possible. Now that you know how damaging it is to your liverand your body, you have the

foundation from which to step away from sugar. In Parts III and IV, you’ll find strategies to stop

craving it and recipes that satisfy your sweet tooth while caring for your liver.

High-fat foods

We’ve never eaten so much sugar, and we’ve also never eaten so much fat. Just like sugar, fat

lurks in almost all processed foods - with the exception of fat-free processed foods, which are

loaded with sugar and therefore not a healthy option anyway.


Your body needs fat to survive and thrive - with the right kind of fat, you can protect your brain

health, keep your skin supple, and fight inflammation. Unfortunately, processed foods are packed

with the wrong kind: fats that trigger inflammation, free radical formation, and fatty liver. Some

fats support our health, others actively destroy it.

There are four main types of fat, and each have different effects:

Saturated fats

Trans fats

Monounsaturated fats

Polyunsaturated fats

The first two - saturated fat and trans fats - are usually solid at room temperature (like a stick of

butter). Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are usually liquid (like vegetable oil).

Saturated fats have a bad reputation because they can raise bad cholesterol in the blood, which

can lead to heart disease. But the truth is that some saturated fats are actually healthy - like

coconut oil, which contains anti-inflammatory chemicals - as long as you eat them in

moderation. We’ll look at the healthiest fats to include in your diet in Part II.

On the other hand, unsaturated fats have a good reputation because they lower levels of bad

cholesterol in the blood, which is why they’re promoted as a healthier alternative. But look

closely and you’ll see that some unsaturated fats are far from good for you.

The unsaturated fats we most commonly eat come from vegetable oils. The first issue is that

most rapeseed, corn and soybean oils come from genetically modified crops. GM crops are

heavily sprayed with glyphosate (Round-up), which has a devastating effect on your gut health,

and in turn stresses your immune system and ramps up inflammation.

The second problem is that, unlike coconut or olive oils, which can be obtained simply by

pressing the fruit, vegetable oils have to undergo a lot of chemical processing. They are not

natural products. As a result of this processing, they do not contain any beneficial nutrients, and

are highly inflammatory:

The seeds are heated to very high temperatures.

A petroleum-based solvent is added to help extract the oils.

The seeds are heated again, and acid is added to remove any wax solids that formed

during the first two stages.

The oil is treated with more chemicals to improve the color.

The oil is deodorized to mask the smell from all this chemical processing.

Another way these oils increase inflammation is their content of omega-6. You’ve no doubt

heard about the benefits of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Your body needs both these fats

because it cannot make them itself. Both of them are anti-inflammatory… but only in the right

quantities. The ideal ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 is 1:1 - you need to consume the same

amount of both. Unfortunately, our modern diets are much too rich in omega-6 because


vegetable oils (which contain no omega-3 and only omega-6) are added to pretty much all junk

foods, pre-made foods, and take-out foods. At the same time, omega-3 consumption is at an all-

time low. We’re eating around 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3. As a result, we’re seeing

record levels of inflammation. And the more inflammation in your body, the more stressed and

inflamed your liver becomes.

Trans fats are another big no-no when it comes to inflammation and fat build-up in your liver.

They come from hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. These are man-made fats obtained

by blending vegetable oils with hydrogen at high temperatures to create a semi-solid fat, like

margarine. The process of adding hydrogen creates trans-fats, which are so bad for your health

that the FDA decided ban them from being added to foods from 18th

June 2018. Foods produced

before this period can still be sold until 2021, so make sure you check the label and avoid

anything containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

A small amount of natural trans-fats (in other words, not man-made with hydrogen) are found in

meat and dairy. While still not ideal, these types of trans fats are not as bad for your health as the

man-made versions, particularly in smaller quantities.

Because of their inflammatory effect, trans fats have been linked to:

Cancer

Skin problems (acne, psoriasis)

Sterility

Sexual disfunction

Obesity

Diabetes

Liver problems

Reduced immune function

Digestive disorders

You’ll find trans fats in many foods, like:

Snack foods (like microwave popcorn)

Crackers, cookies, cakes, frozen pies, and other baked goods

Frozen pizza

Fast-food

Vegetable shortenings and margarine

Coffee creamer

Refrigerated dough products (like ready-rolled pastry)

Ready-to-use cake frostings

Red meat and full fat dairy

Just like sugar, foods that are rich in fat, especially trans-fats, cause a significant increase in

inflammation markers as well as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when there are too

many free radicals for the body to deal with. The immune system doesn’t know how to deal with

all these free radicals and triggers an inflammatory response. This doesn’t do your liver any good


- in fact it makes the situation worse, because not only do excess fats build up in the liver, the

inflammation speeds up the damage done by this fat build-up - it hurries you towards NASH.

Clearly, it is time to leave trans-fats and vegetable oils on the shelf. This doesn’t mean you have

to go fat-free. In fact, many fats are beneficial to health and are part of a diet that will help

reverse fatty liver. You’ll find a list of these, as well as a list of omega-3-rich foods, in Part II.

Processed foods

Did you know that over 60% of the American diet consists of processed foods? These are foods

that are taken apart and put back together again with added sugar, salt, oil, fillers and additives. It

wasn’t that long ago that most of us ate real food that was cooked at home from whole

ingredients. These days, most of us just grab something ready-made. It’s quicker, it’s more

convenient, and who has time to cook from scratch anyway? Foodie programs like Masterchef

have made us scared to experiment in the kitchen, made us think that cooking is a complex

process that needs to involve fidgety recipes and expensive gadgets. So we turn to convenience

foods. Unfortunately, these foods are not convenient for our bodies.

Take the average loaf of supermarket bread. It contains a complex combination of refined grains,

sugars, emulsifiers, preservatives, and synthetic vitamins (added back in because refining the

grains strips them of nutrients). Home-made bread contains whole-grain flour, water, and yeast.

The average ready meal contains sugar, preservatives, rehydrated vegetables, artificial

flavorings, salt, monosodium glutamate… it doesn’t matter whether it’s a frozen pizza or a

microwaveable spaghetti Bolognese, the recipes are designed to have a long shelf life and to

trigger our taste buds in such a way that we will want to buy the product again (known in the

industry as “repeat appeal”). Health and nutrition don’t really come into it.

Processed foods are packed with empty calories. Empty, because these calories are devoid of any

real nutrients, and leave our body lacking the essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimal

health. All they give our body is a hefty amount of chemicals to process - and these are

processed by the liver. We’ve compared bread, let’s compare some other foods.

You could home-made a simple salad dressing with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a

pinch of salt. This is the kind of salad dressing that helps your body, because it’s a good source

of antioxidants from the fresh lemon, and healthy fats from the olive oil. Or you could buy a

ready-made salad dressing, which was probably made weeks ago, and contains a combination of

rapeseed oil, milk, egg, sugar, flavor additives and artificial colors.

You could make a simple meal in under 30 minutes, for example by quickly stir-frying fresh

vegetables, seasoning them with tamari sauce and peanut butter, and serving alongside

buckwheat noodles or brown rice. You’d get fiber and vitamins from the vegetables, protein and

minerals from the buckwheat or brown rice and peanut butter. This meal would fill you up and

nourish you. Or you could put a frozen version of this in the microwave, which, because it’s

packed with sugar and made with sub-standard produce, will spike your blood sugar and leave

you feeling hungry again within an hour.


Processed foods might seem like the easier, quicker option when it comes to your hectic

schedule. But they aren’t the smartest option when it comes to your health. They are packed with

the very ingredients that increase chronic inflammation and cause fat to build up in your liver.

Processed foods include:

Ready meals, frozen ready meals, microwave meals

Crisps and crackers

Breakfast cereal

Candy

Hot dogs

Fizzy drinks

Reconstituted meat products (chicken nuggets, ham, salami, spam)

Supermarket bread

Cheese slices

Cakes and biscuits

It’s pretty easy to recognize processed foods: they have a long shelf-life, and their ingredient list

tends to be rather long and include ingredients that don’t sound like food. For example

monosodium glutamate (added to stimulate hunger - could be linked to neurological problems),

erythrosine (makes food red - linked with thyroid tumors), sodium nitrate (adds salty flavor and

pink color to processed meats - could increase risk of stomach cancer), carrageenan (a thickener

and preservative - triggers inflammation and digestive problems), sodium benzoate (a

preservative - linked with ADHD and cancer).

It isn’t just the sugar and trans fats in these foods that is the problem. When you eat something

man-made that your body can’t process normally - like artificial additives - your liver has to

work doubly hard to filter it out and eliminate it. Eating processed foods, even low-calorie or

low-sugar versions, stresses your liver and creates the very conditions in which NAFLD can

develop.

If you’re worrying about how you’ll find time to swap your usual ready-meals with home cooked

meals, don’t. In Part III you’ll get the strategies to make home cooking effortless and time-

efficient, and in Part IV you’ll find quick and easy recipes that are packed with flavor and

support your liver.

As you can see, your diet has a big role to play when it comes to fatty liver. Excess sugar, the

wrong kind of fat and artificial additives cause NAFLD both directly, as we’ve just seen, and

indirectly.

I say indirectly, because this kind of diet increases your risk of insulin resistance, which as you

discovered earlier puts you at greater risk of fatty liver. It also increases inflammation in the

body - and this exacerbates inflammation in your liver, leading you towards NASH. But there is

another way diet triggers NAFLD, and that is through your gut.


Gut health - another piece of the puzzle in NAFLD

You’ve no doubt heard about the importance of gut health for overall health. Your gut houses

over one hundred trillion bacteria (over 7000 different species), whose job it is to keep you in tip

top shape. The good bacteria in your digestive system have complex and vital functions,like

training your immune system, absorbing nutrients, producing hormones and protecting you from

disease. But they also play a role in your liver’s health.

It might be a little weird to think that you are mostly made up of bacteria. It turns out the body

houses more bacterial cells than human cells - ten times more, in fact. You’re only about 10%

human. These bacteria work in synergy with the human body from the moment you come into

this world. But our modern ways of living are impacting how well this relationship functions.

When a baby passes through the birth canal, it gets coated in bacteria from its mother. These

bacteria, along with bacteria in breast milk and in the environment, get to work teaching the

baby’s immune system how to respond to the outside world. They teach it what to react to and

what not to. In this sense, bacteria is vitally important. As we’ve seen, when your immune

system over-acts, this leads to chronic inflammation, and this has an impact on liver health, as

well as your entire wellbeing.

Your gut health is so important, scientists are concerned that the increase in cesarean sections,

bottle feeding and sterilized environments is stopping children from getting that first vital contact

with bacteria, and creating a new generation of people with weak immune systems, who are

more vulnerable to disease, including fatty liver. This is well illustrated by an animal study

which found that mice that were raised in a germ-free environment had 57% more body fat and

twice the amount of fat in their liver compared to mice that had been raised in a normal

environment.

Besides that, what does your gut bacteria have to do with your liver? Plenty. Let me explain.

One thing of note is that around 70% of the blood that arrives at the liver for filtering comes

from the intestines. It makes sense that whatever is happening in your digestive system is

naturally going to impact your liver.

Take dysbiosis, for example. This is one of the most common forms of digestive problem.

Dysbiosis happens when there is an imbalance in your gut bacteria: there aren’t enough good

bacteria in your gut to keep the bad bacteria in check. These bad bacteria trigger your immune

system’s inflammatory response. They can also weaken the intestinal wall, which could allow

undigested food into the blood stream, triggering an immune response. The result: increased

inflammation. As we’ve seen, an increase in inflammation leads to an increased risk of chronic

diseases like insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity… and fatty liver.

Symptoms of dysbiosis include:

Nausea

Constipation or diarrhea


Vaginal or rectal itching

Bad breath

Bloating

Excess wind

Depression and/or anxiety

Trouble thinking or concentrating

Skin problems like acne or psoriasis

Allergies

SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, is a form of dysbiosis. When bad bacteria

colonize the small intestine, they produce ethanol and release bacterial by-products that trigger

the liver’s Kupffer cells - this has been shown to increase liver inflammation and the likelihood

of fatty liver. In fact, studies have found that SIBO is more frequently found in people who have

NASH compared to people who have a healthy liver.

So… what triggers dysbiosis in the first place? What modifies or reduces your gut microbiome?

The very things we’ve been talking about in this section: a diet high in sugar, high in trans-fats,

and high in processed foods. These foods feed the bad bacteria in your gut, leaving your

digestive system weaker, and more prone to inflammation. The number one thing you can do for

your gut is to cut out processed foods.

Our love of antibiotics is also to blame - antibiotics wipe out both good and bad bacteria, leaving

your digestive system depleted and more likely to experience dysbiosis. Which is why if you’ve

taken antibiotics often in the course of your life, you’re very likely to be experiencing some form

of dysbiosis.

Another way you might be ingesting antibiotics without even realizing it is if you regularly eat

meat, fish and dairy. Because of the unsanitary conditions in feedlots and fish farms, animals are

given high doses of antibiotics and medications. These remain in the meat, ending up on your

plate and in your body. For that reason, eating a diet high in animal products can put you at

higher risk of dysbiosis, as well as fatty liver. The way to counter this is to eat fewer animal

products, and to choose them wisely: organic meat and fish contain lower residues of antibiotics

and are therefore better for your health.

Another factor that impacts your gut microbiome is non-organic food. Glyphosate is the most

commonly used herbicide in the world. It’s used on corn, soy, rapeseed, wheat, oats,

vegetables… It’s used during the growing period and now it’s also sprayed on certain crops after

harvest, to speed up drying. The rise of “Round-up-ready” seeds means farmers can spray even

more of this herbicide on crops. The result is food that is heavily laden in a man-made chemical

that actively disrupts the gut’s delicate balance. In fact, even at levels considered “safe”,

glyphosate has an impact on your gut’s microbiome. Scientists have found that it reduces

beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus (which help to fight inflammation) while increasing levels

of prevotella bacteria (which trigger inflammation).

It is clear that a healthy gut microbiome is key not only for overall health, but for your liver as

well. The good news is that gut bacteria is not static, it is an organism that is constantly changing


and evolving depending on the foods you eat and your environment. You can rebuild your gut

and give yourself the foundation for great health, while caring for your liver.

The first step of preventing and reversing NAFLD is avoiding the foods we’ve outlined in this

section: say goodbye to processed foods, refined sugar, trans fats and non-organic foods. It might

sound difficult, but it really isn’t as hard as you might think. The 4-week plan will help you to

create a lifestyle where you no longer need the recourse of convenience foods, where you no

longer crave sugar, and where you effortlessly include movement in every day. The second step

is to begin feeding your body and your liver foods that nourish and support health. That’s what

we’re going to dive into in Part II.

Your environment and fatty liver

It isn’t just food that affects your liver, but your surroundings as well. We live in an environment

that is teeming with toxins. The air we breathe is thick with pollutants, the water we drink is

cloudy with chemicals, the products we use are packed with artificial preservatives. Every day,

we come into contact with, and absorb, a cocktail of chemicals. It’s your liver that bears the

brunt of trying to detoxify and eliminate these unwanted substances. The more there are, the

harder your liver has to work, and the more likely it will become inflamed. Let’s take a look at

some of the most common environmental pollutants and what you can do to minimize your

exposure.

Water & your liver

Yes, your tap water may well be clean, but is it safe to drink? The short answer is probably not,

unfortunately. The following three chemicals are routinely added to tap water. They might keep

it free from microbes, but they also increase inflammation and stress out your liver.

Fluoride

When authorities first decided to add fluoride to our water supplies to protect us from tooth

decay, they used calcium fluoride, a natural product. These days, however, sodium fluoride is

added to our water - and sodium fluoride is a toxic byproduct from the aluminum industry.

The research on the enamel-protective effect of fluoride is mixed. Some studies find it

strengthens enamel, other studies find it makes no difference. What researchers have found, is

that it creates unbalances in the gut flora. In animal studies, fluoride decreased levels of good

bacteria like Bifidobacterium and lactobacillus, and increased the number of bad bacteria. The

result: dysbiosis. And as we’ve seen, dysbiosis can have a direct impact on how your liver

behaves.


Chlorine

At first glance, chlorine is a good addition to tap water, because it kills disease-causing microbes

that commonly grow in water reservoirs. But it also reacts with organic matter in the water,

forming byproducts like trihalomethanes (these are known carcinogens) and trichloroacetic

(known to corrode mucus membranes, like your digestive system). The other thing to consider is

that chlorine inhibits your body’s absorption of iodine, a nutrient that is essential for the immune

system and thyroid to function properly.

Trichloroethylene (TCE)

This is possibly the worst chemical in your tap water. It arrives from industrial run-offs since it is

used by a huge range of businesses - from military bases to airplane manufacturers to dry

cleaners. TCE is also found in many household products that get washed down the plug hole,

eventually ending up back in our water supply.

TCE doesn’t just have to be neutralized by the liver, it also triggers the immune system to

produce antibodies against its own tissues (hello autoimmune conditions) and inflammatory

cytokines (hello inflammation).

Clean up your water

To get rid of most of the chemicals in your tap water, you need to get a water filter. You have

options. If you’re on a budget, you can get a good quality counter-top filter, and use this water

for drinking and cooking.

But the most effective way to ensure your water is free from contaminants is to opt for a whole-

house filtration system, so that every tap, including your shower, runs chemical-free water.

