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Essential oils can be a terrific way to help your body heal naturally. They’ve been used for everything from earaches and allergies to upset stomachs and colds.
It may come as a surprise to some, but you can even use essential oils for fatty liver. Studies have shown that they may help treat and prevent fatty liver disease. You just have to know the right tools to use and the right direction to go in.
Let’s start by addressing the basics first.
What exactly is fatty liver disease?
For starters, it’s normal to have some fat in your liver, but there comes a point when it’s too much. A normal, healthy person may have anywhere from 5% to 10% fat in the mass of their liver. More than that and it becomes a problem with the potential to turn into a major health issue.
There are 2 primary types of fatty liver disease:
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
It can occur during pregnancy as well, but that’s a different matter entirely. For the sake of this article, we’ll just focus on the 2 major types.
What are the symptoms of fatty liver disease?
One the of most concerning aspects of this liver condition is that you can have it and not even know it. How? Because its symptoms are nondescript, and they often masquerade as other things that aren’t so serious.
Some common signs of fat buildup in your liver include:
- Feeling excessively tired
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Nausea
- Weakness
- Confusion
- Declining concentration levels
- Poor judgment
Your liver can also enlarge, in which case you may feel a sense of fullness in the middle or upper right part of your stomach. If you have alcoholic fatty liver disease, this feeling grows worse with heavy drinking.
What can I do if I have these symptoms?
First of all, you need to check with your healthcare provider to confirm the diagnosis and give a professional opinion for treatment. However, it’s good to detox your liver whether you have this disease or not. If you think you could use a liver detox, essential oils can help.
How can essential oils help with liver detox?
Essential oils work by simply helping your body do what it was naturally designed to do – function properly and heal itself. These oils are sourced from plants, which possess natural cleansing and renewing abilities.
A word of caution here. If you ingest essential oils as opposed to using them topically or for aromatherapy, make sure you use a pure, trusted brand that’s free of fillers and synthetics.
There are some great essential oil companies out there, but unfortunately, there are just as many who wish to make a quick buck with no regard for the harm they do to people.
So…do your homework before buying!
Top 4 Essential Oils for Fatty Liver
1. Rosemary
Rosemary is great for your liver! It helps cleanse your blood and flush out all those nasty toxins in a safe, effective way. Rosemary is also said to stimulate the production of bile, which aids in digestion. This oil simply encourages the liver to work more efficiently and has been beneficial for those with cirrhosis and jaundice.
- VERSATILE AROMATHERAPY OIL: Diffuse our Organic Rosemary 1,8-Cineole to create a stimulating and...
- 100% NATURAL CONCENTRATED HEALING OIL: Steam distilled from the aerial parts of the Rosemary (Citrus...
Last update on 2023-09-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2. Ginger
- WARMING OIL PROVIDES DIGESTIVE SUPPORT: Ginger Root CO2 essential oil can help with digestive issues...
- 100% CERTIFIED PURE ZINGIBER OFFICINALE: This essential oil is created using CO2 extraction which...
Last update on 2023-09-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
3. Fennel
- SWEET FENNEL ESSENTIAL OIL: Sweet Fennel is steam distilled from the seeds of the Fennel plant to...
- HELPS WITH MENSTRUAL ISSUES: This essential oil is known for its wonderful assistance to help...
Last update on 2023-09-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
4. Lemon
- ALL-PURPOSE FRESH ESSENTIAL OIL: Lemon Organic can be added to an aromatherapy diffuser to help...
- ORGANIC 100% PURE CITRUS X LIMON: This is a KidSafeⓇ, 100% Pure, undiluted, therapeutic-grade...
Last update on 2023-09-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
When it comes to essential oils, there are several great options for liver detoxing, but these are a few that I’ve found to be especially effective.
Since medical conditions are so individualized, it may be a matter of trial and error in finding the right essential oil for fatty liver.
Again, I suggest making an appointment with your doctor if you suspect a liver condition and get his or her professional opinion for treatment!
But what if you don’t have a fatty liver?
What if you (very wisely) just want to support your liver health in hopes of avoiding dangerous liver conditions in the future? We have some tips for that too!
How to Support & Detoxify Your Liver: A Preventive Approach
Today, many health-conscious people rely on essential oils for liver support. In the past, spring tonics were an annual tradition.
Mothers and grandmothers said things like, “This is good for your blood” or “It will clean out your system.” There were a lot of popular spring tonics, but the leading tonics were probably cod liver oil (ugh) and dandelion greens (actually not bad with butter and a dash of vinegar).
In those days, no one talked about liver detoxing, but people believed it was a good idea to help your body help itself. That was the purpose of the spring tonic.
People didn’t talk about environmental toxins, food additives, or dangerous chemicals that could have a negative and even dangerous affect on the body, especially the liver.
Most of those things didn’t exist in the past, or at least not to the extent they do today.
In a perfect world, your liver could do its job perfectly well without any help. The body’s natural cleaning system would break down and eliminate whatever it had to.
