The Liver Gallbladder Flush has been of benefit to many, but remains a controversial topic. Hopefully, this lesson will provide some additional insight.
The standard Liver/Gallbladder Flush is done over a two day period. Some people consume lots of apple juice for up to a week prior to this also.
The items required for this cleanse are Epsom salts, grapefruit juice, olive oil, and the following plan. These items are readily available. Some people use lemon juice instead of the grapefruit juice, but I find the grapefruit juice goes down better.
If applicable, Monday to Saturday noon drink pure, unfiltered apple juice – as much as you can consume, with meals and in between. It should be at room temperature or heated, but not cold. (You can skip this part and still achieve good results)
Apple juice contains malic acid, and it is ‘reported’ that malic acid softens stones. Others suggest that it is the pectin in apples that helps to circulate and expel cholesterol and it is this effect that helps to soften stones in the biliary system. Apple pectin has been demonstrated to reduce blood cholesterol and increase cholesterol excretion in the stool within two weeks by eating the equivalent of two apples a day.
On Saturday (or any day where the following day is free), have lunch as you normally would.
Three hours after lunch (no food after lunch), dissolve 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts in three-quarters cup of water and drink it down. Follow this with a chaser of grapefruit juice to mask the taste, if desired. Plugging your nose while doing this can help. A different cathartic such as Citroma (magnesium citrate) can be used, but Epsom salts may be best because it helps relax bile ducts and valves.
For dinner, have half a grapefruit only.
At bedtime, take 1 cup of unrefined olive oil mixed (shaken, not stirred) with up to one cup of grapefruit juice (or a smaller quantity of lemon juice). This may be divided into 4 doses taken over an hour if desired. That makes it one-fourth (1/4) cup every 15 minutes. However, the more rapidly you can take it the better. Using a straw and plugging your nose are helpful.
Go immediately to bed. You may need assistance in going to sleep – try ornithine or melatonin before bed.
Lie on your right side, bend your right knee to your chest and hold for approximately 30 minutes. You can then lower your knee and proceed to sleep.
If you feel a bit nauseous when waking up, rest a bit until you feel better. If nausea persists, take tomato juice and sauerkraut juice mixed in equal parts, 1 tablespoon every 15 minutes. When you get up, take 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts in three-quarters of a cup of water (or other cathartic), followed by grapefruit juice. This should be done 1-2 hours before breakfast.
After evacuation, the toilet bowl may contain many floating small green globs. This is normal.
Several flushes may need to be accomplished before symptoms such as allergies, bursitis and back pain are resolved.
Question: What are the stones composed of? Is it just the olive oil from the cleanse?
Answer: …”gallstones” typically passed during the liver flush are not really gallstones but simply soft complexes of mineral, olive oil and lemon juice produced within the digestive tract. [Murray M, Pizzorno J. Textbook of Natural Medicine Vol.1 and 2. Edinburgh: Harcourt Publishers, 1999]
Excerpt: “We conclude, therefore, that these green “stones” resulted from the action of gastric lipases on the simple and mixed triacylglycerols that make up olive oil, yielding long chain carboxylic acids (mainly oleic acid). This process was followed by saponification into large insoluble micelles of potassium carboxylates (lemon juice contains a high concentration of potassium) or “soap stones”.”[The Lancet, Volume 365, Number 9468 16 April 2005]
Does this mean that the Liver/Gallbladder cleanse is useless and that no stones are actually being removed? No, there have been cases where it seems obvious that actual stones have been passed – along with the green globs typically seen. There are just too many reports of real changes taking place after a series of these cleanses. Improved digestion, reduced allergic reactivity, less abdominal pain and just plain feeling better. I recommend these cleanses, but do inform users that much of what they see in the stool is made up primarily of the olive oil from the cleanse and bile.
If you are having a gall bladder attack, with the presence of stones, follow your doctor’s advice. Doing the Liver/Gallbladder Flush at this time may result in further pain. If ‘Wait and see . . .’ is the approach you are taking, you may do well to add beets to your diet in the mean time. Beets have a reputation for thinning the bile. This will reduce bile congestion and may help you through a crisis.