Air pollution and your liver

Whether you live in a small town or a large city, the air you breathe a polluted haze - from diesel

engines to home heating systems to factory smokestacks. It’s so dirty that the World Health

Organization calls it a “global public health emergency”. It causes over 4.2 million deaths

worldwide. Our air contains carbon, sulfates, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, mineral dust, nitrates…

we might not be able to see these chemicals, but they are there, we absorb them every time we

breathe, and our liver has to work hard to neutralize them.

Indoors, the situation is not much better. In fact, indoor air pollution can sometimes be even

worse than outdoor air pollution, particularly in shopping malls and office buildings. The fumes

come from industrial cleaners, wall paint, photocopiers, furniture flame retardants, air fresheners,

cleaning products. This constant exposure to toxins doesn’t just give your liver a ton of extra


work, it also triggers your immune system to be on high alert all the time. And that leads to

chronic inflammation, as well as a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, lung disease and metabolic

syndrome.

Clean up your air

You can’t do much about outdoor air pollution, but you can limit your exposure by avoiding the

busiest roads. When you take a walk to the shops or to work, take the back roads. Check out a

map of your local area and change your route to include parks or at least tree-lined streets. Trees

absorb some of the pollution, leaving the air a little cleaner.

But when it comes to indoor air pollution, you can create a clean-air environment for yourself.

One way is to buy a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter, which removes 99% of all

particles and leaves your air pure and clean. If you can’t stretch to one of these, then consider

some house plants - these also absorb many chemicals and help clean up your air. According to

NASA, the best ones are:

Rubber plant

Boston fern

Areca palms

Pineapple plant

Devil’s ivy

Dwarf date palm

Peace lily

Philodendron

Spider plant

Chrysanthemums

Toxic toiletries and your liver

We unwittingly put ourselves into contact with hundreds of different chemicals every single day

just through the self-care products we use. Shower gels, toothpaste, make-up, deodorant,

perfume, moisturizers all contain toxins that build up in our tissues and need to be neutralized by

the liver. Then there are the countless household products we use every day, from laundry liquid

to furniture polish to antibacterial sprays. We’re putting a hefty burden on our liver under the

premise of keeping ourselves and our homes sparkling clean.

Did you know that in the last 70 years, around 80,000 new chemicals have been let loose into our

environment? Most of these are untested, and as yet no clinical trials have been carried out to

explore the synergistic effect of the micro-doses of chemical cocktails we are exposed to on a

daily basis.


One thing is certain though - these chemicals end up in our bloodstream, stay there, and are

passed on to the next generation. This was first noted on a grand scale in 2004 thanks to a study

by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). It analyzed the umbilical cord of newborns and

found over 280 man-made chemicals (like pesticides, chemicals from coal burning and toiletries,

and even banned chemicals like DDT). What this chemical burden is doing to us, and what it will

do to future generations, has yet to be seen. But one thing we can be sure of is that our liver,

whose role is to neutralize these toxins, is having to work overtime.

Which chemicals do you need to look out for?

Listing them all would take hundreds of pages. So I’m going to stick with a short list of the worst

offenders. You can easily avoid these by swapping your conventional cleaning and beauty

products with natural alternatives.

These are some of the more problematic chemicals for your liver and your health.

Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)

SLS and SLES are detergents, foaming agents and emulsifiers added to almost all shower gels,

shampoos, and washing up liquids. They strip the skin’s natural oils and make it more permeable

- which means your skin is more able to absorb harmful chemicals from other products.

Phthalates

These chemicals are added to plastic to increase its flexibility, durability and transparency. They

are present in almost all plastic products - whether it’s a shampoo bottle, water bottle or blender

jug. They are also used as a preservative, to increase product shelf-life. Studies have linked

phthalates to increased levels of chronic inflammation, which not only increases your risk of

disease, but also puts your liver under more stress.

Aluminum

You’ll find this as the principle ingredient in almost all anti-perspirants. Aluminum works by

blocking the sweat ducts. When it comes into contact with sweat, the aluminum salts form a plug

over your sweat glands, which then blocks how much sweat can come out. But it doesn’t just

stay on your skin, it gets into your bloodstream and triggers your immune system’s inflammatory

response. Aluminum is a heavy metal that has to be detoxed by the liver. The more of this we

come into contact with, the harder the liver has to work.

Diethanolamine (DEA)

Found in shower gels, toothpaste and shampoo because of its emulsifying and foaming effects.

DEA is actually banned in Europe because of its suspected link to cancer, but it is still on the

market in the United States. Studies have shown that DEA can damage memory and increase the

risk of stomach cancer in laboratory animals.


Triclosan

You’ll find it in antibacterial hand washes, but also some toothpastes and medicated shampoos.

Studies show that it accumulates in the body’s tissues and can lead to kidney and liver problems.

It’s also a public health hazard. Studies have found that bacteria like E.coli become resistant to

antibiotics after being exposed to triclosan. Could this be one of the reasons we’re seeing more

and more super-bugs?

Parabens

Present in most toiletries, from make-up to shaving cream. Parabens are antimicrobial, antifungal

and antibacterial, which is why they’re added as preservatives to increase shelf life.

Unfortunately, they can also deplete your natural microbiome, leaving you more vulnerable to

dysbiosis, which can exacerbate liver problems. What’s more, they’ve also been linked to cancer.

Liver-friendly personal care products

This is just a small apercu into the world of toxic toiletries. These chemicals do not belong in the

human body, so your body gets to work trying to neutralize and eliminate them - with the liver

doing most of the hard labor. We’re putting undue strain on this important organ. Only by

reducing that burden can return to health.

It doesn’t take much to swap your usual self-care and household products to versions that do not

tax your liver. The trick is not to try and change everything at once. Begin with one product, and

slowly replace other items as they run out. You’ll soon find you’ve replaced everything from

your shampoo to your laundry liquid.

Swap your shower gel for organic & natural soaps.

Try clay toothpaste.

Buy paraben-free shampoo.

Make your own moisturizer with almond oil and essential oils.

Use soap nuts instead of washing up/laundry liquid.

Use tea tree oil instead of antibacterial hand gel.

Swap all air-fresheners for essential oil diffusers.

Explore the household and toiletries aisles in your local health food shop - you’ll find

plenty of natural, non-toxic alternatives for your home and body.

You now know how important your liver is for your overall health, and how your diet and

environment can wreak havoc on this important organ. If you’ve been diagnosed with fatty liver,

or you are in the high-risk category and worried about developing it, now is the time to start

making changes.

With fatty liver and NASH, the condition is still reversible, with the right dietary and lifestyle

strategies. However, if no changes are made, scar tissue begins to develop in the liver and this


morphs into cirrhosis - an irreversible condition. Further down the line you’ve got liver cancer

and liver failure.

But even without looking that far ahead, fat build-up in the liver leads to health complications

which can make trying to reverse the condition more difficult. Fatty liver has the potential to ruin

your quality of life.

It increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. This is because NAFLD triggers increased levels

of triglycerides (fats) in the blood, which triggers the formations of cholesterol plaques in the

arteries. This narrowing of blood vessels is one of the main factors in heart attacks and strokes.

It increases your levels of inflammation. The liver is involved in various immune responses

through many of its cells - like Kupffer cells and lymphocytes (white blood cells). As we’ve

seen, Kupffer cells have a role to play in helping the neutralize toxins and cleaning up the blood.

When your liver is under stress, these cells release inflammatory cytokines, increasing not just

your liver’s, but your entire body’s levels of inflammation. As we’ve seen, inflammation is at the

core of many modern diseases. Keeping it in check is key when it comes to staying healthy and

protecting your quality of life.

Finally, NAFLD can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, just like diabetes can lead to

NAFLD. That’s because when fat accumulates in the liver, it inhibits insulin signaling, which

results in your cells not responding to the insulin. The result is a higher level of blood glucose

and all the problems associated with that - from diabetes to increased inflammation.

Pretty worrying, for a condition whose early stages cannot be felt! Clearly, leaving NAFLD

unchecked will not do. The good news is that, armed with the right information, you can begin

reversing the build-up of fat in your liver, and support it back to health.

In the next section, we’re going to explore the principles of a liver detox, dietary strategies that

keep your liver happy, and the best exercises to melt away excess body fat. After that, you’ll find

a 28-day plan to put these strategies into practice.


Part II The 3 Pillars of Liver Health:

Detox, Diet, Exercise

Principles of a liver detox

Now you know what damages your liver, it’s time to dive into how you can undo that damage.

We’ve all heard about detoxing and most people roll their eyes at the thought of eating nothing

but lettuce and cucumbers for five days. You might have heard of Epsom salt liver detox and gall

bladder detoxes, where people advocate drinking Epsom salts followed by olive oil and

grapefruit juice, and then spend a couple of days not venturing too far from the bathroom.

While there is something to be said for these short-term strategies, since they can kickstart a new

healthy routine, I don’t recommend them. In order to help your liver to detox, you need a gentler,

and longer-term, solution. Your liver did not become fatty and inflamed overnight, and for that

reason you cannot expect to reverse the condition in a couple of days. It takes time.

The other reason detoxing needs to be done mindfully is that you risk toxic overload if you jump

into it immediately. Remember that your body has stored away many toxins in your fat cells. As

you lose weight, these toxins are released into your bloodstream to be detoxified by your liver,

kidneys and digestive system. If your body is not ready for this - if you’re not eating enough

fiber or drinking enough water - the toxins cannot be excreted and end up being re-absorbed,

undoing all of your hard work.

Detoxing has a bad reputation - some people believe that it’s a fad, a trendy buzzword used to

sell green powders and weird beauty treatments. In a sense, critics are right when they say that

our body constantly detoxifies, but wrong when they say that because of this, we don’t need to

detox. They forget that we live in a highly toxic environment, and that our body is not a machine.

Years of working overtime eliminating unnatural toxins will naturally take its toll. The result is a

build-up of toxins in our fat cells, our liver, our digestive system. This build-up makes it harder

for the body to do its detoxifying work effectively. It needs a helping hand. That helping hand

comes in the form of reducing your exposure to toxins, and choosing foods and supplements that

support your body’s natural ability to detox.

I mentioned earlier in the book that your body has six main detox pathways:

Liver

Kidneys

Lungs


Colon

Skin

Lymph system

We’ve seen how the liver works, so let’s take a quick look at the other five - getting all of these

working optimally will help your body to detox, ease the burden on your liver, and help your

liver to heal.

Kidneys

Once the liver has filtered the blood and turned toxins from fat-soluble to water-soluble, the

kidneys flush them out in urine. That’s why it’s very important to make sure you drink plenty of

fluids when you start a detox as this helps the kidneys to eliminate waste. If you are dehydrated,

water soluble toxins end up being reabsorbed by the body and have to be processed again by the

liver.

Lungs

Your lungs filter out air-born toxins, like fumes, mold, allergens and CO2. They naturally cleanse

themselves every time you inhale and exhale deeply. Your body goes into detox and clean-up

mode while you sleep. Use salt lamps, a HEPA filter or an essential oil vaporizer before you go

to bed to kickstart this detox pathway. Practicing deep breathing meditations also helps.

Colon

As we’ve seen, your digestive system is a key part of liver health. What’s more, it eliminates

toxins that are processed by the liver as solid waste (feces). Your liver turns some fat-soluble

toxins into bile, which is then sent to the digestive system. It is essential for your digestive

system to be able to quickly eliminate these. If you are constipated, toxins linger in your colon

and end up being reabsorbed. You can help avoid this by drinking plenty of fluids, increasing

your fiber intake, and improving your gut bacteria balance.

Skin

Your skin is your largest living organ, it is constantly exchanging oxygen and waste with your

environment. It eliminates toxins through sweat, which is why exercise is a vital part of detoxing.

A good way to get this detox pathway going is to go to saunas or steam rooms which help to

draw out sweat and toxins. These two practices also improve the appearance of your skin by

clearing blocked pores - bonus!


Lymphatic system

Your lymphatic system mirrors your blood circulation system. It removes toxins, bacteria and

cellular byproducts from your body. That’s why when you are sick, your lymph nodes (these are

located throughout the body, around your head and neck, groin and armpits) can be tender while

they clear the infection. While your circulatory system is pumped by your heart, your lymph

system doesn’t have anything to move it around - you have to give it a helping hand. You can do

this by body-brushing, exercising, using a rebounder, or getting a regular massage.

The four stages of detoxing

For detoxing to become part of your life and to be effective in the long-term, it needs to be done

in stages and needs to support all six detox pathways.

I call the first stage the Clean Up Stage: you clean up your diet and environment by avoiding the

main culprits when it comes to fatty liver: refined sugars, processed foods, chemical-laden

products. You also focus on hydration, proper sleep, and begin incorporating movement and

lymphatic massage into your routine.

In the second stage, you recalibrate, or reset, your body. Here, you’re rebalancing your body’s

chemistry and boosting your detoxification pathways. You do this by adding foods that support

your liver and digestive system:

Cruciferous vegetables and sulfur rich foods - these foods support your liver’s

detoxification processes and replenish your glutathione stores.

Antioxidants and phytochemicals - these neutralize free radicals in the liver and all your

cells (which is especially important as you get rid of your body’s toxin stores).

Extra fiber and probiotics - which helps your digestive system to usher out all those

toxins and begins to replenish your gut’s good bacteria.

In the third stage, you go intensive. Here, you knuckle down and eat super clean for a week,

focusing on smoothies, vegetable broths, salads, and add supplements to assist in the detoxing.

Finally, the fourth stage is all about maintenance and long-term goals - because after all, no one

wants to be stuck just drinking smoothies for the rest of their life. Food is a huge part of our

culture, there are few occasions where food is not involved - family get togethers, celebrations,

lunches with friends. To keep your liver healthy long-term, you need to be able to stick to a

healthy diet. And the only way we can stick to a healthy diet is if we make it enjoyable. This

stage is all about finding joy, and finding your groove, in healthy food.

If you apply these principles to your life, you can reverse fatty liver, detoxify your body, and feel

better than you have in years. The 28-day plan in the next section will help you get started on this

journey.


Liver-loving foods

So what foods love your liver? Which ones help it to function at its peak? Cruciferous

vegetables, sulfur rich foods, antioxidant-rich foods, complex carbohydrates, fiber and healthy

fats. Let’s look at each one in detail.

Cruciferous veg:

Cruciferous vegetables contain compounds that boost your liver’s own detoxification enzymes,

which means they help it to work more effectivelyand protect it from damage.

A study examining the effect of sulforaphane (found in broccoli sprouts) on fatty liver found that

it improves liver enzyme levels while decreasing oxidative stress. In an animal study, scientists

found that sulforaphane prevented liver failure.

Cruciferous vegetables have been found to up-regulate CYP1 enzymes - these enzymes are

responsible for metabolizing and neutralizing carcinogenic substances, pharmaceuticals and

environmental toxins. This means cruciferous vegetables help your liver to get rid of the

unwanted substances you encounter in your normal day-to-day.

List of cruciferous vegetables:

Broccoli

Broccoli sprouts

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage (red or white)

Collard greens

Mustard greens

Kale

Bok choy

Swiss chard and rainbow chard

Cauliflower

Watercress

Turnips

Rutabaga

Radishes

Sulfur-rich foods:

Sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in the human body, and has a role in detoxification

because it is a component of glutathione. Your liver would not be able to make glutathione

without sulfur.


Sulfur is found in two amino acids: methionine and cysteine. You’ll find it in animal foods like

beef, poultry and fish. However, reducing your consumption of meat and fish is a good idea

when you are trying to detox and support your liver, because these foods can contain residues of

animal medication and pesticides that your body has to work hard to eliminate.

Thankfully there are plenty of plant sources of sulfur. Cruciferous vegetables contain some

sulfur. Allium vegetables contain sulfur in the form of organosulfur compounds. These

compounds are antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting.

They are well worth adding to your diet - which is pretty easy because they are packed with

flavor too.

List of allium vegetables and sulfur-rich foods:

Garlic

Onions

Shallots

Scallions

Leeks

Chives

Beef

Poultry

Fish

Eggs

Antioxidant-rich foods:

Antioxidants basically do what their name implies - they stop oxidation. Oxidation happens as a

natural part of our cellular function, or if the body is dealing with too many free radicals from

environmental toxins and a poor diet. As you saw earlier, a free radical is an unstable molecule

with only one electron, which goes around trying to steal an electron from neighboring

molecules and creating a cascade of cellular damage. Antioxidants are able to donate an electron,

thereby stabilizing and neutralizing free radicals before they can do any more harm, and helping

the body to get rid of them.

Studies have shown that a diet high in antioxidants helps you live longer and live healthier.

That’s because aging is in part caused by free radicals, and antioxidants help to neutralize these,

preventing cellular damage and premature aging.

You’ll find antioxidants in all vegetables and fruits. The brighter the color, the more antioxidants

they contain. It’s a good idea to eat as many different colored fruits and vegetables as you can so

that you get a wide variety of different antioxidants. That said, two of them deserve a special

mention for their liver-supporting properties: resveratrol and quercetin. You can find these in

supplement form, however it tends to be better to obtain nutrients from whole food sources rather

than in pill form. That said, good quality supplements can really boost a healthy diet. Make sure

you choose organic food-grown supplements over lab-made synthetic ones.


Resveratrol:

In a systematic review of scientific literature on the effect of resveratrol on liver disease,

researchers found clear evidence of its benefits. Not only does it reduce the amount of fat build-

up in the liver, it also decreases liver fibrosis, protects the liver against oxidative damage, and

kills liver cancer cells.

