Improve Your Liver Health with a Simple Remedy: Boldo

Thanks to its properties, boldo can help detoxify the liver naturally to reduce inflammation. It's essential to accompany its intake with a balanced diet and also maintain a healthy weight.

Reviewed and approved by the doctor Maricela Jiménez López.

Written by Ivan Aranaga Amengual

Last update: 26 May, 2022

Nature has amazing plants and herbs that can help keep us healthy. In this article, we’re going to talk about boldo, a tree native to Chile that can measure up to six feet and helps improve liver health and function.

The leaves of this tree contain all of its medicinal properties. They’re used to make tea, an alternative to drugs that’s been used since ancient times. It was first used for joint and muscle pain. Now, this plant is known to aid the treatment of liver health conditions, indigestion, and gallbladder issues.

You can also find boldo in countries with a Mediterranean climate and health food stores.

The Chemical Composition of Boldo

The leaves of this tree contain a lot of essential oils and flavonoids, which means they’re antimicrobial. 

It also contains a lot of alkaloids. One of them is boldine, a natural extract that promotes the expulsion, production, or secretion of bile, which allows fat to be digested more easily. Although it doesn’t contain a lot of this alkaloid, it’s the main reason why this plant has become so popular.

Follow a Healthy Diet to Improve Your Liver Health

To keep your liver in good condition, you have to avoid becoming overweight. For this, you must follow a diet that doesn’t include fat and sugar.

You should also avoid:

• Consuming too much animal protein
• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Sweets (especially chocolate)

All this means that you should strive to follow an alkaline diet to provide your body the nutrients it needs to regenerate cell tissues.

Why You Should Include Boldo in Your Diet

This plant has many health benefits. Including it in your daily diet will help:

• Fight fatty and swollen liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and indigestion.
• Reduce your risk of gallbladder inflammation. This way, you’ll reduce your risk of suffering from cholecystitis.
• By facilitating the production of bile, it may reduce the risk of gallbladder inflammation due to the accumulation of toxins.
• Protect your liver due to its flavonoids and boldine content.
• Detoxify your liver. It helps cleanse the liver if you consume alcohol, take too many drugs, or eat too much.

How to Prepare and Drink Boldo for Liver Health

Boldo tea

We recommend you drink boldo tea after each main meal. You have to complement its intake with a healthy and balanced diet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of water (250 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of boldo leaves (15 g)
• Honey (optional)

Preparation

• Heat the water. When it boils, add the boldo leaves.
• Cover the infusion and let steep for 10 minutes before drinking.
• If it’s too bitter for you, sweeten it with honey.

With Lemon

Combining this herb with lemon will enhance the detox effect. Both ingredients are purifying and will help cleanse the liver effectively.

This combination may reduce your risk of suffering from an inflamed liver, liver toxicity, or jaundice. Prepare boldo tea as we explained above and then add the juice of one lemon.

For Biliary Colic

For this condition, use the natural extract instead of making a tea. It will help control the symptoms gradually. However, you should also seek professional advice.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of hot water (250 ml)
• 2 tablespoons of boldo natural extract

Preparation

• Add two tablespoons of boldo natural extract to a cup of hot water.
• Take it three times a day.

For Gallstones

Boldo can also be a great ally to help remove gallstones. Prepare it as follows:

Ingredients

• 3 or 5 boldo leaves
• 4 cups of water (1 liter)

Preparation

• Extract three to five boldo leaves in four cups of water overnight. The next day, strain the mixture and heat the liquid.
• Take the first cup on an empty stomach and consume the rest throughout the day, after every meal.

To Prevent Stomach Pain

You can also take advantage of the properties of boldo topically to prevent stomach pain.

• All you have to do is make boldo tea and soak a few compresses in it.
• Then, place the compresses on your abdominal area. This will also help calm your nerves and eliminate gases.

This way, you’ll feel lighter and more relaxed, which will allow you to focus on other activities.

The Right Dosage

We recommend you drink boldo tea in the morning, an hour before breakfast. It’s also important not to prolong the treatment for more than nine consecutive days. After this time, take a three-week break.

In addition, you can buy boldo capsules, syrups, and extract. If you bought boldo syrup, take one tablespoon three times a day to detoxify the liver. However, if you prefer to drink capsules, only take two a day to avoid intoxication.

Boldo Contraindications

There are situations in which you should avoid this plant. Excessive use may cause:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Hallucinations

On the other hand, the following individuals should avoid consuming it:

• Pregnant or lactating mothers.
• Patients suffering from severe liver disease.
• Children under the age of 12.
• Kidney patients.
• Patients who are on anticoagulant medication, since it may increase the risk of bleeding.

Remember that any remedy should be taken in moderation. We recommend that you go see a specialist before deciding to include this plant in your diet. They’ll be able to decide what the right dosage for you is.

We hope you enjoyed reading about how boldo can improve liver health!