Critics of detox diets argue that there’s a lack of solid scientific evidence supporting the necessity of detoxing. However, this doesn’t rule out the potential benefits of giving your body some extra support during its natural cleansing process.
Each day, our bodies are bombarded with toxins in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we consume, our personal care products, and even our homes. These toxins can strain and overpower our natural detoxification organs, such as the liver, lungs, kidneys, and lymphatic system.
Eventually, a buildup of toxins in the body can trigger various symptoms, like brain fog, headaches, exhaustion, fatigue, rashes, stiffness, and even body odor. These are just a few signs your body could use a detox.
Alternatively, many natural health and wellness experts recommend regularly detoxing to give our cells, organs, and tissues a chance to heal and repair. That’s why adding herbs to your routine is a wonderful way to support the body’s natural cleansing processes.
Made with 8 herbs supported by research for over a decade, Flor-Essence Liquid Tea Blend from Flora is a well-known, trusted, and potent herbal cleanse tea blend for natural health experts and enthusiasts.
For decades, people have relied on FlorEssence to gently cleanse the whole body. Building upon the foundational 8 herbs found in Flor•Essence®, Flora now offers FlorEssence Made with Organic Turkey Tail & Turmeric. This formula (formerly ImmuneEssence) adds turkey tail and antioxidant turmeric to help support cleansing and immune health.*
Keep reading to learn about the powerful cleansing herbs found in these formulas.
Here Are 9 Herbs That Can Help Cleanse the Body.
1. Red Clover
Red clover’s pretty purplish-pink flowers, with a sweet vanilla-like flavor, are often dried and used in teas, tinctures, and capsules to support hormone balance in women.
It’s also popularly used as a purifying herb that can support liver function and assist the body in removing waste products from our skin, fluids, and other tissues.
Red clover also contains the mineral molybdenum, which studies show evidence may improve circulation. With good blood flow, your body can remove waste products from your bloodstream more quickly.
2. Burdock
It’s especially rich in a variety of nutrients, including powerful antioxidants like luteolin and apigenin that neutralize free radicals in the body, which can damage cells. Burdock root also supports healthy circulation, which can help the body’s cleansing processes.
Found growing wild throughout the U.S., burdock root is a biennial plant with 5 to 9-foot stalks and prickly purple tufted flower heads and is commonly mistaken as a weed. But it’s eaten around the world and is very popular in Japan.
Burdock root has been used as a jack-of-all-trades for centuries in herbal medicine to treat a variety of ailments. And studies show some of its active ingredients help remove heavy metals from the blood.
3. Sheep sorrel
Related to buckwheat and rhubarb, sheep sorrel isn’t a very well-known herb these days. But before citrus fruits became a staple in Europe, this perennial herb was regularly added to dishes to give them a dash of sour flavor.
Becoming popular once again, Sheep Sorrel, which grows wild in the U.S., is packed with cell-purifying chlorophyll. It also provides nutritional support to the immune system with nutrients like vitamins A, C, magnesium, iron, potassium, manganese, copper, and B vitamins.
A wonderful herb that supports the cleansing processes in the body, sheep sorrel contains one of the most potent antioxidants, called protocatechuic acid (PCA). Also found in green tea, PCA is a type of phenolic acid that protects cells from damage.
Sheep sorrel is also believed to promote a healthy liver, the organ responsible for cleansing and replenishing the blood. It acts as a gentle diuretic, promoting the flow of urine so waste products can be easily flushed away.
4. Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable native to Asia known for its tart edible stalks that find their way into pies every spring. Used medicinally in China for over 5 thousand years, it has long been used to support well-being and cell cleansing.
Rhubarb is rich in nutrients and powerful antioxidants, including anthraquinones and polyphenols, which can protect cells from free-radical damage, support gut health, and feed our microbiome, which makes up 70% of our immune system.
Anthraquinones are beneficial for cleansing the body as they support liver function and gently promote regularity.
Rhubarb is also often used as a remedy to ease bloating and indigestion.
5. Slippery Elm Bark
Slippery elm bark comes from the inner bark of the red elm tree, and Native Americans have used it as an herbal remedy for centuries. It’s a common folk remedy for issues like sore throats, stomach ulcers, and skin conditions.
Containing a beneficial substance known as ‘mucilage,’ slippery elm has a soothing, sticky quality that supports cleansing in the body by comforting irritated tissues.
Today, you can find slippery elm in various supplements and products designed to reduce irritation in the digestive tract, helping to eliminate impurities and waste products.
Additionally, slippery elm acts as a mild diuretic, promoting the expulsion of waste products from the body.
6. Watercress
Considered a “superfood,” watercress is a peppery and nutritious cruciferous leafy green often enjoyed and juiced for its potent cleansing properties. On various food scoring models, it has earned a reputation as one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables on earth.
Packed with over 50 essential vitamins, including A, B1, B6, beta-carotene, and magnesium, as well as antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, watercress stands out for its nutritional richness. Gram for gram, it surpasses milk in calcium content and oranges in Vitamin C.
Frequently incorporated into diets and juicing routines to support cleansing, watercress contains phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC). This compound aids in converting fat-soluble wastes stored in the body into water-soluble wastes, facilitating their expulsion through urine and sweat.
7. Blessed Thistle
Native to the Mediterranean and utilized for 2000 years as a “cure-all” herb to address various conditions, Blessed Thistle gained fame during the Middle Ages for its use in treating bubonic plague.
In modern times, herbalists highly value the Blessed Thistle for its liver-supporting and cleansing properties.
Traditionally, Blessed Thistle has been employed for digestive health, thanks to a compound present in many bitter herbs called niacin. Cnicin is thought to contribute to the production of stomach acid, promoting good digestion and liver health.
Blessed Thistle is commonly prepared in teas, capsules, and tinctures.
8. Turkey Tail Mushrooms
You might not think of mushrooms as “herbs,” but natural practitioners recommend incorporating mushrooms into your routine to harness their potent ability to support gut health and the immune system.
Turkey Tail, an inedible mushroom that grows on stumps and dead trees worldwide, won’t be found in your local supermarket, though.
This mushroom, resembling the fanned-out tail of a turkey, stands as one of the most well-studied medicinal mushrooms to date. It goes by various names, including Coriolus versicolor, Trametes versicolor, and Yun Zhi.
Turkey tail contains several active beneficial compounds, including antioxidants, polysaccharide peptide (PSP), and polysaccharide krestin (PSK), which are currently under research in modern medicine for their potential to support immunity and cleansing.
9. Kelp
Kelp, a seaweed found in nutrient-rich coastal waters worldwide, isn’t just used to craft a savory umami Japanese-style broth known as dashi. It’s also brimming with unique compounds that can assist in supporting cleansing both internally and externally.
Thriving mainly in shallow waters along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, kelp boasts 48% protein by weight and offers a range of nutrients, including vitamins A, C, E, folate, iron, and magnesium. Notably high in vitamin K for healthy blood clotting and iodine to support thyroid function and metabolism, kelp stands out.
Kelp’s antioxidants, encompassing carotenoids and zinc, work to neutralize free radicals. Moreover, its abundant chlorophyll content doesn’t just bind to heavy metals; it also promotes healthy circulation and liver function, facilitating their easy removal from the body.