Resveratrol-rich foods:

Grapes

Peanuts

Cacao

Pistachios

Blueberries

Cranberries

Quercetin:

Found in the pigment of many fruits and vegetables, quercetin has powerful antioxidant

properties that help your body to fight inflammation and therefore protect you against disease.

Scientists have also found that it has a protective effect on the liver. In a recent animal study,

they observed that quercetin dramatically improved liver inflammation by reducing certain

inflammatory markers.

Quercetin-rich foods:

Capers

Red onions

Dark red or blue fruits (blueberries, cranberries, grapes, blackcurrants, apples, plums, cherries)

Red leaf lettuce

Asparagus

Spinach

Sweet peppers

Sugar snap peas

Kale

Broccoli

To really give your liver a boost, eat daily:

2 portions of cruciferous vegetables

1 portion of allium vegetables

2-4 servings of resveratrol and quercetin-rich foods

2-4 servings of anti-oxidant-rich foods

In Part IV, you’ll find recipe ideas to include these liver-supporting foods into your diet


Carbs: role, benefits, and how to choose the best ones

These days, going low-carb is pretty trendy. Every other person is on a keto diet - where you

restrict your carbohydrate intake in favor of high-fat and high-protein foods. While this diet can

deliver rapid weight loss and can be useful to treat certain conditions like epilepsy, it is not

recommended for people with fatty liver because eating lots of high-fat foods can exacerbate fat

build-up in the liver.

Another reason I don’t recommend keto is that it isn’t practical or sustainable. Long-term,

severely restricting carbohydrates can lead to nutrient deficiencies, because you have to leave

many healthy vegetables off your plate. It is also difficult to maintain, especially in social

situations. For your journey to complete wellbeing to be successful, we need to make it as easy

as possible. Eliminating food groups from your diet leaves out key nutrients, tends to remove the

pleasure element from eating, and makes it more likely that you will end up binging on the

forbidden food.

Carbohydrates are not evil. The trick is choosing the right ones. As we saw earlier, refined

carbohydrates, like sugar, spike your blood glucose levels, force your body to produce a lot of

insulin, eventually make your cells resistant to insulin and take you a step closer to diabetes.

Excess sugar in the diet is also one of the main factors in fatty liver. But do all carbohydrates

have the same effect? No.

There are two main categories of carbohydrate, and these can be further broken down into

groups:

Simple carbohydrates:

o Sugars naturally in fruits (fructose) and milk (lactose).

o Sugars that are added to foods (high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave syrup, cane

sugar, etc.).

o Refined foods (white flour, white pasta, white rice etc.). These are made from

flours that have had the fiber removed, leaving just simple carbs that are

processed by the body like sugar.

Complex carbohydrates:

o Starch - found in whole grains, beans and root vegetables.

o Fiber - found in plant foods like vegetables, grains, beans and lentils.

Our modern diets are very high in simple carbohydrates. The resulting blood glucose is too much

for the body to deal with, so it converts it into fat (body fat and liver fat). There’s a reason we

turn to these foods time and time again. They are comforting. Whether it’s a bar of milk

chocolate, a slice of cake, a bowl of ice-cream or a big plate of pasta, we turn to these foods after

a bad day at work, an argument, or simply when we’re feeling sad. The problem is that this

comfort is short-lived. The long-term effects of a diet high in refined carbohydrates are higher

weight, increased body fat, more frequent depression or mood-swings, and low self-esteem - all

of which are more likely to make you feel sad or stressed and send you running back to the very

foods that exacerbate the problem.


Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, can be comforting while also delivering a healthy

dose of soluble fiber (which helps keep you full) and insoluble fiber (which feeds the good

bacteria in your colon). Fiber is essential for your digestive system to be able to eliminate all the

toxins that your liver sends to it. It also helps you lose weight, manage your appetite, and protect

you from bowel cancer.

When it comes to liver health, fiber helps to reduce hepatic fat content. In a study conducted by

the American Heart Association and the University of Navarra, scientists looked at the effects of

fiber on obese patients with liver damage. After six months, the participants following a high-

fiber diet (over 8.8 grams a day) showed improvement in their fatty liver index and liver

function. This was particularly observed in those who consumed a lot of fiber from fruit. This is

interesting, as you’ll no doubt remember that fruit is high in fructose, which is implicated in fatty

liver. It’s all about which fruits you choose. Berries are the best option as they contain the least

sugar and the most insoluble fiber.

Most plant foods contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, but tend to be richer in one than the

other. It’s easy to tell them apart. Soluble fiber absorbs water and turns into a gel-like substance,

while insoluble fiber doesn’t. Think what happens when you add water to oatmeal (soluble

fiber), or kale (insoluble fiber).

Soluble fiber:

This fiber soaks up water as it passes through your digestive system, adding bulk to your stools

and making them easier to pass. This way, it prevents constipation (as long as you’re drinking

enough water, of course).

While it passes in your digestive system, soluble fiber attaches to cholesterol and escorts it out of

the body - this helps to reduce your cholesterol levels and can therefore prevent the build-up of

fat in your liver, while also reducing your risk of heart disease.

Even though soluble fiber comes from foods that contain carbohydrates, your body doesn’t

absorb it, which means it doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes. This reduces your risk of insulin

resistance and diabetes. Because it takes longer to digest than simple carbohydrates, you feel

fuller for longer, so you’re less likely to snack between meals.

You’ll find soluble fiber in:

Oatmeal

Flax seeds

Chia seeds

Nuts and seeds

Beans

Fruits and vegetables


Insoluble fiber

Found in the skin and seeds of fruits and vegetables - so it’s a good idea to eat your peels

(another great reason to make sure you buy organic!) - as well as wholegrains like brown rice.

Just like soluble fiber, insoluble fiber keeps you fuller for longer, helping you to manage your

appetite and avoid overeating. Eating plenty of insoluble fiber keeps your bowl movements

regular and helps to ensure any toxins are quickly eliminated. Insoluble fiber is a prebiotic,

which means it feeds the good bacteria in your colon, helping you to maintain a healthy gut.

You’ll find insoluble fiber in:

Whole grains (brown rice, wheat bran, millet, amaranth)

Root vegetables (beetroot, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes)

Cucumbers, zucchini, celery

Beans and lentils

Nuts and seeds

Fruits with edible seeds (papaya, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, apples,

blackberries)

Choosing the best fats for health

Earlier we saw how trans fats and some vegetable oils affect your health, increase your risk of

fatty liver, and are a factor in chronic disease and inflammation. Yes, some fats are bad. But not

all of them.

It is interesting to note that as the fat content of our diets has increased, so too has our phobia of

fat. It was in the 80’s that this really took off, with doctors advocating low-fat or even fat-free

diets as the answer to heart disease and obesity. In response, food manufacturers and the diet

industry began pumping out pre-made foods that answered this growing need. They replaced the

fat content with sugar. This enabled them to claim the food was fat-free and therefore “healthy”

but going fat-free is actually pretty terrible for your health.

We need fat. The membrane of every single cell in our body is made up of fat. Our brain is

around 60% fat. Some of the key vitamins are fat-soluble (Vitamins A, D, E and K) - which

means our body cannot absorb them without fat. Most of those who have tried low-fat or fat-free

diets have experienced brain fog, depression, and mood swings. Not to mention weight loss that

is short-lived.

Remember Diane? She would crash-diet before every holiday, going fat-free for 2 weeks to lose

a few pounds and feel better in her swimsuit. She told me how she would dread those two weeks.

The week before she would head to the supermarket and stock up on fat-free shakes and snacks,

and almost lock herself away to stick to her diet. Yes, she’d lose on average 5 to 8 pounds. “But

lord help anyone who had to deal with me during that time. After just a couple of days, I would

snap at the slightest thing. My work suffered because I struggled to concentrate. After the first


week, all I wanted was a cheese sandwich. I’d hang on because I knew that the second I was on

holiday, I could let go and eat all my favorite foods. Obviously, I’d would always come back

heavier than when I started.” Despite this, Diane repeated the pattern for over a decade, slowly

gaining more weight every year. When she finally tried the 4-week liver health plan, she couldn’t

quite believe she could eat fat, lose weight, and reduce the fat in her liver. But it’s true. Fat is not

the enemy.

Think of the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to be effective to treat NAFLD. It is

naturally low in saturated fats and animal protein, rich in antioxidant-rich foods and fiber, and is

definitely not fat-phobic, as it contains plenty of olive oil, nuts and seeds (which also provide an

adequate omega-3 to omega-6 balance).

So which fats should you focus on? The ones that have the most positive effect on liver health

are poly-unsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega-3.

Omega 3 has been shown effective in the fight against NAFLD. In a review of studies published

in the journal Gastroenterology Research and Practice, researchers analyzed ten randomized

controlled studies and found that a diet rich in omega-3 reduced liver fat and improved liver

enzymes in patients with fatty liver and NASH. They concluded that omega-3 could be a new

treatment option for NAFLD.

There are three types of omega 3 fatty acids, all of which are needed for human health:

A-linolenic acid (ALA), found in plant oils

Eicosapentaenoic adic (EPA), found in marine oils (algae and phytoplankton)

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in marine oils (algae and phytoplankton)

The best sources of omega 3 are:

Seaweed and algae (wakame, nori, kombu, spirulina, sea salad)

Chia seeds

Hemp seeds

Flax seeds

Walnuts

Edamame (tofu, tempeh)

Kidney beans

Fish and krill also contain omega-3, which they obtain from algae and seaweed. Given the

environmental damage caused by intensive fishing, as well as the plastic pollution in our oceans,

it is best to go directly to the source and get your omega-3 from seaweed rather than fish oils.

These marine plants also provide additional health benefits:

They’re an excellent source of fiber.

They feed the good bacteria in your gut.

They contain antioxidants, particularly carotenoids, which protect cell membranes from

free radical damage.


They contain iodine, which is essential for thyroid function and general health.

The best way to approach dietary fat is to:

Avoid trans fats (by avoiding processed foods and minimizing animal foods).

Avoid omega 6 rich oils (by avoiding processed foods, junk foods and fast foods) and

choosing oils with a lower omega 6 content (coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil are the

best options).

Focusing on omega 3 rich foods.

Including healthy sources of omega 6 like nuts and seeds.

The best foods to strengthen your microbiome

In the previous section, you learned the link between poor gut health and fatty liver, as well as

the factors that contribute to dysbiosis.

Rebalancing your gut health is key, not just to help your liver to heal, but also to support your

entire wellbeing. Your gut houses your immune system - you need to keep it strong if you want

to be able to fight disease and infections.

The main factors in dysbiosis are:

An excess intake of sugar and processed foods

Pesticide residues (particularly glyphosate) from non-organic food

Antibiotics and certain medications

Gluten

Stress

We’ve already discussed the first three, so let’s take a look at how gluten and stress affect your

gut, before moving on to the best strategies and foods to strengthen it.

Gluten&your gut

Bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits - we all love a bit of gluten. But gluten does not love us back. It is a

lectin: an anti-nutrientthat plants use to protect themselves against predators (herbivores and

omnivores that eat the plants).

Let’s take wheat as an example, since this is the one food most people have some form of

intolerance to. Wheat contains the lectin wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). WGA can increase the

gut’s permeability, leaving you vulnerable to increased inflammation - which spells trouble for

your liver.


Lectins are problematic when it comes to gut health and inflammation, and therefore have a role

to play in the development of NAFLD. There are three main ways lectins can exacerbate fatty

liver:

1. Damaging the gut lining

Lectins can bind with certain cells to produce zonulin, a chemical that tears holes in your gut

lining. If the gut lining is damaged, it allows undigested particles to pass into your bloodstream.

Your immune system reacts to these particles as it would to a pathogen, and launches an

inflammatory response.

2. Confusing the immune system

Lectin molecules are similar in shape and composition to other proteins in the human body. This

can fool your immune system into attacking the wrong thing - itself. This doesn’t just cause

chronic inflammation, it also puts you at higher risk of autoimmune conditions.

3. Preventing cellular communication

Lectins can also disrupt communication between cells because they mimic or block certain

hormone signals. For example, wheat germ agglutinin is very similar to insulin. It can bind to

cells and stop insulin from working properly, resulting in weight gain. And as we know, excess

weight puts you at higher risk of NAFLD.

Gluten is probably the most famous anti-nutrient, and is present in almost all pre-made foods.

To rebalance your gut, reduce inflammation, help your body to detoxify, and start healing your

liver, you should give gluten a miss for the first month of your liver program. After that, you can

experiment with including it back into your diet in small quantities, and see how your body

reacts. If you don’t notice any symptoms, then feel free to have the occasional bit of gluten in

your diet. However, if you notice bloating, digestive problems, swollen joints, mood swings or

headaches after eating gluten, it’s a sign you have an intolerance, and you might be better off

avoiding it all together.

It’s not just bread or pasta you need to remove from your plate. Gluten is a very effective binder,

which is why manufacturers add it to all sorts of products, from sweets to shampoo and even

medication. Unfortunately, the FSA does not require manufacturers to put gluten on the

ingredients label, so unless a food is specifically labelled gluten-free, it could contain gluten. The

following ingredients indicate that gluten is present:

Wheat protein / hydrolyzed wheat protein

Wheat starch / hydrolyzed wheat starch

Wheat flour

Bulgur

Barley

Rye

Spelt

Barley malt

Farina

Pasta


Seitan

Wheat grass

Barley grass

Wheat germ oil

You might find gluten lurking in these foods - make sure you check the label:

Coffee creamer

Bouillon cubes

Chewing gum

Crisps and chips

Processed meats

Fish fingers

Flavored teas

Gravy granules

Ground spices

Hot dogs

Fake seafood

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Pasta sauces

Rice mixes

Salad dressings

Soy sauce

Sweets

By avoiding gluten, you avoid one of the main gut stressors out there, and give your gut a chance

to heal. A strong and healthy digestive system is key if you want to detox your body and reverse

fatty liver.

Stress& Gut Health

What’s stress got to do with gut health? A lot, as it happens.

Ever had a gut feeling about something? Experienced that drag in the pit of your stomach when

you’re anxious about a deadline? Had butterflies when you’re about to meet a date? Your gut and

your brain are linked. We take these physical manifestations of emotions for granted, and that’s

because your gut is your second brain.

Your digestive system is lined with over 100 million nerve cells that communicate directly with

the brain via the vagus nerve, which runs from the gut to the brain. What this means is that if

you’re stressed, you naturally communicate this to your gut - without even realizing it. It also

works in the other direction: when your gut balance is compromised, your moodsuffers.


Studies show that being stressed or depressed changes the delicate balance of your gut

microbiome. Redressing the balance of good bacteria has a significant effect on mood, and many

scientists are coming round to the fact that treating mental disorders begins in the gut rather than

the brain. For example, did you know that most of the serotonin and dopamine (our two happy

chemicals) in your body are produced by the gut?

This is relevant when you consider just how important gut health is to your liver. The more

stressed you are, the more likely it is that you’ll experience digestive conditions, which can

exacerbate fatty liver.

What’s more, when it comes to detoxing, you want a healthy digestive system that is able to

break down and absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste effectively. When you’re stressed, your

gut is not able to do its job properly.

How do you eliminate stress from your life? Unfortunately, you can’t. I know that’ s not a very

popular answer! The good news is that you can change how you react to life’s little stressors to

remain calm under pressure and protect your gut against the effects of stress.

Quick stress-busters:

2-minute breathing meditation

You can do this anywhere, at any time. Use it when you’re feeling overwhelmed or angry.

Focusing on your breath will naturally get you out of your head and into your body, where it’s

much easier to be calm and centered. What’s more, you’ll also boost your lung’s detox capacity.

Take one very deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Breathe in through your nose for a count of 7. Allow the air to fill your stomach.

Hold your breath for a count of 7.

Breathe out through your mouth for a count of 7. Feel your belly button tighten towards

your spine.

Repeat for 1 or 2 minutes.

2-minute gratitude meditation

A great one for when you’re stuck in traffic or stressing about little things. This brings you back

into gratitude and contentment for what you have and where you are in this moment.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, feeling the breath

right down into your belly.

Mentally list 3 things you are grateful for right now, and why.

For example: I am grateful for my car, which allows me to go from A to B in comfort. I

am grateful for the sunshine, which makes this journey more pleasant. I am grateful for

my family and what I can learn from them. I am grateful for the argument I had with my


colleague because it allowed me to learn my triggers and how better to react in future.

Etc.

After 2 or 3 minutes, take another deep breath in and out, and carry on with your day

from a better mental place.

2-minute mindfulness meditation

A powerful practice that takes your brain’s focus away from whatever is stressing you towards

tangible things around you. This takes you out of the feeling of anxiety, which is the result of

thoughts, and back into a calmer place.

Sit comfortably, and take a deep breath in and out, feeling the air reach your belly.

Keep breathing deeply throughout the meditation

Close your eyes and name 3 things you can hear. For example: “I hear a car driving past”,

“I hear the wind rustling the leaves”, “I hear conversations nearby”.

With your eyes still closed, name 3 things you can feel. For example, “I feel the breeze

on my face”, “I feel the sun’s warmth on my skin”, “I feel the pressure of the chair on my

bum”.

Open your eyes, and name 3 things you can see. For example, “I see the flowers by the

fence”, “I see the clouds drifting past”, “I see the building across the road”.

When naming, do so without judgement. Don’ t think “the car is polluting”, or “the

building is ugly”. Just remain in the realm of what actually is. This trains your mind to be

less emotive and more at peace.

Best gut-friendly foods

So, other than managing your stress levels and avoiding gut-stressors, how can you improve your

gut health? Through foods and supplements.

