Gallstone Treatment - Gallbladder Cleanse - Liver Flush
My wife is 45, and she walks for exercise regularly. She is not overweight, but she does eat an average amount of fatty food, and at least an average amount of sugar. You recommend against surgery, but I didn't find any explanation about what is so bad about having surgery. The doctor makes it seem like a very common, low risk surgery that is very effective with essentially no side effects. Considering that she already has such a large number of stones, we are thinking that trying to treat the stones with taurine and beet concentrate might not be that effective for the number of stones that she has. It might be too late for that.
What exactly are the considerations of having the gall bladder removed? What are the possible side effects, and how often can they occur? What effect does not having a gall bladder have on the body? The doctor is telling us that the body adapts to not having a gall bladder and learns to function normally again, and only a very small percent of people have any negative effects at all from the surgery. What do you think about that? Thanks for your help.
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Dr. Mercola's Comment:
Normally I do not address individual health complaints, so readers please do not send those in as there is no way that it can effectively be addressed in this format. However, this question represents a very common problem I believe it needs an answer at it will serve to help many individuals who read this.
First of all, I believe it is nearly criminal what traditional medicine is doing to our public when it comes to managing this problem. It is RARELY ever indicated to remove someone’s gallbladder. If one ignores warning symptoms and does not address the reasons why their gallbladder is not functioning properly, than the disease can progress to the point where the pancreas is inflamed or the gallbladder is seriously infected and may have to be removed to save a person’s life. However, it is important to have a proper perspective here. Nearly ONE MILLION gallbladders are removed every year in this country and it is my estimate that only several thousand need to come out.
So, not only are surgeons removing these organs unnecessarily, but in their nutritional ignorance they are telling patients that their gallbladders do not serve any purpose and they can live perfectly well without them. This is a lie. The gallbladder serves an important digestive function. It is required to emulsify fats. What is emulsification? One can easily understand this concept when washing greasy dishes. It is nearly impossible to properly clean greasy dishes without soap as the soap emulsifies the fat so it can be removed. Similarly, the gallbladder stores bile and bile acids, which emulsify the fat one eats so it can be properly transported through the intestine into the blood stream. Anyone who has had their gallbladder removed will need to take some form of bile salts with every meal for the rest of their life (I use and recommend Beta Plus from Biotics Research), if they wish to prevent a good percentage of the good fats they eat from being flushed down the toilet. If one does not have enough fats in the diet, their entire physiology will be disrupted, especially the ability to make hormones and prostaglandins.
So, let’s get back to the original question. If one has gallbladder disease it can be evidenced by:
1) Pain when pressing on the gallbladder, which is directly under the last rib on the right on the same plane as one’s nipple. This is usually due to gallbladder "sludge" (thick bile).
2) Stone on a gallbladder ultrasound.
3) Greasy stools that are loose and tend to float to the top of the toilet bowl. This indicates improper fat absorption.
Then what is the proper course of action?
Long time readers of this newsletter will be very familiar with the essential first step. It is imperative to clean up the diet.
One has to stop the sugars, and reduce the grains and eliminate all fluids but water. The gallbladder is frequently infected when it is diseased so large amounts of good bacteria will also be helpful in correcting the problem.
[ NOTE: Dr. Hulda Clark recommends a liver cleanse as essential to removing gallstones and restoring the gallbladder to its proper functioning. PHB ]
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Liver cleanse - Gallbladder cleanse - Liver flush
Excerpt from the book, The Cure for All Cancers : by Dr. Hulda Clark
From: http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/huldas_recipe.asp
"Cleansing the liver of gallstones dramatically improves digestion, which is the basis of your whole health. You can expect your allergies to disappear, too, more with each cleanse you do! Incredibly, it also eliminates shoulder, upper arm, and upper back pain. You have more energy and increased sense of well being.
It is the job of the liver to make bile, 1 to 1.5 quarts in a day! The liver is full of tubes (biliary tubing) that deliver the bile to one large tube (the common bile duct). The gallbladder is attached to the common bile duct and acts as a storage reservoir. Eating fat or protein triggers the gallbladder to squeeze itself empty after about twenty minutes, and the stored bile finishes its trip down the common bile duct to the intestine.