Unfortunately, today’s world is far from perfect.
Over time, your liver can become overwhelmed and even clogged, impairing its ability to filter toxins and fat. The purpose of an effective liver detox is to extend a helping hand to an overworked liver.
A liver detox is a two-pronged approach.
1. Avoidance: In a typical detox, you fast for a day and then eat only certain foods for another two or three days. Organic fruits and veggies, green tea and raw apple cider vinegar are suggested. Avoid processed foods, sugars, alcohol, and wheat products. The goal is to reduce the liver’s workload. Eat only pure foods – avoid bad foods.
2. Support: You actively help the liver’s functioning by using essential oils for liver support.
Best Essential Oils for a General Liver Detox
Qualities to look for in essential oils for the liver include oils that strengthen, stimulate, or help the liver increase the flow of bile.
Useful oils could also be those that support the gallbladder, are anti-inflammatory, or help with lymph circulation.
We’ve already mentioned rosemary, ginger, fennel, and lemon in light of fatty liver disease. Those also work great for supportive detox as well, but there are others:
- Chamomile: Anti-inflammatory, helps liver and gall bladder, blood cleanser.
- Lavender: Calming. Apply 2 drops to wrists or soles of feet.
- Peppermint: Anti-inflammatory, aids digestion.
- Grapefruit: Antiseptic, antiviral, diuretic.
- Oregano: Antibacterial, antioxidant.
- Juniper: Improves the elimination of toxic wastes.
- Rose Geranium: Aids in efficient elimination of fluids.
Essential Oil Recipe to Cleanse Toxins During a Liver Detox
- In a small bottle or jar, mix a few drops each of fennel, juniper and lemon essential oils with a pure carrier oil such as sunflower.
- Begin massage on feet and slowly move up the body toward the chest.
- Apply oils near lymph nodes, under the armpit, behind knees, below the collarbone, and where abdomen joins legs.
I hope this quick guide helped you learn more about supporting your liver whether you have fatty liver disease or not!
Want to learn all the ways to detox with essential oils? Grab the detox recipes and 7-day plan below!
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Hamdard University. Dr. Rasheed’s areas of expertise include Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Gastroenterology, and Hematology. Her current areas of research include fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, and medical marijuana.
I have been diagnosed with fatty liver and am looking for a natural treatment. I happen to already have all four of the oils you suggested here. Can I make a blend of oils to use together? Are these oils “compatible” with each other?
Hi Candis,
When it comes to using essential oils safely, I get my information from a fantastic FB group ran by a certified clinical aromatherapist. This would be a great question to ask her as she’s very active in the group. In facebook, look up “Using Essential Oils Safely.” The admin’s name is Lea Jacobson.
Also, I have been reading some fascinating research on fatty liver disease and the link to choline insufficiency/deficiency. Choline is needed to export fat from the liver. There are many studies showing reversal of fatty liver through choline supplementation alone. This article might be a good read for you!
I hope these resources are helpful!
I have NAFLD and borderline cirrhosis. I am looking into essential oils to hopefully reverse and heal my liver. What do I need and how do I do it?
Hi Angel,
Always verify information online with your healthcare provider as I am not a doctor. With that said, my go-to support for NAFLD is choline supplementation. There is fascinating research showing how choline can reverse NAFLD pretty fast.
This article may be helpful to you: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog/2010/11/28/does-choline-deficiency-contribute-to/
I also love milk thistle for liver protection. I wouldn’t rely on just essential oils for NAFLD & cirrhosis as there are more effective and proven remedies like choline and milk thistle. When it comes to using EOs for this purpose, I would focus on just using them for their detox ability as regular liver cleansing (and reducing its load/burden) is important in these conditions.
Again, I suggest discussing all this with your physician before moving forward. Hope this helps!
Could please let me know if Thieves Oil is toxic to the liver?
Hi Hanna,
Always verify information online with your healthcare provider for peace of mind. With that said, thieves oil consists of Lemon, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary. Of that list, clove and cinnamon are the only ones you’ll find warnings about as “potentially toxic to the liver.” Of course, that’s in very large internal doses, which is never recommended.
My favorite way to support the liver without fear of toxicity is to add liver-supportive essential oils to castor oil and apply a castor oil pack over my liver, laying on a heating pad for an hour, and washing off. Even clove and cinnamon can be used safely this way.
What is this castor oil pack with essential oils in it ,you talked about? Thank you!
Hi Liz!
Castor oil packs are made by soaking some sort of cloth (usually cotton) in castor oil, then applying that over your liver area and laying down with a heating pad over it for about 45 minutes! If you search something like “castor oil packs for liver,” you should be able to find a tutorial. I’m sorry I don’t have one on my site. That’s a good idea for a new blog post, though!
Hope that helps
Do you ingest any of these oils? Or use topical measures?
Hi Chrystal,
You use them topically and by diffusing them.