Probiotics

Probiotics are live cultures that supplement the good bacteria in your gut. Interestingly, their

effects go beyond the gut.

In an animal study published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,

laboratory rats were split into three groups. One was given a standard diet, the second a diet rich

in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and the third a diet rich in HFCS and probiotics. After 16

weeks, they were examined.

The group given HFCS had elevated cholesterol levels, fatty liver, and inflammatory markers -

which is to be expected. The group given HFCS and probiotics, on the other hand, showed better

cholesterol levels and no NAFLD. Scientists concluded the liver-protective effect was due to


lower levels of inflammation. This is relevant because it shows that even in the presence of sugar

in the diet, probiotics are able to protect the liver from fatty deposits.

You’ll find probiotics in a number of fermented foods:

Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)

Kimchi (fermented cabbage, ginger, garlic and chili)

Tempeh (fermented soy beans)

Nato (fermented soy beans)

Miso (fermented rice paste)

Kombucha (fermented tea drink)

Kefir water (dairy free alternative made with kefir grains)

Pickles and lacto-fermented vegetables

Cultured yogurt or cultured coconut yogurt

Some cheeses (cottage cheese, mozzarella, aged cheddar, Gouda cheese all contain

probiotics)

Vegan cheese (buy in health food shops)

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are food for your probiotics - they feed the good bacteria in your gut. The best

prebiotic is fiber from whole foods. Make sure you eat some raw fruits or vegetables every day,

and focus on getting plenty of vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains - this way, you’ll

get all the fiber and prebiotics you need to feed your microbiome and keep it happy.

You can also boost your probiotic intake by taking supplements. If you choose to go down that

road, know that supplements are not a replacement for a healthy diet, they complement it.

Therefore, make sure you include some fermented foods to your diet, and choose your

supplements wisely.

Live bacteria is fragile - it needs to be refrigerated or kept at stable temperatures, something

which is hard to control during transport and storage. The other issue is that these live bacteria do

not survive stomach acid, which means very little actually ends up where it needs to be, in the

intestines. Spore based probiotics, on the other hand, are encapsulated by endospores, which

protect them from stomach acid so they reach the intestine.

By keeping your gut healthy, you reduce your levels of inflammation, thereby reducing the

burden on your liver. You also improve one of your key detoxification pathways, and boost your

body’s detox capacity - another way to help your liver function better.


Liver-supportive supplements

We’ve seen how helpful omega 3 can be to the liver’s health. I want to share two other

supplements that have been proven to help reverse NAFLD, and keep the liver in tip top shape:

Milk thistle and dandelion.

Milk thistle

Of the same plant family as the daisy, milk thistle (or silybum marianum) has been used for over

2000 years as a liver tonic, to treat gallbladder diseases, and to protect the liver from poisons.

It is understood that one of the flavonoids in milk thistle, silymarin, has beneficial effects on the

liver because it is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, prevents the formation of fibroids, and

helps the liver to regenerate.

In a report published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US), scientists

suggested that milk thistle protects the liver by blocking toxins from damaging liver cells. They

also found that milk thistle helps the liver to process toxins, helping to create a healthier body

where NAFLD is less likely to occur.

You can take milk thistle as a tincture, placing a few drops in a glass and drinking it on an empty

stomach with plenty of water. I recommend doing this last thing at night, because your body

regenerates and detoxes while you sleep.

Dandelion

Dandelion, or taraxacum official, is a common plant found in almost all gardens. Considered a

weed because it grows without being planted, most of us wage war against it for the sake of

having a perfectly tidy lawn. That’s a shame once you know thatevery part of the plant, from the

flower to the stem and leaves, is edible. It has a flavor similar to arugula: slightly bitter and

herby. Cooking the leaves (either steaming, stir frying or adding to soups) makes them taste less

bitter. Dandelions are well worth adding to your diet if only for their liver-loving properties.

In animal studies, dandelion leaf extract has been shown to reduce blood glucose, cholesterol and

blood lipid levels by increasing levels of a liver enzyme responsible for improving insulin

sensitivity and reducing fat accumulation.

Dandelion also contains several active compounds that help improve other risk factors involved

in fatty liver: it is a powerful antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties, while also being

anti-diabetic. Finally, it also reduces oxidative damage to the liver and helps increase glutathione

production. So next time you pull up a dandelion, don’t throw it on the compost heap - add it to

your meal instead.


Curbing Over-eating

I want to talk about a bit of a taboo subject: over-eating. We all do it, and most of us do it

without realizing. Unfortunately, this habit can make NAFLD progress from symptom-free fatty

deposits to the more serious NASH and beyond. What’s more, overeating tends to go from bad to

worse. The more we stretch our stomach with large amounts of food, the less aware we become

of our satiety signals, leading us to eat more and more. It isn’t long before weight gain, obesity,

diabetes and all those other modern diseases start knocking at our door.

There are three main reasons why we end up overeating.

1: We’re not eating nourishing foods

As I touched on before, we’re eating more than calories than ever, while getting fewer nutrients.

When you eat empty calories, your body isn’t satisfied - it has received some poor-quality fuel,

but none of the little extras it needs to really go the distance. Sometimes it feels like many of us

view our body like a car - just get some calories in there and off you go. But your body is not a

car - it needs more than fuel, or calories. It needs vitamins and minerals, it needs complex

carbohydrates and healthy fats, it needs antioxidants and fiber. In a way, the hunger you feel an

hour after a meal is your body screaming out for something that it has not received: real

nourishment.

2: We’re eating addictive foods

The other thing that makes us overeat is a chemical reaction. Many processed foods and junk

foods are packed with ingredients that trigger our brain’s reward pathways. Sugar has been found

to be as addictive as cocaine and triggers the same behaviors as those observed by users of hard

drugs. You have a bit, it feels good, you want more. Unlike drugs, however, sugar is legal and

available everywhere you turn, from the supermarket to the clothes store to the gas station.

You’re not actually hungry; you’re just feeding a habit.

3: We’re emotional-eating

And finally, we eat out of boredom, we eat to comfort, we eat to soothe stress, we eat because we

really don’t want to work on that spreadsheet and having a bar of chocolate on our desk just

makes it more bearable. When you eat because of your emotions rather than real hunger, you

disrupt your appetite signals. If you use food as an emotional crutch or as entertainment, it

becomes very easy to overeat - after all, emotions happen all the time.

Getting your appetite under control is a key part of losing weight, detoxing, and helping your

liver back to health. These are my secret weapons against over-eating:

Eat nutrient-dense foods. Forget having empty calories. Make your snacks protein-packed

and include healthy fats so that they really satisfy you. A handful of nuts with a piece of

fruit. Oat crackers with peanut butter. A chia bowl topped with crunchy seeds.


Avoid addictive ingredients. Processed foods are made to have “repeat appeal” so they’re

packed with ingredients that trigger your brain’s reward pathways. Find new ways to

reward yourself. Choose foods that satisfy your appetite and palate but don’t create

addiction. Use toasted seeds to add saltiness & crunch, use coconut cream to add

creaminess, sweeten your foods with dried fruit instead of refined sugar.

Give yourself five minutes. If you fancy a snack, stop and give yourself a few minutes to

analyze why you’re reaching for food. Are you really hungry? Are you trying to avoid

your feelings? Are you bored or frustrated? Often you’ll find that you’re not actually

hungry. If you do something else, the desire for food passes.

Best Exercises for Healthy Weight Loss

As we’ve seen, being overweight is a significant factor when it comes to the development of

fatty liver. In order to reverse fatty liver, losing weight is a must.

Why do we gain weight in the first place? There’s diet, of course, but also lack of energy

expenditure. In other words, we’re spending way too much of our time sat down. Our lives are

too sedentary. We sit at our desks, with sit to watch tv, we sit in our cars or on public transport…

all this sitting is expanding our waistlines! And expanding waistlines mean higher risk of

inflammation, and higher risk of all the conditions that make fatty liver more probable, like

metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity.

Scientist have also found that physical inactivity is linked to fatty liver irrespective of weight. So

even if you’re not overweight - if you’re spending most of your time sitting or being sedentary,

your risk of NAFLD goes up.

Weight loss is firstly about simple mathematics. Energy in minus energy out. If you eat more

than you burn, you gain weight. These days, we’re eating a lot more calories than we used to,

and as I described in Part I, most of these calories are empty of nutrients but full of chemicals,

sugar and fat - they starve your body of what it needs, while giving it too much of what it

doesn’t. Your liver has to work overtime to eliminate these chemicals, and you pile on weight.

Just a quick aside about calories, since we’re on that topic. Calories are not the only thing to

blame when it comes to weight gain. It’s also about toxins. Your body is a clever entity. It has

various ways to stop toxins from circulating in your blood and damaging your health, one of

them being the liver. When there are too many chemicals for it to deal with, your body stores

them away in your fat cells. This means that for the same number of calories, a diet that’s high in

processed foods is much more likely to make you gain weight than a diet made up mostly of

whole foods.

Lack of movement is part of the problem, and it is also part of the solution. Scientists have found

that both aerobic and strength exercises reduce the fat content in the liver, and consider it a

proven therapeutic strategy to improve fatty liver disease.


Exercise impacts on NAFLD via three main pathways. Firstly, exercise improves insulin

resistance, which in turn reduces the excess delivery of fats and glucose to the liver for

processing. Secondly, it stops the liver from producing excess fat which then build up within in.

And finally, exercise reduces the release of inflammatory molecules. Basically, exercise has both

a direct and indirect effect on NAFLD - it decreases the conditions that make fatty liver more

likely, while helping the liver to heal.

Now that we know how beneficial it is, we’re going to explore the best exercises for weight-loss

and reversing fatty liver.

The good news is that you don’t have to drag yourself to the gym for three hours a day, unless

you find that enjoyable of course. The trick here is to try lots of different workouts to see which

ones suit you, and then incorporate those you enjoy into your life.

Exercises to reduce visceral fat

Fitness has turned trendy. You’ve got CrossFit, hot yoga, circuit training, boot-camp workouts,

Zumba classes, pole dancing fitness, even goat yoga! All this can be naturally off-putting

especially if you’re not feeling super fit or particularly confident. It’s easy to feel inadequate and

worry that you’ll be the most unfit person in the class. Many of my clients feel that way before

they start an exercise program. But within a couple of weeks, they love their new active lifestyle

and can’t think why they waited so long to start.

Take Andrew. He spent his twenties being very disciplined - going to the gym most days,

running on a treadmill and weight training. He was proud of his physique. As he hit his thirties,

got married and had children, his priorities changed. He spent longer hours at work, and his

evenings with family, so he no longer really had time for the gym. Slowly, the weight started to

pile on. By the age of 45, he weighed 250 pounds and his once toned middle measured 42 inches.

He came to see me after a routine blood test came back showing elevated liver enzymes,

determined to fight back. “I don’t want to be another statistic. I love my life, my wife, my kids. It

is not my time to succumb to disease.” At the same time, Andrew was weary of going back into

his old environment. Things had changed, he was no longer a fit twenty-something, he worried

he would look out of place among what he imagined would be crowds of perfectly toned and

muscled youngsters lifting weights in flawless lycra.

So, we started with some home workouts. I asked him to download the 7M Workout app and do

a daily HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout of between 7 and 24 minutes for two

weeks. On the follow-up meeting, Andrew was beaming. “I can’t believe I’ve not done this

before. I feel great. I have more energy during the day, and it really feels like fat is beginning to

melt away - I can feel my abs and I know they’re coming back!”. We also devised a plan where

he could be more active in his day to day. He carried on with the daily HIIT workouts. The

versatility was great because if he was pressed for time he’d just do 7 minutes, whereas when he

had more time he’d workout for 20 to 30 minutes. He made a point of parking his car further

away from the office. He took a stroll at lunchtime. He would do a round of press-ups in front of

the tv when the adverts were on.


One of his favorite activities was taking an evening walk with his sons after dinner. The entire

family had rallied around Andrew when he was diagnosed with fatty liver and everyone wanted

to help. “My wife has completely reorganized the kitchen cupboards and we cook together now -

I don’t feel like I’m eating some kind of special ‘healthy’ diet. My children keep asking when

daddy is taking them out for a walk, or a swim, or a bike ride. It’s beautiful, because they’re

making this process so much easier.” Within six months, Andrew was unrecognizable. He’d lost

60 pounds and 7 inches from his waist, taking himself to a healthy BMI and out of the fatty liver

high-risk range.

As you can see, you don’t have to spend gruelling hours at the gym or in gym classes to lose

weight. Home workouts can give you the same result, as long as you do them consistently.

I’m going to share some of the best exercises to help you burn fat, get fit, and lose weight.

HIIT (High Intensity Internal Training)

This type of workout involves a combination of short bursts of intense exercise (between 30

seconds and 2 minutes), where you’re working to your maximum capacity, with shorter rest

periods in between. Because HIIT workouts comprise of many different exercises, from squats

and planks to jumping jacks and running on the spot, they offer a great combination of both

aerobic training and muscle-building. They also stop you from getting bored, as you might if

you’re on one machine for an hour. That said, it is also possible to perform HIIT on a gym

machine, like a stationary bike or cross-trainer.

HIIT helps you to burn more fat because it leads to increased EPOC compared to continuous

exercise. EPOC stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption - basically you continue to

burn calories even after you finish your workout. The trick is to really push yourself to exercise

intensely for those short bursts - that’s what makes HIIT so effective.

Here’s a couple of examples of HIIT workouts you can do at home or at the gym.

Stationary bike (19 minutes):

Warm up for 2 minutes on low resistance.

Cycle very fast on high resistance for 60 seconds.

Recover at low speed and lower resistance for 90 seconds.

Repeat 5 times.

Cool down for 2 minutes.

Home workout (1 set 9 minutes; 2 sets 18 minutes; 3 sets 27 minutes)

30 seconds squats

10 seconds rest

30 seconds plank


10 seconds rest

30 seconds mountain climbers

10 seconds rest

30 seconds triceps dips

10 seconds rest

30 seconds jumping jacks

10 seconds rest

30 seconds burpees

10 seconds rest

30 seconds push-ups

10 seconds rest

30 seconds V-shape hold

10 seconds rest

30 seconds leg raises

10 seconds rest

30 seconds dead bug

10 seconds rest

30 seconds kettle bell swing

10 seconds rest

30 seconds bicycle crunches

10 seconds rest

If you are apple shaped then you have excess fat around your middle. As we’ve seen, this is the

most dangerous type of fat (visceral fat), since it is concentrated around your organs. Core

exercises will build muscle around your core, helping you to shed fat from your waist while also

improving your posture. Here are some of the best exercises for your core.

Core Exercises

Burpees

This exercise has the benefit of working lots of muscles all at once. Your abs will engage as your

jump back and forth. Your arms and shoulders will get stronger from supporting your body in a

plank position.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart.

Lower your body so that your palms rest on the floor shoulder-width apart, in front of

your feet.

Kick both legs backwards into a plank position.

Reverse the movement - jump legs forward, stand up and jump as you stand.

That’s one repetition.

Beginner option: walking burpees. Walk your legs back into plank mode and when

reversing the movement.


Mountain climbers

Think of these like a moving plank. Every time you draw your knee into your chest, you’re doing

a mini ab crunch. Your core has to work extra hard to keep your body stable and straight every

time you lift a foot off the floor.

Start in the full plank position, with your hands below your shoulders and your body a

straight line from your head to your heels.

Lift your right foot off the floor and drive your right knee towards your chest, then return

to the starting position.

Repeat with the left leg.

Do so quickly, as though running in place, but horizontally.

Beginner option: walking mountain climbers. Instead of running, move your knees

towards your chest in a slow and controlled way.

Kettle bell swing

Thought to be one of the best calorie-burning exercises, because it engages your glutes, hips,

quads and core. As the kettlebell swings up it will pull you forward, so you have to engage your

core - a bit like a standing plank.

Fold forward at the hips and hold the kettle bell with both hands down in front of you.

Rock back and swing the kettle bell between your legs.

Squeeze your glutes, thrust your hips forward and swing the kettle bell up to shoulder

height.

Reverse the move between your legs.

Repeat.

Lunge with dumbbells

This exercise works out your core as well as your glutes. All the muscles in your core, torso, and

back need to work together to keep the dumbbell above you.

Grab a pair of light to medium weight dumbbells and hold them overhead with your

palms facing each other. Make sure your shoulders aren’t lifted up around your ears.

Step your right leg forward into a lunge position, pause for a couple of seconds, then

bring the left leg forward and step your feet together.

Repeat with the left leg stepping forward.

Plank

It involves little movement but maximum effort as you support your body on your forearms and

toes, while making sure your body is straight from your shoulders to your ankles.

Make it harder by extending your arms so you are supporting your body on your hands.


Dead bug

A slow and controlled exercise that strengthens both sides of your core muscles.

Lie on your back with your arms extended up towards the ceiling, and your legs raised

with your knees bent at 90 degrees.

Push your back into the floor to engage your abs.

Slowly lower your left arm back and your right leg forward until both are hovering just

above the floor. Return to starting position.

Repeat with your right arm and left leg.

V-shape hold

Engages your abs while encouraging a straight posture. Do this in front of a mirror to make sure

you don’t slouch or round your back.

Sit on the floor with your knees bent in front of you.

Keeping your back straight, lean back, then hold your arms in front of you while lifting

your feet off the ground, with legs together.

Extend your legs so they are straight and your body forms a V.

Make it harder by raising your arms and spreading your legs.