For many persons, including children, the biliary tubing is choked with gallstones. Some develop allergies or hives but some have no symptoms. When the gallbladder is scanned or X-rayed nothing is seen. Typically, they are not in the gallbladder. Not only that, most are too small and not calcified, a prerequisite for visibility on an X-ray. There are over half a dozen varieties of gallstones, most of which have cholesterol crystals in them. They can be black, red, white, green or tan colored. The green ones get their color from being coated with bile. Notice in the picture (pg. 545) how many have imbedded unidentified objects. Are they fluke remains? Notice how man are shaped like corks with longitudinal grooves below the tops. We can visualize the blocked bile ducts from such shapes. Other stones are composites- made of many smaller ones- showing that they regrouped in the bile ducts some time after the last cleanse.
At the very center of each stone is found a clump of bacteria, according to scientists, suggesting a dead bit of parasite might have started the stone forming.
As the stones grow and become more numerous the back pressure on the liver causes it to make less bile. Imagine the situation if your garden hose had marbles in it. Much less water would flow, which in turn would decrease the ability of the hose to squirt out the marbles. With gallstones, much less cholesterol leaves the body, and cholesterol levels rise.
Gallstones, being porous, can pick up all the bacteria, cysts, viruses and parasites that are passing through the liver. In this way "nests" of infection are formed, forever supplying the body with fresh bacteria. No stomach infection such as ulcers or intestinal bloating can be cured permanently without removing these gallstones from the liver.
cleanse you liver twice a year
Preparation
You can't clean a liver with living parasites in it. You won't get out many stones, and will feel quite sick. Zap daily the week before, or get through the first three weeks of the parasite killing program before attempting a liver cleanse. If you are on a parasite maintenance program, do a high dose program the week before.
Completing the kidney cleanse before cleansing the liver is also recommended. You want your kidneys, bladder and urinary tract in top working condition so they can efficiently remove any undesirable substances incidentally absorbed from the intestine as the bile is being excreted.
Do any dental work first, if possible. Your mouth should be metal free and bacteria free (cavitations are cleaned). A toxic mouth can put a heavy load on the liver, burdening it immediately after cleansing. Eliminate that problem first for best results.
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Liver cleanse and gallbladder cleanse flush NO surgery
Ingredients
1/2 CupOlive Oil Extra Virgin (= 1.25 dl)
1 Big grapefruit (2 small) (Or 3 lemons)
4 tablespoon EPSOM salts = ( MgSO4 + 7H2O)
(EPSOM salts = Magnesium Sulphate = EPSOMITE = Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate)
3 cups water (=750 dl)
(P.S .!! 1 cup = 250 ml = 2.5 dl = 0.25 l )
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[Comment inserted by webmaster:
You can substitute 3 cups water (=750 dl) (that is used in this recipe to dissolve Epsom salt) with 3 cups freshly pressed grapefruit juice, or freshly pressed apple juice . That way you will not feel unpleasant taste of Magnesium Sulphate
( = Magnesium Sulfate = Epsom salt = MgSO4 + 7H2O) ]
[If using lemon juice, do not blend juice with oil.
Drink little oil, little juice, from 2 differnt cups.
If you mix oil and juice, it may (it doesn't happens always) sligtly congell, and get a slimy consitence that is not easy to swallow.
It may become slimy.
It never happens with grapefruit juice!]
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Choose a day like Saturday for the cleanse, since you will be able to rest the next day.
Take no medicines, vitamins or pills that you can do without; they could prevent success. Stop the parasite program and kidney herbs too, the day before.
Eat a no-fat breakfast and lunch such as cooked cereal with fruit, fruit juice, bread and preserves or honey (no butter or milk), baked potato or other vegetables with salt only. This allows the bile to build up and develop pressure in the liver. Higher pressure pushes out more stones.
2:00 PM.
Do not eat or drink after 2 o'clock. If you break this rule you could feel quite ill later.
