How to Do a Liver Flush for Kids

My experience of performing the liver flush for kids, a helpful resource for anyone who wants to detox their children.

From artificial ingredients in foods, medication, and environmental toxins, children these days have many exposures to harmful chemicals – they carry a toxic load since young age. After my husband detoxed his liver to normalize his bilirubin level and I detoxed mine to get rid of my remaining symptoms of fibromyalgia, I started to look into how to detox my children to give them the best healthy start in life. 

My boys are 8 and 10 now, and I first performed the liver flush for them when they were 6. They haven’t developed any health issues in their short lifetime, but I think giving them an efficient clean liver is one of the best preventative measures I can take. The liver cleanse protocol I used was the amazing liver and gallbladder flush by Andreas Moritz. According to the book, children as young as 4 can be detoxed using the liver flush. I shared my experience and the method of the flush for adult in a previous post. When it comes to doing the liver flush for kids, I have learned many tips and adapted the method for their age that I am excited to share with you. 

As a baseline, I assume you are already familiar with the basic liver and gallbladder flush method. If not, please read the other post first. 

Food Preparation for The Liver Flush

Only foods without fat and protein are allowed to be consumed on the first day of the liver flush, thus some extra care needs to be taken to prepare the meals on this day.

Kids can be finicky with foods. It’s important to set expectation with the children that they won’t be eating after 2pm, and provide some options of their favourite food items. This ensures that they will eat a proper breakfast and lunch and not go hungry.

Many fruits, vegetables, and grains are low protein and fat free. Here are some good options to choose from but you don’t need to make them all:

• • Fresh fruits: apple, banana, grapes, melons, berries, orange, mango, kiwi, pear, peach, etc.
  • Steamed vegetables: broccoli, carrot, potato, sweet potato, squash, parsnip, spinach, etc.
  • Grains: plain rice, oatmeal, millets, etc.

In addition, the following foods are very useful on the liver flush day:

• • 100% apple juice: apple juice is highly recommended for consumption before the liver flush; the kids can practically drink as much apple juice as they want. I found apple juice an excellent bribe to get the kids to eat and do what you need them to. The malic acid in apple juice softens the gallstones and make their passage through the bile ducts easy. Alternatively, sour cherry juice will serve the same purpose, but the kids are less likely to drink it. 
  • Ketchup: consumption is allowed on the liver flush day as Ketchup is fat and protein free. A little bit of Ketchup really helps the kids to eat their steamed vegetables and potatoes that I usually serve for lunch. Honestly, I don’t think my kids can stick to the dietary restriction without a side of Ketchup.

Foods to avoid:

• • meats, seafoods, beans, tofu, nuts and seeds, eggs
  • milk, yogurt and kefir, cheese, butter, oils
  • salad dressings, cereals, processed foods
  • pastries, breads, cookies

You can keep the meals simple and still filling for the kids. Here are some examples:

• • Breakfast: oatmeal with bananas and berries, apple juice.
  • Lunch: steamed potatoes and broccoli, Ketchup, a side of fruits.

Liver Flush for Kids: Adapted Formula

I first started doing liver flushes for my kids when they were at the age of 6. Currently they are 8 and 10. I have been using an adapted formula with reduced amount of Epson Salt (magnesium sulfate), grape fruit juice and extra virgin olive oil. 

The regular formula of the Epsom Salt drink for adults calls for 4 tbsp of Epsom Salt dissolved in 3 cups of water, then divided into 4 portions. When adapting formula for kids, it’s important to take into consideration the body weight of your children. Over the years my kids did the liver flushes, they weighed between 45 and 60 pounds, which is about one third of the weight of an adult. I had used the reduced amount of the Epsom Salt at a third of the adult amount for my kids, successfully. For reference, even I use a slightly reduced formula myself, as I am fairly slim. I still use the same amount of water in the Epsom Salt drink for my kids, because the body needs the fluid in order to flush out congestion – you don’t want the children to get dehydrated from taking in the Epsom Salt. 

As for the grape fruit juice and extra virgin olive oil drink, I make slightly less to reduce waste and let the kids drink as much as they are able to. I don’t expect them to finish the drink but I encourage them to drink at least half of it. 

The amount of ingredients I use for my children, based on 50-60 pounds body weight:

• • 4 tsp Epsom Salt dissolved in 3 cups of water, divided into 4 portions
  • 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil & 1/2 cup freshly squeezed grape fruit juice mixture

If your children’s body weight is much different than mine, you will need to pro-rate the amount of each ingredient based on the original formula. Please refer to my other post for the original formula and time schedule. 

Another tip I have is to provide a small shot glass full of apple juice for the kids to chase it down after each Epsom Salt drink. It’s a great motivation and a sweet finish the kids look forward to.

Caring for The Kids Overnight

Expect extra work to take care of the kids during the night of the liver flush. After drinking the olive oil and grape fruit drink, the kids may throw up in the middle of the night.

Here are a few tips I have to ensure the night of the liver flush go as smoothly as possible:

• • Let the child sleep with an adult. I have both of my children perform the liver flush on the same day. We pair each of them up to sleep in the same bed with a parent for the night. They may need assistance to go to the washroom if they feel nauseous or have a diarrhea.
  • Leave a large bowl by the bed. In case of throw-ups, the child may not have enough time to go to the washroom. I remind my children before they go to sleep that they can use the bowl if they need to throw up in the middle of the night.
  • Water proof sheets are useful. If you have a water proof sheet, place it underneath the child on the bed. This again is to protect the bedding from being soiled with vomit. 
  • Have some cleaning supplies ready. Despite all the preventative measures, I found myself cleaning up vomit in the bedroom and washroom in the middle of the night. Make sure you have paper towels, disinfectant wipes, soap cleaner and stain remover handy. 
  • Offer the child drinking water. I make sure to have a bottle of drinking water in the bedroom. The child may get up a few times during the night due to discomfort or to have a bowel movement or to throw up. To prevent dehydration, I offer my child a drink of water before returning back to sleep.

These are some of the things parents need to be prepared for when taking care of young children during the night of the detox. In addition, the regular schedule and steps still apply. I shared the liver flush instruction for adults in another blog post, just swap with the adapted formula with reduce ingredients to do the liver flush for kids. 

Have you used the amazing liver and gallbladder flush on your little ones? If so, let me know your experience in the comment below.