The Russian twist

This works out your obliques, those stubborn love handle areas that usual core exercises tend not

to really tackle.

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your heels resting on the ground.

Lean back so that your back is at 45 degrees.

Stick out your chest and keep your shoulders back to avoid rounding your back.

Interlock your fingers and hold your arms out in front of you.

Turn your torso to the right, bringing your hands down to touch the floor on that side.

Rotate back to the center and go to the opposite side.

Make it harder by bringing your heels up off the floor and/or holding weights.

Leg raises

This exercise engages your lower abs. If you find it too hard on your lower back, put your hands

under your buttocks to help keep your back flat.

Lie flat on the floor, with your legs extended.

Flatten your back into the floor.

Keeping your legs as straight as possible, raise them until they are vertical.

Slowly lower them, and repeat.


Walking plank

This adds movement to the plank position, working out your abs and your shoulders.

Start in the plank position, with both forearms on the floor and your body straight from

your shoulders to your ankles.

Push up to a raised plank position, one hand at a time.

Once you’re up, return to the standard plank position.

Change the hand you lead with each repetition.

Keep your hips as still as possible.

Scissor kicks

Also known as flutter kicks, this exercise definitely burns!

Lie on your back and raise both legs around 15-20cm off the ground.

Keeping both legs straight, move them from the hip, up and down in a scissor motion.

Work at a pace that suits you. Slow and steady or fast - just make sure your back is

flattened to the floor for extra core engagement.

Bicycle crunches

A great all-round exercise that works your obliques as well as your abs.

Lie on your back, with your legs extended and hovering just above the floor.

Place your fingers at your temples.

Bring your right knee up towards your chest, while twisting your torso so that your left

elbow come towards it. If you can, touch your left elbow to your right knee.

Lower your leg and torso at the same time.

Repeat with your left leg and right elbow.

Keep the movement continuous and smooth.

Keep it moving

Now, there’s little point doing 7 minutes of HIIT in the morning only to spend the rest of your

day sat down. To really start shifting the weight, you need to incorporate more movement into

your day. It doesn’t matter what kind of movement it is.

If you’re office-based, then don’t stay sit down for long periods without a break. Make sure you

get up every hour, even if it’s just to walk to the water cooler, or speak with a colleague face to

face instead of using the phone.

Work out where you can add movement to your day: do you take the lift? Then take the stairs.

Do you use the bus? Then get off a stop or two earlier. Do you have a farmers’ market nearby?

Then leave the car at home and walk there instead. Do you watch TV? Then how about using the


ad break to do a few minutes workout? In 3 to 5 minutes, you could do a set of push-ups, a few

triceps dips, some squats, or some jumping jacks.

Don’t worry if you don’t like the gym, many people (including myself) stay fit and healthy and

active without going to the gym. However, it’s a great idea if you can turn an area of your home

into your workout zone. Even if it’s just a corner of your bedroom, where you can place a yoga

mat (it’s much nicer to do HIIT on a mat, you won’t slip and it’s softer on your back when

you’re doing crunches), a kettlebell, or even a few dumbbells. If you have the budget, I

recommend getting a good quality elliptical machine - these are fantastic because they don’t

impact on your joints the way jogging does, and you can change the resistance on them to

combine strength training and aerobic training in one workout.

According to the World Health Organization, the minimum needed to stay healthy is 150

minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. That sounds like a lot, but if you break it down,

it’s only 21 minutes a day. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you can squeeze in 20 minutes of

exercise into your day. For example, you could do 10 minutes HIIT in the morning, and go for a

10-minute brisk walk at lunchtime. Or you could jump on your exercise machine before dinner.

Or simply work out during four ad breaks. There really is no excuse.

If you can, if you have the time, then I recommend going beyond these recommendations.

Realistically, we need to be much more active if we want to remain as healthy as possible for as

long as possible. What’s more, when it comes to reversing fatty liver, we need to do more than

just the minimum. In your 28-day plan, you’ll start working out gently and then build up to more

daily movement so that you can start melting away the fat in your liver. There will be no

gruelling CrossFit sessions, I promise, but you will find workout ideas and different ways you

can be more active in your daily routine.

Now that we’ve covered the bases, let’s dive into your 28-day plan and make fatty liver a thing

of the past.


Part III 28-Days Liver Detox

You now have the foundations to dive into your new liver-supporting lifestyle. You’ve learned

why the liver is important, which foods and habits create the conditions for fatty liver, and which

one support and heal your liver. Now it’s time to put your knowledge into practice and reverse

NAFLD.

This 28-day plan will guide you on a gradual journey to rebalance all your body’s detoxification

pathways, help you lose weight, and melt away the fat in your liver.

Week 1 is all about getting to know where you are right now. What are your eating patterns?

What are your triggers? You’ll start adding liver-supporting foods to your diet to begin boosting

your glutathione production. You’ll transition to organic food. You’ll also set up a routine for

proper sleep and begin including gentle movement.

In Week 2, you’ll prepare the liver for a detox by cutting out liver-stressors and increasing your

fluid intake. You’ll also transition to home-cooked meals.

In Week 3, you’ll support your liver via your digestive system, by focusing on adding fiber and

probiotics.

In Week 4, you’ll boost your liver by adding concentrated antioxidants and using intermittent

fasting to help your body detox more efficiently.

I’ll then share my blueprint for keeping your liver healthy long-term.

WEEK 1

Be honest now, how many times have you embarked on a health program? And how many times

have you given up before the end? You’re not alone. Most of my clients have gone through this.

When they begin, they are fully motivated. But by the end of the first week, they’re reverting

back to their usual behaviors. Why? Simply because they haven’t taken the time to really look at

where they are right now, and where they want to be. The other thing is recognizing triggers -

unless you really know your triggers, you can’t really avoid them.

That’s why the first week is all about mindset and creating the right environment for your new

healthy lifestyle. You don’t need to make any changes to your diet other than going organic and

including at least 2 portions of cruciferous vegetables every day - this will start giving your liver

some support and boost your glutathione production.


Going organic

Organic food is free from almost all man-made pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. What’s

more, organic food tends to be produced with respect for the soil and for nature. Because it is

grown more naturally, it also tends to be higher in nutrients - particularly if you buy from local,

small scale farmers.

If you can, I recommend buying all your food organic. The Environmental Working Group has

issued two lists identifying which foods have the lowest and highest pesticide residues - so if

you’re on a budget, don’t worry too much about buying organic versions of the Clean 15, and

just focus on getting the organic versions of the Dirty Dozen.

Clean 15 (you can buy these non-organic)

Avocados

Sweetcorn

Pineapple

Frozen peas

Onions

Papaya

Eggplant

Asparagus

Kiwis

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Cantaloupe melon

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Honeydew melon

Dirty Dozen (buy these organic)

Strawberries

Spinach

Kale

Nectarines

Apples

Grapes

Peaches

Cherries

Pears

Tomatoes

Celery

Potatoes

Hot peppers


Quick & tasty ways to prepare cruciferous veg:

Broccoli:

Steam for 3 minutes and drizzle in olive oil, lemon juice and pink salt

Steam for 3 minutes and dip in hummus or miso dressing

Stir fry with tamari sauce

Steam for 3 minutes then chop into a salad with avocado, lemon juice and toasted seeds

Kale

Shred and mix with tahini, olive oil and lemon juice

Shred and add to a salad with grapefruit, fennel and miso

Roughly chop and add to soups or stews

Blend with a banana and some almond milk to make a green smoothie

Watercress and arugula

Add a handful to salads

Blend with apple, pear, and ginger into a liver-loving detox smoothie

Cabbage

Cut very finely and mix with coconut yogurt and lemon juice to make a quick plant-based

coleslaw

Finely slice and add to a miso broth

Radish

Eat raw with a sprinkle of pink salt

Dice and add to salads

Bok choi, chard, mustard greens

Stir fry with other vegetables (mushrooms, leeks, carrots, beansprouts, broccoli), coconut

oil and tamari sauce

Steam for 2 minutes and drizzle in olive oil and lemon juice

Cauliflower

Steamfor 3 minutes and drizzle in olive oil, tahini dressing, or miso dressing

Turn into cauliflower rice

Steam and cool, and addto other vegetables to make a hearty salad (chickpeas, potatoes,

peppers, carrots, spinach)

Blended with vegetable stock to make a creamy soup

Brussel sprouts

Steam for 2-3 minutes and drizzle with your choice of dressing

Lightly fry in coconut oil and curry spices


Keeping a food diary

The other thing you will do this week is start keeping a food diary. You can do this on your

phone or with a notebook and pen, whatever you prefer. The idea is to write down what you’ve

eaten (and drunk), when you’ve eaten it, and how you felt before and after you ate. This might

sound like a lot, but it’s important, for three main reasons. Firstly, it will help you identify

whether there are any emotional triggers involved in your eating patterns. Secondly, you’ll be

able to see exactly how much you eat - many people underestimate how much they eat as well as

the kind of foods they eat. When you see it in black and white, it helps you make a change.

Finally, you’ll be able to hone in on any foods you might be sensitive to. Diane didn’t think she

was sensitive to gluten until she started keeping a food diary and noticed that she experienced

headaches and bloating every time she ate bread or pasta.

When you have a better understanding of what motivates your food choices, you’re better able to

make healthier choices. It’s vital that you don’t get discouraged. Often, Week 1 can be painful

because it puts you face to face with some uncomfortable truths. You might feel shame at how

much or what you eat, and guilt for having created the conditions for fatty liver to develop.

Please don’t. Know that you are not to blame. Processed foods are not sold with a warning label,

and food advertising does not make clear the risks of high sugar and high fat foods. But now that

you know what stresses the liver, you can do something about it. You can heal.

I usually recommend that my clients keep writing their food diary throughout the entire 28-day

plan, and beyond. This helps you to keep track of your progress. You can look back and see how

far you’ve come. This is particularly useful during those times when you might have a blip and

feel like giving up.

Alongside keeping a food diary, you’re going to set up a proper sleep routine, and include daily

exercise.

Setting up a sleep routine

Sleep is vital for detoxing. When you’re asleep, your body can focus on all the things it did not

have time to do during the day, while you were busy moving, eating, concentrating, talking,

working. This is the time when your body can repair, regenerate, clean up and rest. Sleep is

under-valued. In fact, sometimes it feels like, in our fast-paced society, sleep is viewed as

something superfluous that one doesn’t really need. Lack of sleep is almost glamorized - we hold

in our head the image of a successful businessman who thrives on 14-hour work days, knocking

back a designer espresso at 4am after 2 hours sleep. It might look glamourous but trust me, that

kind of life does nothing for your health.

Many of us have sunk into bad sleep habits. We eat late at night and then watch Netflix until past

midnight, eventually heading to bed for 6 hours or less of poor-quality sleep. Little wonder that

we wake up feeling tired and grumpy, and seeking some kind of energy and comfort in vanilla

lattes, sugary breakfast cereal or breakfast burgers. Little wonder also, that we wake up with


absolutely no inclination to do any kind of exercise. And that’s a shame, because a little exercise

first thing in the morning can really set you up for the day.

This week, it’s time to take back control over your sleeping habits. These are some strategies to

help you set up an evening routine that supports proper sleep:

Avoid bright lights and blue lights from your phone, laptop or tv for two hours before

bedtime. Use the night-time mode on your phone, invest in low-wattage side lamps. A

darker room activates your sleep hormones and prepares your body for rest.

Don’t watch tense programs or movies before bed, as this activates your stress response

and makes it harder to fall asleep. Instead, try reading, journaling, meditating or

stretching.

Invest in blackout curtains. Your cells are photosensitive, which means they detect light

even when your eyes are closed, and this can disrupt your sleep.

Avoid any stimulants for 4 to 6 hours before bedtime. It can take around 6 hours for your

body to eliminate half your caffeine intake. Coffee, black tea, green tea and even

chocolate contain caffeine and should be eaten earlier in the day.

Switch your phone to airplane mode. WiFi and electromagnetic frequencies go through

the brain, overstimulate it, and prevent sleep. It’s also a good idea to switch off your

WiFi box at night.

Stay hydrated. Your body releases stress hormones if it’s dehydrated, and these stress

hormones disrupt sleep. Make sure you drink plenty of water during the day.

Create a sleep sanctuary. Your bedroom should be a haven to slumber. Invest in a good

mattress, natural fiber duvet and pillows, and choose calming colors. Use an oil diffuser

to fill the air with relaxing scents like lavender, chamomile or frankincense. You spend a

third of your life in bed, so you owe it to yourself to make this time as peaceful and

restorative as possible.

Leave your troubles at the door. Don’t bring the stresses and worries of your day to bed

with you. Mentally unpeel those layers like a cloak and leave them outside your bedroom.

You can pick them back up in the morning, if you want to.

Take deep, slow breaths. When you get to bed, practice breathing meditation to prepare

your body for sleep. Breathe in deeply through your nose, filling your belly and chest,

then exhale slowly through your mouth, feeling your bellybutton sink towards your spine.

After a restful night, you will wake up refreshed and ready for the day.

Include gentle exercise

The third thing you will focus on this week is adding some exercise to every day. I know this

might be daunting if you’ve been living a sedentary lifestyle. However, as you saw earlier,

exercise does not have to be a chore. Start small, with a 7-minute workout first thing in the

morning that includes exercises that strengthen your core and help you melt away body fat, and a

half-hour walk during the day (my favorite time for this is after dinner, it’s a great opportunity to

reflect on the day and mentally prepare for tomorrow).


Week 1 task

Take an hour or two to draw up your weekly time table. Block out times when you are busy

(with work or planned outings), and when you are free and have energy. You’ll use this next

week to transition towards home cooking and transform your diet.

Week 1 recap

Eat as you normally would, but go organic and add 2 portions of cruciferous vegetables

every day.

Keep a food diary of what you eat and when you eat, as well as how you feel physically

and emotionally.

Focus on setting up a proper sleep routine and getting at least 8 hours sleep a night.

Start adding exercise to your day with a 7-minute workout in the morning (at least 5 days

a week) and a 30-minute walk during the day or last thing at night.

WEEK 2

Now that you have a clear vision of where you are, it’s time to remove the trigger foods and dive

into cooking from scratch. I know this might sound scary, but with a little planning you’ll see

that home-cooking is quick and easy.

This week, you’re going to change your diet. However, make sure you don’t get into “diet

mentality” - this is not about restriction. Yes, you are removing certain foods from your plate,

but you will replace them with other foods - with ingredients that support and nourish your body

and your liver, rather than stress it out. If you get hungry, eat. Just make sure you choose snacks

and meals that support, rather than hurt, your liver.

Removing liver-stressors

As we’ve seen in the previous section, certain foods boost the fact content in your liver, increase

inflammation and damage your gut microbiome. It’s time to remove these foods from your life.

Go through your kitchen cupboards, fridge & freezer, pantry, and desk drawers and get rid of the

following foods:

Foods with added sugars (biscuits, cakes, ready meals, fizzy drinks, chilled desserts, ice-

cream, sweets…)

Foods with gluten (bread, pasta, crackers, wheat flour…)

Foods with artificial ingredients (if you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, then

it isn’t natural and doesn’t belong on your plate)

Foods with trans-fats (processed foods, meat products, desserts, ready-to-bake foods,

crisps, chips, donuts…)


You might also want to take a look at your bathroom shelf and kitchen cleaning products and see

what toxins may be lurking there. If you’re regularly using products that contain chemicals your

body has to work hard to eliminate, you are adding stress to your liver. Make sure you replace

these products with natural, toxin-free alternatives. You can find these in your local health food

shop, or online.

If you can, invest in a good quality water filter and either a HEPA filter or some house plants to

purify your home environment. The more toxins you can remove from your environment, the

more you lighten the burden on your liver.

Restocking your cupboards

Now you’ve made space in your kitchen, it’s time to fill those cupboards with ingredients that

will allow you to create quick, tasty meals that support your body, help your liver detox, and

reduce hepatic fat build-up. Here’s a snapshot of my pantry. You don’t have to go and get all

these ingredients at once, but it gives you an idea of the kind of ingredients you need to begin

cooking up healthy and delicious meals.

Spices & Herbs Grains Legumes Oils & Seasoning

Turmeric

Cumin

Ras el Hanout

Rosemary

Oregano

Mint

Mild curry powder

Black pepper

Smoked paprika

Black rice / brown

rice

Quinoa

Millet

Amaranth

Polenta

Brown rice pasta

Buckwheat

noodles

Gluten-free oats

Oat bran

Chickpeas

Black beans

Kidney beans

Borlotti beans

Red or brown

lentils

Black eye beans

Split peas

Mung beans

Adzuki beans

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Avocado oil

Tamari sauce

Apple cider

vinegar

Plum vinegar

Himalayan pink

salt

Baking Healthy Treats Nuts & Seeds

Buckwheat flour

Rice flour

Gluten-free flour

Coconut flour

Ground almonds

Prunes

Apricots

Desiccated

coconut

Coconut flakes

Maple syrup

Cacao butter

Cacao powder

Vanilla powder

Cinnamon

Tahini

Peanut butter

Almond butter

Pumpkin seeds

Sunflower seeds

Chia seeds

Flax seeds

Hemp seeds

Almonds

Hazelnuts

Brazil nuts

Cashew nuts


Healthy alternatives

Here is a quick guide to replacing common trigger foods with healthier alternatives:

Inflammatory food Healthier replacements

Breakfast cereals Sprouted granola with buckwheat, sunflower seeds, almonds, brazil nuts,

walnuts, coconut flakes, raisins.

