Olive Oil and Garlic Liver Cleanse

Olive oil and garlic have been staples of the Mediterranean diet--among the healthiest on the planet--for centuries. The benefits of vitamin C, and of the various nutrients found in garlic have also been proven. But, as the popularity of liver flushes and detoxification diets continues to grow, there is little scientific evidence to support the claims being made about their necessity, and even more so, of their effectiveness. One of the more recent variations on this theme is the garlic-and-olive-oil liver cleanse.

What Does the Liver Do?

Your liver is a reddish-brown glandular organ weighing about three pounds. It is tucked into the right side of your abdomen, underneath your diaphragm.

The liver has more than one job, including the production of substances that break down fats, making the main ingredient in urine (urea), storing vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, B12, D and K; and filtering harmful substances from the blood.

Are Cleanses Necessary?

According to most practitioners of alternative medicine, liver cleanses are absolutely necessary to eliminate the "build-up" of fecal matter in the intestines.

However, most doctors who practice more traditional medicine will tell you that liver cleanses are unnecessary, ineffective and can actually be harmful.

Either way, the effects can be very uncomfortable.

How Do I Do a Garlic and Olive Oil Liver Cleanse?

There are hundreds of recipes for garlic-and-olive-oil liver cleanses available. The main ingredients that they have in common are one or two cups of citrus juice, one or two cloves of minced or crushed raw garlic and anywhere between a few tablespoons to a half cup of olive oil. Most also recommend that you add ginger--and some include unfiltered apple juice. At least one popular recipe calls for Epsom salts, which is commonly used as a laxative.

The ingredients are put into a blender and then drunk in the morning, followed by either water or unsweetened herbal tea. This is usually repeated once a day for 10 days, though the recipes calling for Epsom salts state that it should only be taken once a week for three to four weeks.

Pros of a Garlic and Olive Oil Liver Cleanse

If you are constipated, a garlic-and-olive-oil cleanse can relieve that condition. There are no clinical studies proving any other actual health benefits, but if you don't over-do the olive oil or Epsom salts, there are no dangers.

Many proponents of liver and gallbladder cleanses claim that "stones" are excreted. According to Stephen Bennett, M.D. at Quackwatch.com, studies have shown that these are actually clusters of saponified (turned to soap) olive oil created in the intestines.

Cons of a Garlic and Olive Oil Liver Cleanse

Ingesting large quantities of olive oil and/or Epsom salts can result in abdominal cramps, nausea, intestinal gas and explosive diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration.

Since garlic is thought to affect blood-sugar levels, people taking insulin should not ingest huge amounts of garlic--several full bulbs a day, for example--until more studies have been done.