Get your Epsom salts ready. Mix 4 tbs. in 3 cups water and pour this into a jar.
[ You can substitute 3 cups water with 3 cups freshly pressed grapefruit juice, or freshly pressed apple juice .]
This makes four servings, 3/4 cup each. Set the jar in the refrigerator to get ice cold (this is for convenience and taste only).
6:00 PM.
Drink one serving (3/4 cup) of the ice cold Epsom salts. If you did not prepare this ahead of time, do it right now. You may also add 1/8 tsp. vitamin C powdered to improve the taste. You may also drink a few mouthfuls of water afterwards or rinse your mouth. Get the olive and grapefruit out to warm up.
8:00 PM.
Repeat by drinking another 3/4 cup of Epsom salts. You haven't eaten since two o'clock, but you won't feel hungry. Get your bedtime chores done. The timing is critical for success; don't be more than 10 minutes early or late.
9:45 PM.
Pour 1/2 cup (measured) olive oil into the pint jar. Squeeze the grapefruit by hand into the measuring cup. Remove pulp with fork. You should have at least 1/2 cup, more (up to 3/4 cup) is best. You may top it up with lemonade. Add this to the olive oil. Close the jar tightly with the lid and shake hard until watery (only fresh grapefruit does this).
Now visit the bathroom one or more times, even it makes you late for your ten o'clock drink. Don't be more than 15 minutes late.
10:00 PM.
Drink the potion you have mixed. Take 4 ornithine capsules with the first sips to make sure you will sleep through the night. Take 8 if you already suffer from insomnia. Drinking through a large plastic straw helps it go down easier. [HPS editors note- don't, just stomach the terrible taste...and it is horrendous- be forewarned...but that's part of the cleanse, you can deal with it just like we have]. Take it to your bedside if you want, but drink it standing up. Get it down within 5 minutes (fifteen minutes for very elderly or weak persons).
Lie down immediately. You might fail to get stones out if you don't. The sooner you lie down the more stones you will get out. Be ready for bed ahead of time. Don't clean up the kitchen. As soon as the drink is down walk to your bed and lie down flat on your back with your head up high on the pillow. Try to think about what is happening in the liver. Try to keep perfectly still for at least 20 minutes. You may feel a train of stones traveling along the bile ducts like marbles. There is no pain because the bile duct valves are open (thank you Epsom salts!). Go to sleep. You may fail to get stones out if you don't
Next morning. Upon awakening take your third dose of Epsom salts. If you have indigestion or nausea wait unit it is gone before drinking the Epsom salts. You may go back to bed. Don't take this potion before 6:00 AM.
2 hours later.
Take your fourth (the last) dose of Epsom salts. Drink 3/4 cups of the mixture. You may go back to bed.
After 2 more hours you may eat. Start with fresh fruit juice. Half an hour later eat fruit. One hour later you may eat regular food but keep it light. By supper you should feel recovered.
How well did you do?
Expect diarrhea in the morning. Use a flashlight to look for gallstones in the toilet with the bowel movement. Look for the green kind since this is proof that they are genuine gallstones, not food residue. Only bile from the liver is pea green. The bowel movement sinks but gallstones float because of the cholesterol inside. Count them all roughly, whether tan or green. You will need to total 2,000 stones before the liver is clean enough to rid you of allergies or bursitis or upper back pains permanently. The first cleanse may rid you of them for a few days, but as the stones from the rear travel forward, they give you the same symptoms again. You may repeat cleanses at two week intervals. Never cleanse when you are ill. [HPS editors note: I started passing chaff through normal bowel movements after my 4th colon cleansing fast, approximately after a total of 4x14= 56 days of total colon cleansing within 9 months. The chaff continued in normal bowel movements for 8 months! Thousands of tiny stones, looked like small popcorn and small bee pollen granules, others looked like moth wings. Sometime I would drop at one bowel movement 50-100 pea size stones that would float in the water. It was truly an experience. Almost daily for 8 months! When I did my first Dr. Clark's liver cleanse I immediately dropped over 200 pea size green and tan stones, and when I examined them I was shocked. They crushed in my fingers and what I found was pure fat, pure cholesterol. Can you imagine hundred of them. Also in my second liver cleanse I had the same experience].