Chia bowl (chia seeds mixed with hemp milk, topped with berries and

toasted seeds).

Smoothie with greens and gluten-free oats.

Bread and crackers Breads made with ancient grains or sprouted grains (amaranth, quinoa,

spelt, buckwheat, kamut).

Sourdough bread made with gluten-free grains.

Paleo bread (usually made with almond and coconut flour).

Gluten free oat crackers (check the label for added sugar).

Cheesecake Home-made cheesecake made with fermented cashews or silken tofu.

Coconut yogurt with granola and fruit.

Coffee, cappuccino,

latte

Organic coffee with plant milk (almond, oat, hemp or coconut).

Chicory root coffee alternative.

Green tea or herbal tea.

Processed meats

(ham, spam,

sandwich meats)

Organic and grass-fed meats or turkey.

Marinated tofu.

Tempeh.

Cookies, biscuits,

cakes, sweets

Homemade trail mix (mix toasted almonds, cashews, walnuts, with raisins,

goji berries and cacao nibs).

Homemade energy balls (blend dates or prunes with nuts, seeds, and

coconut oil).

Crisps Kale crisps.

Vegetable crisps (beetroot, carrot, zucchini, parsnip, etc.).

Rice cakes (with hummus or peanut butter).

Toasted nuts and seeds.

Dips Guacamole (mashed avocado with peppers or tomatoes, lime juice &

paprika).

Hummus (blended chickpeas with tahini, olive oil and garlic).

Salsa (tomatoes, minced red onions, olive oil and crushed garlic).

Chocolate bars,

energy bars

Home-made energy bars (with oats, apricots, dates, seeds, nuts).

Handful of nuts with a piece of fruit.

Dark chocolate.

Energy drinks, fruit

juice, fizzy drinks,

lemonade

Kombucha.

Green tea.

Coconut water.

Water infused with lemon, mint or berries.

Sparkling water with crushed berries and lemon juice.

Sparkling water with lime juice.

Farmed fish Wild-caught fish.

Nori sheets with sushi rice and vegetables.



Junk-food burger Organic grass-fed burger.

Bean burger.

Sourdough bun or sprouted grain bun.

Fries Sweet potato wedges.

Celeriac fries.

Parsnip fries.

Fried chicken Baked or roasted chicken.

Tempeh strips.

Marinated tofu.

Ice cream Blended frozen banana (easiest healthiest ice cream EVER).

Cashew nut ice cream.

Coconut ice cream.

Mayonnaise Blend together soaked cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast and

lemon juice.

Blend together avocado, olive oil and fresh herbs.

Microwave popcorn

Stove-top organic popcorn.

Toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Cow’s milk Almond milk.

Hemp milk.

Oat milk.

Coconut milk.

Hazelnut milk.

Rice milk.

Milk chocolate Organic raw dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao).

Home-made dark chocolate truffles.

Milkshake Chocolate smoothie (banana, plant milk, cacao powder).

Peanut smoothie (banana, plant milk, peanut butter, vanilla powder).

Fruity smoothie (banana, plant milk, frozen berries).

Tropical smoothie (banana, plant milk, mango, pineapple).

Pasta Zucchini noodles.

Carrot noodles.

Buckwheat noodles.

Bean pasta.

Peanut butter Peanut butter made from 100% peanuts.

Sprouted almond butter.

Sprouted cashew butter.

Pumpkin seed butter.

Tahini (sesame seed paste).

Pizza Sourdough pizza with vegan cheese.

Home-made pizza on gluten-free sprouted tortilla.

Cheese Organic fermented cheese.

Vegan organic cheese (like Miyoko).

Ready-made

microwaveable

porridge

Homemade porridge with gluten-free oats.

Chia bowl topped with berries or toasted seeds.

Quinoa flake porridge.



Salad dressings Olive oil, lemon juice and Himalayan pink salt.

Coconut aminos.

Apple cider vinegar.

Gluten free tamari sauce.

Olive oil, fresh herbs (basil, mint, oregano, etc.), lemon juice, crushed

garlic.

Table salt Himalayan pink salt.

Sea salt.

Tamari sauce.

Black salt.

Sugar and artificial

sweeteners

Maple syrup.

Rice syrup.

Manuka honey.

Organic stevia.

Yogurt, cream Coconut kefir.

Coconut yogurt.

Oat cream.

Effortless home-cooking

The main reason most people don’t home-cook is time. Unfortunately, this means we fill up on

processed foods which, as we’ve seen, are packed with ingredients that boost fatty liver. The

easiest way to avoid those ingredients is to cook your meals from scratch. Yes, it seems

daunting, but you can do it.

Diane was a convenience food addict. She had no desire to cook when she got home from work,

and her evenings would be punctuated by the ping of the microwave. The first thing she said to

me was “I can’t cook and I don’t want to.” Even though she was motivated to change her diet,

she struggled with the idea that she would have to create something from whole ingredients.

Everyone can cook. I think that programs like MasterChef and The Bake-off have made us weary

of getting into the kitchen, too focused on “failing” or thinking that we have to create something

out of this world. The opposite is true. The most important thing about home cooking, especially

when you’re pressed for time, is quick, simple, and tasty. No need to make a soufflé - a salad

will do!

My advice to Diane was to start small. Firstly, to change her mindset. She’d been telling herself

all these years she couldn’t cook, and believed it so strongly that she’d not even made the

simplest dish in over a decade. Every time her mind threw up the thought “I can’t cook” she

replaced it with “I am learning to enjoy cooking.”

Then, I asked her to research recipes made with the ingredients listed in this e-book, finding

those that can be made in under 20 minutes, and those that can be made in advance. It was a joy

to watch her progress. By Week 3, she’d given up ready-meals entirely. On her day off - a

Wednesday - she had cooked up a large pan of quinoa and mixed it with beans and chopped


vegetables, then stored it in jars in the fridge: lunches for the next few days. She’d then made a

large vegetable stew, rolled out some energy balls, and prepped some overnight oats ready for

breakfast. At the weekend she made a big pot of soup (for her lunch and dinner for the next few

days) and a butterbean dip to snack on. This preparation meant that meals were either ready to

go, or were ready in under 10 minutes - simply heated up and with a handful of watercress or

rocket or steamed cauliflower added. For Diane, this was a revelation. After years of buying

microwave meals, she rediscovered a love of cooking from scratch.

Take a look at the recipes in Part IV, and wander the internet for recipes that include cruciferous

vegetables, allium foods, and antioxidant-rich foods. Make a list of the meals you’d like to eat.

Then, take the schedule you wrote up in Week 1, and book in your cooking during the moments

of spare time and energy you identified. For example, you can batch-cook grains and curries so

you’ve got enough for several meals - this is perfect for when you’ve come home from work

tired and just want to heat something up. You can make up salads in jars or containers ready for

your lunches. You can make chia puddings or overnight oats in advance so you have breakfast

sorted for the next two or three mornings. You can pre-make hummus, dips and salad dressings -

these keep in the fridge for around a week, so you always have the makings of a quick and easy

meal.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of this, just remember - it doesn’t need to be

perfect. It just needs to taste good and be healthy. If you use ingredients that you like, the end

result will be tasty. The more you cook from scratch, the easier and more instinctive it will

become, until it is as natural and effortless as taking a shower. Once you start, you’ll wonder

what you saw in ready meals in the first place.

Hydrate

This week, you’ll also hone in on hydration. This will support your kidneys and help them flush

out any toxins that are processed by your liver.

Every single one of your billions of molecules is made up of over 90% water. You need water to

live, yes, but you also need it for optimum health. In fact, it is one of the key nutrients you need

in the fight against disease. Why? Because water doesn’t just quench your thirst, it is the medium

for most of the chemical reactions that occur in your body, and plays a role in many critical

functions:

Your brain needs water to make hormones and neurotransmitters.

Water helps deliver oxygen all over your body.

Water acts as a shock absorber for your brain and spinal cord.

Water helps digestion by forming saliva and stimulating bowel movements.

Water flushes body waste.

When you’re detoxing, it is even more essential to drink enough water. All the water-soluble

toxins and waste materials eventually find their way to the kidneys, where they are removed and


flushed out as urine. So you’ll want to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water to help your

kidneys do their job properly. What’s more, water is essential for proper digestion and regular

bowel movements. The last thing you want is to be constipated, because all the toxins that end up

in your colon can be reabsorbed, thereby undoing all your, and your body’s, hard work.

Exactly how much water you need depends on your weight, height, where you live and how

active you are. However, general guidelines by the Institute of Medicine suggest 2.2 liters of

water from drinks or 2.7 liters of total water, from drinks and food.

Tips to stay hydrated:

Drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning. This is when your body needs it

most. It’s just woken up from a 7-8-hour water fast, and this is the time your blood has

the highest concentration of toxins. Drinking first thing helps to dilute and eliminate

those toxins.

Fill up a big bottle or jug with filtered or spring water, add a slice of cucumber, squeeze

of lemon, fresh mint, and drink it throughout the day.

Make sure you drink after a workout. Muscles are made up of 79% water, so it’s

important that you replenish what you lose through sweat. Depending on the intensity of

the exercise, you’ll need about half a liter of water for every hour.

Have a big cup of herbal tea mid-morning and mid-afternoon - use this time as a moment

to relax and unwind.

Always have a (re-useable) water bottle with you - this way you never have to be thirsty.

Add soups and smoothies to your menu to top up your fluid intake.

Be aware of your hydration needs - if your urine is dark yellow, it’s a sign you are

dehydrated. You want to aim for light colored urine that doesn’t have a strong smell.

Week 2 recap

Keep up the evening routine, exercise, and food diary.

Empty your kitchen cupboards of liver stressors.

Fill up your cupboards with wholesome ingredients.

Start cooking from scratch and batch cooking so you always have home-cooked meals.

Eat at least 2 portions of cruciferous vegetables a day.

Drink at least 2.2 liters of water or herbal tea a day.


WEEK 3

This week, you’re going to feed your gut bacteria and support your digestive system. This will

help it to eliminate the toxins that your liver processes, and will also help rebuild the gut

microbiome, which also helps the liver to heal. To do this, you’re going to focus on extra fiber

and probiotic foods.

Adding probiotic foods

Every day, have at least one or two servings of fermented foods. Mix it up so you get some

variety. Remember, you have over 7000 different species of bacteria in your gut, so the more

variety you can give them, the more they will thrive.

Kombucha - This is probably the easiest probiotic to add to your diet. Just drink a glass

or two every day. When you buy kombucha, check the label to make sure it is raw,

unpasteurized, and does not contain any artificial additives or added sweeteners.

Sauerkraut - You can find this in health food shops. Make sure it is raw and

unpasteurized, otherwise it won’t contain beneficial bacteria. Sauerkraut is wonderful on

top of a salad, added to a hummus wrap, or piled on top of a rice cake with smashed

avocado.

Kimchi - Like sauerkraut but with an Asian twist (ginger, chili and garlic). Complements

stir-fried dishes, or can be enjoyed added to salads.

Kefir - You’ll find coconut kefir in health food shops. Add it to smoothies, pour it on

granola or fruit, or drink it on its own.

Miso - Try white miso in dressings and marinades, it has a mild savory sweet flavor that

lifts ingredients out of bland and into tasty. You can also use miso paste to make Asian

noodle dishes. Dark miso has a more pronounced savory flavor - a little goes a long way!

Tempeh - Delicious marinated in tamari sauce, ginger and garlic, and fried in a little

coconut oil. You can also cut it into chunks and add it to stews and curries for extra

protein.

Pickled vegetables - Crunchy, salty and tangy, picked vegetables are great as a side to

any meal, or added to wraps and salads.

Increase your exercise

You’ve now had two weeks of early morning workouts and daytime walks. It’s time to increase

the pace a little. Remember that exercise doesn’t just fight inflammation and help you lose

weight, it also melts away the fat in your liver. See working out as a complement to your new

healthy diet. As I’ve said before, it doesn’t have to be a chore. Find an exercise that you enjoy

and do that - the trick to making exercise an effortless part of your every day is to love it. If

you’re dragging yourself to the gym, it’s all too easy to give up because ultimately, you’re not

really enjoying it. If, however, you love to dance and enroll in a dance class, you’re much less

likely to give up because you’re doing something you enjoy.


Here are a few ideas to help you include more movement in your day. Aim to do an extra 20

minutes of exercise a day, on top of the 7-minute workout and 30-minute walk:

When you watch TV, use the ad break to do a round of push-ups, crunches, triceps

dips, or planks.

Dance to your favorite song when you get home from work - make it a celebration of

having the evening to relax.

Try an exercise class - yoga, pilates, tai chi, qigong, aerobics, Zumba…

Go swimming.

Subscribe to a fitness channel or download an exercise app and follow a new class.

Join a walking or hiking group.

When commuting to work, get off a stop early or park your car further away.

Get up from your desk every 45 minutes.

Spend time gardening.

Get an elliptical machine or stationery bicycle, use it 10-15 minutes a day (you can do

this while watching tv!).

Go for longer walks in nature at weekends.

Week 3 recap

Keep up with the sleep routine, food diary, home cooking and exercise.

Keep eating 2 portions of cruciferous vegetables every day.

Keep drinking at least 2.2 liters of fluids a day.

Eat 1-2 portions of fermented foods every day.

Add more exercise to your daily routine - at least 20 minutes (you can break this up into

10-minute chunks if you find it easier to schedule it in).

WEEK 4

By Week 4, you’ll be feeling the benefits of a healthier diet and daily movement. You’ll feel

more energized, you’ll be sleeping better, and, although you won’t be able to see this, you’ll be

reducing the fat build-up in your liver.

This week is about consolidating your new healthy habits and taking your liver detox one step

further, by adding concentrated antioxidants and supplements, and using intermittent fasting to

boost your detox capacity and fight inflammation.

Antioxidants & supplements

As we’ve seen, antioxidants are essential to help protect your liver and your body from oxidative

stress. The good news is that all plant foods contain some antioxidants, so if you’re following the


recipes in this e-book you are already eating a healthy dose of free-radical-fighting nutrients. To

add even more, and give your liver another boost, you can add nature’s original superfoods: fresh

herbs and spices.

Here are some easy ways to top up your antioxidant intake:

Omega 3: sprinkle sea salad or toasted nori sheets on your meals; include chia seeds in

your smoothies or overnight oats; sprinkle hemp seeds on your soups.

Milk thistle: drink a few drops of tincture mixed with water first thing in the morning and

last thing at night.

Turmeric: use turmeric powder to make a turmeric latte or turmeric smoothie; add a piece

of fresh turmeric to chickpeas to make hummus.

Matcha green tea: a great alternative to coffee. Add it to desiccated coconut and prunes to

make energy balls.

Cacao: process it with nuts and prunes to make chocolate energy balls. Add it to a

banana, plant milk, oats and peanut butter to make a delicious breakfast shake. Mix with

a little coconut cream and plant milk to make a warming drink.

Fresh herbs: finely chop mint, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, chives, oregano, and sprinkle

onto your meals.

Colorful vegetables: eat a simple raw salad as a starter - grated carrot, grated beetroot,

massaged kale, baby spinach, finely sliced cabbage, simply drizzled with a little olive oil

and lemon juice, with a spoonful of toasted seeds.

Eat dandelions or take a good quality dandelion supplement.

Intermittent fasting

When people think of fasting, they think of eating nothing for days on end. That is one type of

fasting, but it’s not the kind I’m advocating here. Ultimately, you can intermittently fast simply

by changing when you eat breakfast and dinner.

Intermittent fasting can be your secret weapon when it comes to health. Not only does it reduce

inflammation, prevent premature aging, and help you lose weight, it also reduces liver

inflammation. In an animal study published in the journal Nutrition, scientists gave two groups

of mice either a high fat or a high fructose diet for 8 weeks. Half of these mice were then put

though an intermittent fasting routine for 4 weeks - without changing their diet. Interestingly,

despite carrying on with the pro-inflammatory diets, the mice that ate intermittently had less liver

fat and fewer inflammatory markers than mice that ate normally.

If it can have that effect without any dietary change, imagine how beneficial it can be combined

with your healthy diet!

So, why does intermittent fasting have this effect? It comes down to giving your body some time

out of the “fed” state. For around 3 to 5 hours after you eat, your body is busy digesting food,

breaking it down, absorbing it, eliminating it… that’s one of the reasons many people feel sleepy

after a meal.


These days, we’re encouraged to eat every 3 to 4 hours, which means we’re always either eating

or digesting. With intermittent fasting, you give your body time in the “fasting” state - this

happens around 8 to 12 hours after you eat. At this time, your body is no longer busy digesting,

and it can get on with rejuvenating, detoxing and healing.

There’s no right or wrong way to intermittent fast. Some people do 20/4 - which is when you eat

within a 4-hour period but fast the rest of the time. Others do 16/8, which is much easier to

incorporate into your day. Here, you would eat your meals between 10am and 6pm, or between

12pm and 8pm, or whatever time frame suits you, and fast the rest of the time. A great place to

start is simply to give your body at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. So,

if you usually have dinner at 7pm, delay your breakfast till after 7am.

Week 4 recap

Keep up with the sleep routine, food diary, home cooking and exercise.

Keep eating 2 portions of cruciferous vegetables and at least 1-2 portions of fermented

foods every day.

Keep drinking at least 2.2 liters of fluids a day.

Include 1 or 2 extra antioxidant foods every day.

