About Liver and Gallbladder Flushes

There are many conditions that people believe come from build up of toxins due to a back-up of bile from gallstones. These diseases include weight gain, fatigue, constipation, back pain, depression, headaches and heart disease, to name just a few. To clear any gallstones that might be clogging the system, some use a liver and gallbladder flush.

Significance

Know that diet and a sedentary lifestyle have a lot to do with liver congestion and the back-up of bile in the gall bladder. If you have chronic constipation, it's a good sign that you suffer from blocked bile ducts. The liver makes 1 to 1.5 quarts of bile every day. The bile travels through tubes and eventually goes through the bile duct to the gallbladder where it acts as a storage area. When you eat fat, it signals the gallbladder to empty and the bile goes into the large intestines.

Effects

Imagine fatty balls in your bile ducts. When the passages clog, then stones form. If they don't calcify, you don't see them on x-rays, but have various symptoms. The center of the stone is usually dead bacteria. The blockage lowers the amount of cholesterol that leaves the body and your cholesterol levels rise. It also provides a great breeding ground for bacteria.

Identification

Get rid of the parasites first. Some people feel that you must first eliminate parasites from your system before you begin any program of cleansing. They believe that body parasites are at the core of the problem and once they're gone, you can easily flush away the residue left in the form of gallstones. (See Resources for directions on the parasite cleanse.)

Types

Use different types of liver and gallbladder cleanses. There are various liver and gallbladder cleanses on the market and many homemade recipes. Foods that encourage a liver and gallbladder cleanse include radishes, beets, apples, carrots, dark leafy vegetables and both red and green cabbage. If you juice these, add 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil to speed up the process. One simple liver flush is to drink 2 glasses of apple juice every 2 hours for 2 days, and eat only the vegetables and fruits listed. After the 2 days, dissolve 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt in 3/4 cup water. Drink it and follow it up with a chaser of 1/2 cup of olive oil mixed with equal parts lemon juice.

Time Frame

Consider a different cleanse. Stop eating after 2 p.m. the day you begin your cleanse. In the morning, eat cooked cereal, fruit juice and toast with no butter. Consume only vegetables throughout the day. Eat no fat or milk products. At 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. that night, mix 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts with 3/4 cups of water. At 9:45 hand squeeze one grapefruit and add the pulp until you get 1/2 cup or more of juice. Add 1/2 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit 15 minutes and drink it. If it's tough to swallow, take a sip and then a small amount of honey. Go to bed immediately. In the morning, take a dose of the Epsom salt mixture when you get up and another 2 hours later. Eat again after 2 more hours.

Considerations

Expect diarrhea. Epsom salt is a powerful laxative but also a great liver cleanse. It flushes out the stones that the olive oil and grapefruit softened. Make sure that you don't have important meetings and places to go the second day of the cleanse. You won't make it. Some recommend a cleanse once a week for 2 months. Others just recommend it once every few months. If you use fresh fruits and vegetables as your cleanse, once a week should be no problem. Those using Epsom salts should be aware that the diarrhea from the cleanse makes you subject to dehydration, so drink plenty of fluids.

Resources

• The Natural Path parasite cleanse.
• The Cure For All Diseases by Hulda Regehr Clark