Sometimes, the bile ducts are full of cholesterol crystals that did not form into round stones. They appear as a "chaff" floating on top of the toilet bowl water. It may be tan colored, harboring millions of tiny white crystals. cleansing this chaff is just as important as purging the stones.
How safe is the liver cleanse? It is very safe. My opinion is based on over 500 cases, including many persons in their seventies and eighties. None went to the hospital; none even reported pain. However it can make you feel quite ill for one or two days afterwards, although in every one of these cases the maintenance parasite program had been neglected. This is why the instructions direct you to complete the parasite and kidney rinse program first.
This procedure contradicts many modern medical viewpoints. Gallstones are thought to be formed in the gallbladder, not the liver. They are though to be few, not thousands. They are not linked to pains other than gallbladder attacks. It is easy to understand why this thought: by the time you have acute pain attacks, some stones are in the gallbladder, are big enough and sufficiently calcified to see on X-ray, and have caused inflammation there. When the gallbladder is removed the acute attacks are gone, but the bursitis and other pains and digestive problems remain.
The truth is self-evident. People who have had their gallbladder removed surgically still get plenty of green, bile coated stones, and anyone who cares to dissect their stones can see that the concentric circles and crystals of cholesterol match textbook pictures of "gallstones" exactly."
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[Comment inserted by webmaster:
You can substitute 3 cups water (=750 dl) with 3 cups freshly pressed grapefruit juice, or freshly pressed apple juice that is used in this recipe to dissolve Epsom salt. That way you will not feel unpleasant taste of Magnesium Sulphate ( = Magnesium Sulfate = Epsom salt = MgSO4 + 7H2O) ]
Magnesium Sulfate used for liver cleanse
Chemical name: Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate) or (Hydrated)
Chemical Formula: MgSO4 + 7H2O, Hydrated Magnesium Sulfate
Mineral: EPSOMITE (MgSO4 + 7H2O)
Other minerals: KIESERITE (MgSO4 + H2O, Hydrated Magnesium Sulfate)
Hexahydrite (MgSO4 + 6H2O)
MAGNESIUM SULFATE
Description
http://eilat.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/newnyc/drugs/magnesiu.htm
Magnesium sulfate reduces striated muscle contractions and blocks peripheral neuromuscular transmission by reducing acetylcholine release at the myoneural junction. In emergency care, magnesium
sulfate is used to manage seizures associated with toxemia of pregnancy. Other uses include uterine relaxation (to inhibit contractions of premature labor), as a bronchodilator after beta-agonist and anticholinergic agents have been used, replacement therapy for magnesium deficiency, as a cathartic to reduce the absorption of poisons from the Gl tract, and in the initial therapy for convulsions. Magnesium sulfate is gaining popularity as an initial treatment in the management of various dysrhythmias, particularly torsades de pointes, and dysrhythmias secondary to a tricyclic antidepressant overdose or digitalis toxicity. The drug is also considered as a class Ila agent (probably helpful) for refractory ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia after administration of lidocaine or bretylium doses.
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Magnesium sulfate is effective for severe acute asthma treated in the emergency department
http://www.acponline.org/journals/ebm/sepoct99/rowe.htm
Intravenous magnesium sulfate reduces the rate of hospital admissions and improves pulmonary function in patients with severe acute asthma treated in the emergency department.
Sources of funding: Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and National Institutes of Health.
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Magnesium sulfate is used to treat pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and preterm labor.
http://www.twinslist.org/magsulfate.html
Pre-eclampsia (also known as toxemia and Pregnancy-Induced High Blood Pressure) consists of high blood pressure, protein in the urine and edema (swelling). It can rapidly become severe pre-eclampsia, with very high blood pressure, visual disturbances, failing kidneys and elevated liver enzymes. In rare cases, pre-eclampsia develops into eclampsia, where potentially fatal convulsions occur. It also can become HELLP Syndrome (hemolysis (H), which is the breaking down of red blood cells, elevated liver enzymes (EL), and low platelet count (LP)), which is potentially fatal to both the woman and her baby or babies.