Leave at least 12 to 14 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day.

Maintaining your healthy liver

In this époque of fad diets and extreme workouts, it might not be too popular to say that there is

no one size fits all model. To stay healthy, you just need to follow common sense, listen to your

body, and find your health groove.

Now that you know what creates NAFLD, you know how to avoid it. This 28-day plan is simply

the beginning.

So, how do you maintain your healthy liver long-term? Simply by:

Avoiding the worst offenders: added sugar, refined carbohydrates, excess fats, and

environmental toxins.

Drinking in moderation - excess alcohol leads to fatty liver. This means having no more

than 5 to 7 glasses of wine a week, and not drinking every day.

Including foods that support your liver: cruciferous vegetables, allium foods,

antioxidants.

Eating an abundance of vegetables and fruits to make sure you’re giving your body all

the fiber and vitamins it needs for optimum health.

Supporting your body’s detox pathways: drinking plenty of water, eating plenty of fiber,

having regular massages.

Sticking to a daily routine that includes gentle exercise and core workouts.


Using toiletries and cleaning products made from natural, toxin-free ingredients.

Adding an element of fun to your lifestyle - this is probably the most important

ingredient. Without fun, without a little relaxation from time to time, life becomes a drag

- and it would be a sad thing to live a life where there is no enjoyment.

You don’t have to be perfect all the time, but you’ll find that the longer you stick to this healthy

lifestyle, the more second-nature it will become, until it is so effortless you don’t even notice it

any more.

Listen to your body - how does it feel after certain foods? This is where keeping an eye on your

food diary can really help. You will learn to identify the foods that make you feel great, and

those that your body doesn’t deal with too well. For example, some people struggle to digest

certain grains or beans, while others struggle with nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers,

eggplant). Start forming a relationship with your body so that you can give it what it needs to

thrive.

Of course, there will be days when you might deviate from it a little - birthday parties, outings

with friends, family barbeques, the occasional take-away. That’s fine. I’m a big fan of the 80/20

rule - stick to a healthy, anti-inflammatory, plant-based diet, but allow yourself a little leeway

some of the time. After all, rules are there to be broken from time to time - otherwise, where’s

the fun?


Part IV Recipes

SALADS

Orange, kale & cranberry salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 bag of kale, leaves torn from stems, stems discarded

─ 1/2 orange, juiced and zested

─ 1 tbsp olive oil

─ 1/2 can chickpeas

─ 1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

Method:

In a bowl, add the kale, orange juice and olive oil, mix well to coat the leaves.

Mix in the chickpeas and cranberries.

Cover and leave for 20-30 minutes - this allows the orange to soften the kale leaves.

Serve with a side of brown rice, quinoa, or millet.

Zucchini noodle salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 zucchinis, spiralized (you can grate them if you don’t have a spiralizer)

─ 2 avocados, chopped

─ 1/2 cup green olives, chopped

─ 1/2 lemon, juiced


─ Pinch of pink salt


─ Pinch of black pepper

Method:

Combine the zucchini noodles, avocado, olives and lemon juice in a bowl.

Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and drizzle over the vegetables.

Toss the salad, and serve.

Orange, grapefruit and fennel salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 3 cups arugula (or kale, spinach or other greens)

─ 1 grapefruit, peeled and pith removed, cut into segments

─ 1 small fennel, finely sliced

─ 1 small handful cilantro, finely chopped

─ 1 lime, zested and juiced


─ Pinch pink salt

Method:

In a bowl, place the arugula, orange segments, fennel and coriander.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and zest, olive oil and salt.

Drizzle over the vegetables and toss to combine.

The Greek

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 tbsp pine nuts

─ 1 small cucumber, finely sliced

─ 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

─ 1/2 cup green olives, chopped

─ 1 small handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped





Method:

In a frying pan, dry-fry the pine nuts over medium heat until lightly golden. Set aside.

In a bowl, place the cucumber, tomatoes, green olives and basil.

Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt, and toss to combine.

Add the pine nuts and serve.

Make your own salad

A salad is so much more than just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. Use this guide to create

vibrant salad that contains everything you need to fill you up and nourish your body. Make sure

you focus on cruciferous vegetables so you get your 2 portions a day.

One portion of greens:

Spinach

Kale

Mustard greens

Arugula

Bok choy

Lettuce

Cabbage

One portion of vegetables:

Carrots

Broccoli

Cucumber

Asparagus

Zucchini

Radish

Sweet peppers

Celery

Beetroot

Avocado

Cauliflower

Sugar snap peas

Baby corn


One portion of protein:

Lentils

Chickpeas

Black beans

Tofu or tempeh

Broad beans

Edamame beans

One portion of grains:

Brown rice, black rice, Camargue rice

Millet

Buckwheat

Quinoa

Gluten-free pasta

Add sweetness (optional):

Sultanas

Cranberries

Coconut flakes

Apple

Pear

Orange or grapefruit

Generous serving of fresh herbs or spices:

Mint

Cilantro

Parsley

Basil

Grated ginger

Grated turmeric

Crushed garlic

Create Your Own Dressing

Make your own dressing by using three parts oil to one part vinegar.

Oils: olive oil, avocado oil

Vinegars: apple cider vinegar, ume plum vinegar, balsamic vinegar

Citrus (optional): lemon juice, lime juice or orange juice


Seasoning: black pepper, minced onion or shallot, fresh herbs, pink salt or sea salt

DRESSINGS, SAUCES, DIPS & SNACKS

Olive tapenade

Makes around 1 cup

Ingredients:

─ 1 cup green olives, pitted

─ 2 garlic cloves

─ 2 tbsp ground almonds

─ 1 small handful fresh parsley



─ Pinch of salt

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until combined.

Add extra oil or water if you want to thin the mixture to make a salad dressing.

Basil pesto sauce

Makes around 1 cup

Ingredients:

─ 3 cups basil

─ 1/3 cup olive oil

─ 1 clove of garlic (more if you prefer a more pronounced garlicky flavour)



─ 1/4 cup water

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.


Keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Rainbow guacamole

Makes around 3 cups

Ingredients:

─ 2 avocados

─ 1 zucchini, grated

─ 1 carrot, grated

─ 1 cucumber, chopped into small pieces

─ 1 handful cilantro, finely chopped

─ 1 lemon or lime, juiced

─ Pinch pink salt

Method:

In a bowl, mash the avocados.

Stir in the zucchini, carrot, cucumber, coriander and lemon or lime juice.

Creamy avocado dressing

Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

─ 1 avocado

─ 1 lemon, juiced


─ 1-5 tbsp water (depending on desired consistency)

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.


Hummus

Serves 4

Ingredients:

─ 1 can chickpeas, drained

─ 1 tbsp tahini

─ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

─ 1 clove garlic, peeled

─ Juice of one lemon

─ 1-2 tbsp water (if needed)


Method:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until it reaches the desired

consistency. To make it super smooth, use a blender.

If the mixture is too thick, add a little bit of water.

Taste and adjust lemon or salt if necessary.

You can also make different flavored hummus by adding one of the following:

1 medium beetroot (peeled and chopped) and 1 tsp of ground cumin

1 red pepper (deseeded and chopped) and 2 tsp smoked paprika

1 thumb sized piece of raw turmeric and a pinch of black pepper

1 handful of fresh coriander and a lime (juiced and zested)

Sweet Miso Dressing

Makes enough for 2 salads

Ingredients:

─ 2 tbsp white miso paste

─ Juice and zest of 1 lime (or lemon if limes aren’t available)

─ 2 tbsp water (less if you want a thicker sauce)

Method:

Place the miso, lime juice and lime zest into a small bowl. Mix until combined.


Add the water ½ tbsp at a time and mix well until you reach the desired consistency.

Use as a salad dressing or as a dip.

Peanut sauce

Makes enough for 2 salads

Ingredients:

─ 2 tbsp (heaped) smooth peanut butter (choose brand made with 100% peanuts)

─ 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce

─ 1-4 tbsp of water (or more for a thinner consistency)

Method:

In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter and tamari until both are combined.

Add water ½ tbsp at a time and mix, until it reaches the desired consistency.

Delicious served with tempeh, or dolloped onto salads.

Toasted paprika seed mix

Makes around 3 cups

Ingredients:

─ 1 cup sunflower seeds

─ 1 cup pumpkin seeds

─ 1/2 cup buckwheat

─ 1/2 cup cashew nuts, chopped

─ 2 tbsp maple syrup


─ 2-3 tbsp smoked paprika

─ 1 tsp pink salt

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C / degrees F.

In a bowl, place all the ingredients and mix well until all the seeds are coated in spice.

Pour onto an oven tray lined with baking paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.


Allow to cool. Store in an airtight jar. Will keep for 2-3 weeks.

Rosemary crackers

Makes 20 small crackers

Ingredients:

─ 3/4 cup gluten free flour

─ 1/4 cup chickpea flour


─ 3 tbsp water

─ 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

─ 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C / degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the flour, chickpea flour, and rosemary.

In a small jug, mix together the oil and water.

Pour this into the flour and mix with your hands until it forms a dough. Add more flour if

it’s too sticky.

On a sheet of baking paper sprinkled with flour, roll the dough out to around 2mm thick.

Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into squares.

Sprinkle with salt.

Place the baking paper on a baking tray in the middle of the oven, and bake for 12 to 15

minutes, or until the crackers are slightly golden.

Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Kale Crisps

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 bag of curly kale (leaves torn from the stems)

─ 2 tbsp coconut oil

─ 1/4 tsp pink salt


Plus add one of these flavorings:

─ 1 tbsp tamari sauce

─ 1/2 tsp turmeric

─ 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F - 200C.

Add the kale leaves to a bowl and massage them with the oil and salt until the leaves are

completely coated.

Add flavoring, if using, and mix well.

Bake for 10 minutes.

HEARTY PLANT-BASED DISHES

Sweet potato hash

Serves 2

Ingredients:


─ 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, chopped into small pieces

─ 1 onion, finely diced

─ 1/2 tsp cinnamon


─ Pinch of pepper

Method:

In a medium pan, heat the coconut oil.

Add the onion and sweet potato

Cover and simmer for around 8 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the cinnamon, salt and pepper.

Cook the mixture uncovered for 2-3 more minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and

slightly browned.


Garlicky sautéed greens

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

─ 1 bunch of leafy greens (chard, kale, collards or mustard greens - or a mix)


─ 1 clove of garlic, crushed

─ Pinch of salt

Method:

Separate the stems from the leaves.

Chop the stems into 1-inch segments. Chop the leaves into strips.

In a frying pan, heat the coconut oil and garlic, then add the stems.

Sauté for around 4-5 minutes, then add the leaves.

Cook for another2 minutes, then add a pinch of salt, and serve.

Best eaten warm.

Roasted Roots

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

─ 2 beetroot, peeled and chopped

─ 4 carrots, peeled and chopped

─ 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted


─ 1 tsp curry powder (or use dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano)

─ 1 tsp turmeric powder


Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F - 180C.

In a bowl, mix the chopped carrots and beetroot with the coconut oil, curry powder (or

herbs), turmeric powder, salt and pepper.

Spread of a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, or longer if you prefer a softer texture.


Cauliflower Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

─ 1 cauliflower, broken into florets

─ 1 onion, finely diced



─ 1 tsp turmeric (optional, for color)

Method:

Add the cauliflower florets to a food processor (s-blade), and process until it begins to

look like rice.

In a frying pan, heat the coconut oil and add the diced onion. Cook on medium heat until

the onion becomes translucent.

Add the cauliflower rice to the frying pan and cook until it becomes soft.

Stir in the salt and turmeric (if using).

Delicious eaten warm, or cold as part of a salad bowl.

Roasted Asparagus

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 20-30 asparagus stalks, with the ends trimmed



─ 1/2 lemon, zest and juice

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375F - 190C.

Place the asparagus on a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the salt.

Roast for 15 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and lemon zest just before serving.


Creamy Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

─ 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks

─ 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

─ 2 cloves of garlic, whole


─ 1 onion, diced

─ 4 cups vegetable stock (use natural veg stock with no additives)

─ 1 can coconut milk

─ 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

─ 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)


─ Pinch of black pepper, to taste

Method:

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, and add garlic, onions, sweet potato, butternut squash,

cinnamon and nutmeg.

Sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the vegetable stock, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes and squash are

soft.

Remove from heat, and blend until smooth (either with a hand blender, or a heat-safe

high-speed blender).

Return to the heat, and stir in the coconut milk.

Add salt and pepper, and serve.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

─ 1 squash or pumpkin, chopped

─ 2 zucchinis, chopped

─ 1 large onion, finely sliced

─ 1 small cauliflower, chopped


─ 2 stalks of celery, chopped

─ 1 can cannellini beans


─ 1 garlic clove

─ 2 cups vegetable stock (use natural, additive-free veg stock)

─ 1 handful fresh dill (optional - or use another fresh herb like parsley)

─ Pinch pink salt

─ Pinch black pepper

Method:

Steam the squash, zucchini, cauliflower and celery for 4-6 minutes. Set aside

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the onion and garlic until translucent.

In a blender, blend the vegetables, dill, and vegetable stock until smooth.

Pour over the fried onion and garlic, and heat through.

Serve with a sprinkle of toasted seeds for crunch.

Miso vegetable soup

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main

Ingredients:

─ 4 cups vegetable stock

─ 2 tbsp dried wakame (optional)

─ 5 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced finely

─ 3 tbsp white miso paste

─ 1 cup tofu, cubed

─ 1/2 cup spring onions, finely sliced

Method:

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable stock until it begins to simmer.

Add the wakame and shiitake mushrooms, cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn off

the heat.

In a separate bowl, mix the miso paste with a little hot water to thin it, then add this

mixture to the saucepan. Stir it in gently.

Add the tofu and spring onions, and serve.


Rich and creamy mushroom pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:


─ 1 onion, chopped finely

─ 4 cup mushrooms, sliced

─ 2 cloves garlic, crushed

─ 4 tbsp gluten-free flour


─ 1/3 cup vegetable stock

─ 1/2 tsp salt


─ 1 tsp mustard

─ 2 cups dried penne pasta (buckwheat or gluten-free)

Method:

Cook the pasta according to the instructions.

In a pan, place the olive oil, onion and garlic and cook on medium heat until the onions

are soft.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until soft - around 2 or 3 minutes.

Add the flour and fry for a minute, then add the coconut milk and vegetable stock. Keep

stirring until it begins to simmer and thicken.

Stir in the salt, pepper and mustard, then add the cooked pasta.

Serve hot.

Hash browns

Makes 6

Ingredients:

─ 3 large potatoes, peeled and grated

─ 1/2 cup oat flour

─ 2 spring onions, finely chopped


─ 1 tsp paprika (optional)


─ 1/2 tsp salt


─ 1 tbsp olive oil, for frying

Method:

In a bowl, place the grated potatoes and cover with water. The water will get cloudy.

Remove the water and add fresh water. Repeat 3 times until the water doesn’t go cloudy.

Drain the potatoes and squeeze out the excess water with your hands.

In a bowl, mix the potatoes with the flour, spring onions, olive oil, paprika, salt and

pepper.

Divide into six portions, roll into balls and press down to form patties.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, and add the hash brown patties. Fry until golden and

crispy, around 3-5 minutes per side.

Coconut curry

Serves 4

Ingredients:


─ 1 onion, chopped finely

─ 2 cloves garlic, crushed

─ 1 tbsp curry powder

─ 1-inch fresh turmeric, peeled and diced finely

─ 1 cup baby corn, chopped

─ 1 yellow or red pepper, chopped

─ 2 zucchinis, sliced

─ A handful of mushrooms, sliced

─ 1 can chickpeas, drained

─ 1 can chopped tomatoes


─ 1 tsp pink salt


Method:

In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and add the onion and garlic, curry powder and

turmeric. Fry until the onion is soft.


Add the chopped tomatoes, baby corn, pepper, zucchini, chickpeas and mushrooms.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are cooked, around 7-10 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, salt and pepper. Heat for a further 2 minutes.

Serve with brown rice, quinoa, or simply top with a salad of your choice.

Black bean burgers

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

─ 1 cup walnuts

─ 1 onion, chopped

─ 1 clove garlic, crushed


─ 1 can of black beans, drained

─ 1 tsp smoked paprika

─ 1 tsp cumin

─ 2 tbsp tomato paste

─ 1 tsp salt

─ 1/2 cup oat flour (a little more if your mixture is too wet)

─ 2 tbsp olive oil (for frying)

Method:

Place the walnuts in a food processor, and process until they’re a medium crumb. Set

aside.

In a frying pan, fry the onion and crushed garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil, until the onions are

soft.

Place the onions, black beans, paprika, cumin, tomato paste and salt in a food processor

and process until combined.

Add the mix to the walnut crumb and add the oat flour. Mix. If your mix is very wet, add

a little extra flour.

Divide your mix into four, roll into balls and press onto a lined baking tray. Pat them into

burger patty shapes.

Freeze for 30 minutes to firm up - this will make them hold together better when you fry

them.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a frying pan, and fry the burgers for 5 minutes on each side.

Serve with your choice of salad.


Roasted Broccoli with Basil Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 large broccoli, cut into florets

─ 2 tsp coconut oil, melted


─ Pinch garlic powder

─ Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

─ 1/2 cup cashew nuts, soaked for 4 hours and drained

─ 1/2 cup plant milk (cashew milk or hemp milk)

─ A small handful of fresh basil

─ 2 tbsp nutritional yeast


─ Pinch pink salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F / 200C.

Put the broccoli florets into a bowl with the garlic powder, salt, coconut oil and cayenne

pepper and toss to evenly coat.

Spread on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the florets.

To make the basil dressing, place the soaked cashews, plant milk, basil, nutritional yeast,

olive oil and pink salt in a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth.

Drizzle over the roasted broccoli and serve.

SMOOTHIES, DESSERTS, SWEET SNACKS

Green detox

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 cucumbers

─ 2 apples

─ 1 banana

─ 1 lemon or lime (juice only)


─ 1/2-inch piece ginger root

─ Small handful kale leaves

─ 1/4 cup water

Method:

Place all the ingredients in your high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy immediately.

Add ice cubes instead of water for a very cold drink.

Morning detox

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 beetroot

─ 1 apple

─ 1 banana

─ 1/2-inch piece fresh turmeric

─ 1/2 cup water or almond/hemp/oat/rice milk

Method:

Place all ingredients in your high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy immediately.


Chocolate peanut butter shake

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 bananas

─ 2 tbsp peanut butter

─ 2 tbsp oats

─ 2 tbsp cacao powder

─ 1 1/2 cups almond/oat/rice/hemp milk


Method:


Enjoy immediately.


Berry smoothie

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 cup berries or frozen berries

─ 1 apple

─ 1 beetroot

─ 1/2 orange (juice only)

─ 1 tbsp chia seeds

─ 1 cup water

Method:


Enjoy immediately.

Peanut butter banana ice cream

Serves 4

Ingredients:

─ 3 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen

─ 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

Method:

Add the frozen bananas to your food processor and process. It will be noisy but don’t

worry. Once the bananas are broken into small pieces, add the peanut butter and process.

You will have to stop often to scrape down the sides. after a few minutes, the mixture

will be smooth and ice-cream-like.

Scoop into bowls and serve with crushed nuts or dark chocolate shavings.


Coconut mousse

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 1 can of coconut milk (chilled in the fridge for at least 2 hours)

─ 1 pinch of cinnamon

─ 1 pinch of pink salt

─ 1 tbsp stevia (to taste)

Method:

Skim the top layer of coconut milk from the can, leaving the water behind, and place in a

medium bowl.

Use a mixer to beat the coconut cream into thicker consistency.

Carefully fold in the cinnamon, salt and stevia.

Spoon into two bowls and enjoy.

Variation: add 1 tbsp raw cacao powder to make a chocolate mousse.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:

─ 2 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

─ 1/8 cup coconut oil, melted

─ 3 tbsp maple syrup or rice syrup

─ 1 tsp cinnamon

─ 1 tsp vanilla extract

─ 1/2 cup ground almonds

─ 1 1/2 rolled oats

─ 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped

─ 3 tbsp plant milk (almond, rice, hemp…)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.

Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. If it’s too dry, add a splash more

plant milk.


Leave the mixture for 10 minutes, this allows the oats to soak through and will bind the

mixture better.

Take a heaped tablespoon of mixture and form a patty with your hands - place it on a

baking paper lined baking tray.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

Coconut energy balls (4 flavors)

Makes around 10 balls

Ingredients:

─ 1 cup desiccated coconut

─ 2 tbsp pea protein powder or hemp protein powder (optional)

─ 1/2 cup prunes, pitted

─ 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

Flavors:

─ 1/2 cup freeze dried raspberries

─ 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

─ 1 tbsp matcha green tea powder

─ 1 tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of black pepper

Method:

In a food processor, place the coconut, protein powder and your choice of flavor and

pulse to combine.

With the blades running, add the dates one at a time, and the coconut oil.

Process until the mixture is crumbly and sticks together when you squeeze it.

Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture into your hand, squeeze together and roll into a ball.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Set in the fridge.

These keep in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.


Autumn fruit & chia seed compote

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 apples, peeled and chopped

─ 1 pear, peeled and chopped

─ 1 cup frozen berries

─ 1/2 cup raisins or sultanas

─ 1/3 cup water

─ 1 tsp cinnamon

─ 1 lemon or orange, zested (optional)

─ 2 tbsp chia seeds

Method:

In a saucepan, place the apples, pear, berries and water and bring to a simmer.

Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the fruit has started breaking down slightly.

Stir in the cinnamon, raisins and orange/lemon zest.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chia seeds.

Stir ever minute or so, until the mixture has cooled and thickened.

Serve over porridge or coconut yogurt.

Dark chocolate truffles

Makes around 20

Ingredients:

─ 2 cups dark chocolate

─ 1 cup coconut cream

─ 1/4 cup raw cacao powder (for rolling)

Method:

Chop the dark chocolate, place it in a bowl.

In a saucepan, gently heat the coconut cream to nearly simmering. Be careful not to boil

it.

Pour the coconut cream over the chocolate and leave for a couple of minutes to melt.

Mix this together into a chocolate sauce.


Place in the fridge to set for around 3 hours.

Once set, use a spoon (an ice cream scoop works well) to scoop out even amounts and

roll them into a ball. Drop into the cacao powder to coat, then place onto a plate or baking

tray lined with baking paper. Repeat until all the mixture is rolled.

Store in the fridge.

You can also store in the freezer and enjoy frozen chocolate truffles!

Banana porridge

Serves 2

Ingredients:

─ 2 bananas

─ 1 cup gluten free oats

─ 3 cups plant milk (almond, hemp, rice…)

Method:

In a bowl, mash the bananas.

Place the mashed banana and oats in a saucepan with the milk.

Cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes.

If it’s too thick, add a little water or milk.

Spoon into a bowl and top with fruit, toasted seeds, or peanut butter.


Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve now completed your first 28 days of liver-loving lifestyle. By now,

you’ll be feeling lighter, leaner, more energized and more comfortable in yourself. You’ve also

been supporting all your body’s detox pathways, and melted away some of the fat in your liver!

The trick now is to keep up your good work, maintain this new state of health and keep your

liver free from inflammation. The great news is that there’s no one size fits all when it comes to

healthy living. You just need to find your groove. Diane found that she loved the freedom

intermittent fasting gave her, and discovered a love of swimming. Those two things, combined

with a healthy diet, have kept her free from any further liver problems. Other clients have found

that the speed of HIIT and smoothies help them keep their liverand body healthy.

Now that you’ve started, keep going. Take it one day at a time. If you have an “off” day, don’t

panic, just start again the next day. It’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency.

The more you return to a healthier way of eating and being, the more you’ll naturally fall into

those healthy habits.

So here’s to eating well, moving more, and loving your liver!


References

A super brief and basic explanation of epigenetics for total beginners, published on What is

Epigenetics on 30 July 2018. Retrieved from

https://www.whatisepigenetics.com/what-is-epigenetics/

Abenavoli, L., Izzo, A.A., Milic, N., Cicala, C., Santini, A., Capasso, R., (2018), Milk thistle

(silybum marianum): A concise overview on its chemistry, pharmacology and

nutraceutical uses in liver diseases, Phytotherapy Research PTR, 32(11):2202-2213

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30080294

Al-Muzafar, H. M., & Amin, K. A. (2017). Probiotic mixture improves fatty liver disease by

virtue of its action on lipid profiles, leptin, and inflammatory biomarkers. BMC

complementary and alternative medicine, 17(1), 43. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1540-z

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237220/

Anania, C., Perla, F. M., Olivero, F., Pacifico, L., & Chiesa, C. (2018). Mediterranean diet and

nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World journal of gastroenterology, 24(19), 2083–2094.

doi:10.3748/wjg.v24.i19.2083


Bilzer, M., Roggel, F., Gerbes, A.L., (2006), Role of Kupffer cells in host defence and liver

disease, Liver International: The Official Journal for the International Association for the

Study of the Liver, 26(10):1175-1186


Caminiti, Susan. More than 80 million americans have this deadly disease, and many don’t even

know it. Published online on 1 November 2017. Retrieved from:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/fatty-liver-disease-affects-80-million-americans.html

Campo, L., Eiseler, S., Apfel, T., & Pyrsopoulos, N. (2019). Fatty Liver Disease and Gut

Microbiota: A Comprehensive Update. Journal of clinical and translational hepatology,

7(1), 56–60. doi:10.14218/JCTH.2018.00008


Campo, L., Eiseler, S., Apfel, T., Pyrsopoulos, N. (2019). Fatty Liver Disease and Gut

Microbiota: A Comprehensive Update. Journal of clinical and translational hepatology,

7(1), 56–60. doi:10.14218/JCTH.2018.00008


Cantero, I., Abete, I., Monreal, J.I., Martinez, J.A., Zulet, M.A., (2017), Fruit fiber consumption

specifically improves liver health status in obese subjects under energy restriction,

Nutrients, (9(7), Pii: E667, doi: 10.3390/nu9070667


https://www.whatisepigenetics.com/what-is-epigenetics/





https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/fatty-liver-disease-affects-80-million-americans.html





Davaatseren, M., Hur, H.J., Yang, H.J., Hwang, J.T., Park, J.H., Kim, H.J., Kim, M.J, Dwon,

D.Y., Sung, M.J., (2013), Taraxacum official (dandelion) leaf extract alleviates high fat

diet induced nonalcoholic fatty liver, Food Chemistry and Toxicology, 58:30-36,

doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.04.023


Della Pellegrina, C., Perbellini, O., Scupoli, M.T., Tomelleri, C., Zanetti, C., Zoccatelli, G., Fusi,

M., Peruffo, A., Rizzi, C., Chignola, R., (2009), Effects of wheat germ agglutin on human

gastrointestinal epithelium: insights from an experimental model of immune/epithelial

cell interaction, Toxicology & Applied Pharmacology, 237(2):146-153


Dennis, L., Marks, J.W., Obesity can lead to fatty liver… a silent killer. Reviewed online on 13

June 2018. Retrieved from

https://www.medicinenet.com/obesity_body_fat_the_silent_killer/views.htm

DiNicolantonio, J.J., O’Keefe, J.H., Wilson, W.L., (2018), Sugar addiction: is it real? A narrative

review, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(14:910-913


Faghihzadeh, F., Hekmatdoost, A., & Adibi, P. (2015). Resveratrol and liver: A systematic

review. Journal of research in medical sciences: the official journal of Isfahan University

of Medical Sciences, 20(8), 797–810. doi:10.4103/1735-1995.168405


George, E.S., Forsyth, A., Itsiopoulos, C., Nicoll, A.J., Ryan, M., Sood, S., Roberts, S.K.,

Tierney, A.C., (2018), Practical dietary recommendations for the prevention and

management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults, Advanced Nutrition, 9(1):30-

40


George, E.S., Forsyth, A., Itsiopoulos, C., Nicoll, A.J., Ryan, M., Sood, S., Roberts, S.K.,

Tierney, A.C., (2018), Practical Dietary Recommendations for the Prevention and

Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adults, Advanced Nutrition,

9(1):30-40, doi: 10.1093/advances/nmx007


Gunnars, K. How to optimize your Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio, published on 11 June 2018 by

Healthline.com, retrieved from

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/optimize-omega-6-omega-3-ratio

Hodges, R. E., & Minich, D. M. (2015). Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways

Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical

Application. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2015, 760689.

doi:10.1155/2015/760689




https://www.medicinenet.com/obesity_body_fat_the_silent_killer/views.htm





https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/optimize-omega-6-omega-3-ratio



How much sugar do you eat? You may be surprised. Published by the United States Department

of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from:

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/nhp/documents/sugar.pdf


InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health

Care (IQWiG); 2006-. How does the liver work? 2009 Sep 17 [Updated 2016 Aug 22].

Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279393/

Jensen, T., Abdelmalek, M. F., Sullivan, S., Nadeau, K. J., Green, M., Roncal, C., … Johnson, R.

J. (2018). Fructose and sugar: A major mediator of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Journal of hepatology, 68(5), 1063–1075. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2018.01.019


Kikuchi, M., Ushida, Y., Shiozawa, H., Umeda, R., Tsuruya, K., Aoki, Y., Suganuma, H.,

Nishizaki, Y., (2015), Sulfaraphane-rich broccoli sprout extract improves hepatic

abnormalities in male subjects, World Journal of Gastroenterology, 21(43):12457-12467


Kolb, H., Mandrup-Poulsen, T., (2010), The global diabetes epidemic as a consequence of

lifestyle-induced low-grade inflammation, Diabetologia, 53(1):10-20

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00125-009-1573-7

Li, X., Jin, Q., Yao, Q., Xu, B., Li, L., Zhang, S., & Tu, C. (2018). The Flavonoid Quercetin

Ameliorates Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis by Regulating Hepatic Macrophages

Activation and Polarization in Mice. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9, 72.

doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00072


Liang, S., Wu, X., Hu, X., Wang, T., & Jin, F. (2018). Recognizing Depression from the

Microbiota⁻Gut⁻Brain Axis. International journal of molecular sciences, 19(6), 1592.

doi:10.3390/ijms19061592


Lu, W., Li, S., Li, J., Wang, J., Zhang, R., Zhou, Y., … Guo, C. (2016). Effects of Omega-3

Fatty Acid in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Meta-Analysis. Gastroenterology

research and practice, 2016, 1459790. doi:10.1155/2016/1459790


Maersk, M., Belza, A., Stodkilde-jorgensen, H., Ringgaard, S., Chabanova, E., Thomsen, H.,

Pedersen, S.B., Astrup, A., Richelsen, B., (2012), Sucrose-sweetened beverages increase

fat storage in the liver, muscle and visceral fat depot: a 6-mo randomized intervention

study, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 95(2): 283-289.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22205311/

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/nhp/documents/sugar.pdf


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279393/



https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00125-009-1573-7






Mao, Q., Manservisi, F., Panzacchi, S., Mandrioli, D., Menghetti, I., Vornoli, A., Hu, J. (2018).

The Ramazzini Institute 13-week pilot study on glyphosate and Roundup administered at

human-equivalent dose to Sprague Dawley rats: effects on the microbiome.

Environmental health: a global access science source, 17(1), 50. doi:10.1186/s12940-

018-0394-x


Mulrow, C., Lawrence, B., Jacobs, C., Dennehy, J., Sapp, J., Ramirez, G., Aguilar, C.,

Montgomery, K., Morbidony, L., Arterburn, J.M., Chiquette, E., Harris, M., Mullins, D.,

Vickers, A., Flora, K., 21 Milk thistle: effects on liver disease and cirrhosis and clinical

adverse effects: Summary, AHRQ Evidence Report Summaries, Published by Rockville

(MD). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11896/

Norbert, S., Konstantinos, K., Hanz-Ulrich, H., (2008), Causes and metabolic consequences of

fatty liver, Endocrine Reviews, 29(7): 939-960, https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2008-0009

https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/29/7/939/2355109

O’Brian, S., 7 surprising health benefits of eating seaweed, published on 28 May 2018 by

Healthline.com, retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-seaweed

Peng, K., Mo, Z., Tian, G., (2017), Serum lipid abnormalities and non-alcoholic fatty liver

disease in adult males, American Journal of Medical Sciences, 353(3): 236-241


Rachael Link, 12 common food additives - should you avoid them? Published on Healthline on

23rd

April 2018. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-food-

additives

Sadowska-Bartosz, I., & Bartosz, G. (2014). Effect of antioxidants supplementation on aging and

longevity. BioMed research international, 2014, 404680. doi:10.1155/2014/404680


Safari, Z., Gerard, P., (2019), The links between gut microbiome and non-alcoholic fatty liver

disease (NAFLD), Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 76(8):1541-1558

Safari, Z., Gerard, P., (2019), The links between gut microbiome and non-alcoholic fatty liver

disease (NAFLD), Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 76(8):1541-1558


Schwarz, J.M., Noworolsky, S.M., Erkin-Cakmak, A., Korn, N.J., Tai, V.W., Jones, G.M., Palii,

S.P., Velasco-Alin, M., Pan, K., Pattersn, B.W., Gugliucci, A., Lustig, R.H., Mulligan,

K., (2017), Effects of dietary fructose restriction on liver fat, de novo lipogenesis, and

insulin kinetics in children with obesity, Gastroenterology, 153(3): 743-752


Utzschneider, K.M., Kahn, S.E., (2006), The role of insulin resistance in nonalcoholic fatty liver

disease, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 91(12):4653-4761

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/12/4753/2656230


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11896/

https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2008-0009

https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/29/7/939/2355109

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-seaweed


https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-food-additives

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-food-additives




https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/12/4753/2656230


van der Windt, D.J., Sud, V., Zhang, H., Tsung, A., Huang, H., (2018), The effects of physical

exercise on fatty liver disease, Gene Expression, 18(2):89-101, doi:

10.3727/105221617X15124844266408


Vanni, E., Bugianesi, E., Kotronen, A., De Minicis, S., Yki-Jarvinen, H., Svegliati-Baroni, G.,

(2010), From the metabolic syndrome to NAFLD or vice versa? Digestive and Liver

Disease: Official Journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian

Association for the Study of the Liver, 42(5): 320-330


Wirngo, F. E., Lambert, M. N., & Jeppesen, P. B. (2016). The Physiological Effects of

Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) in Type 2 Diabetes. The review of diabetic studies:

RDS, 13(2-3), 113–131. doi:10.1900/RDS.2016.13.113


Zachary, T., Bloomgarden, M.D., (2007), Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance

in youth, Diabetes Care, 30(6):1663-1669, https://doi.org/10.2337/dc07-zb06

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/6/1663




https://doi.org/10.2337/dc07-zb06

https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/6/1663

Documents

The Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Solution