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What is Ornithine?
Also indexed as: L-ornithine-L-aspartate, Ornithine-aspartate, OA
What does it do?
Ornithine, an amino acid, is manufactured by the body when another amino acid, arginine, is metabolized during the production of urea (a constituent of urine). Animal research has suggested that ornithine, along with arginine, may promote muscle-building activity in the body by increasing levels of anabolic (growth-promoting) hormones such as insulin and growth hormone. However, most human research does not support these claims at reasonable intake levels.1 2 3 One study that did demonstrate increased growth hormone with oral ornithine used very high amounts (an average of 13 grams per day) and reported many gastrointestinal side effects.4 One controlled study reported greater increases in lean body mass and strength after five weeks of intensive strength training in athletes taking 1 gram per day each of arginine and ornithine compared to a group doing the exercise but taking placebo.5 These findings require independent confirmation.
In clinical studies on people hospitalized for surgery, generalized infections, cancer, trauma, or burns, supplementation with ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate has been reported to produce several beneficial effects.6 A double-blind trial evaluated the effects of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate supplementation in elderly people recovering from acute illnesses;7 those who took 10 grams of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate per day for two months had marked improvement in appetite, weight gain, and quality of life compared to those taking placebo. They also had shorter recovery periods and required fewer home visits by physicians and nurses and needed fewer medications.
Ornithine aspartate has been shown to be beneficial in people with hepatic encephalopathy (brain abnormalities) due to liver cirrhosis. In a double-blind trial, people with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy received either 18 grams per day of L-ornithine-L-aspartate or placebo for two weeks.8 Those taking the ornithine had significant improvements in liver function and blood tests compared to those taking placebo.
Preliminary 9 and controlled 10 studies of people with severe burns showed that supplementation with 10–30 grams of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate per day significantly improved wound healing and decreased the length of hospital stays.
Where is it found?
As with amino acids in general, ornithine is predominantly found in meat, fish, dairy, and eggs. Western diets typically provide 5 grams per day. The body also produces ornithine.
Ornithine has been used in connection with the following condition (refer to the individual health concern for complete information):
Secondary Burns
Liver cirrhosis (hepatic encephalopathy)
Recovery from illness
Athletic performance (for body composition and strength)
Who is likely to be deficient?
Since ornithine is produced by the body, a deficiency of this nonessential amino acid is unlikely, though depletion can occur during growth or pregnancy, and after severe trauma or malnutrition.11
How much is usually taken?
Most people would not benefit from ornithine supplementation. In human research involving ornithine, 5–10 grams are typically used per day, sometimes combined with arginine.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
No side effects have been reported with the use of ornithine, except for gastrointestinal distress with intakes over 10 grams per day.
The presence of arginine is needed to produce ornithine in the body, so higher levels of this amino acid should increase ornithine production.
At the time of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions with ornithine.
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References:
1. Bucci LR, Hickson JF, Wolinsky I, et al. Ornithine supplementation and insulin release in bodybuilders. Int J Sport Nutr 1992;2:287–91.
2. Fogelholm GM, Naveri HK, Kiilavuori KT, et al. Low-dose amino acid supplementation: no effects on serum human growth hormone and insulin in male weightlifters. Int J Sport Nutr 1993;3:290–7.
3. Lambert MI, Hefer JA, Millar RP, et al. Failure of commercial oral amino acid supplements to increase serum growth hormone concentrations in male body-builders. Int J Sport Nutr 1993;3:298–305.
4. Bucci L, Hickson JF et al. Ornithine ingestion and growth hormone release in bodybuilders. Nutr Res 1990;10:239–45.
5. Elam RP, Hardin DH, Sutton RA, et al. Effects of arginine and ornithine on strength, lean body mass and urinary hydroxyproline in adult males. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 1989;29:52–6.
6. Cynober L. place des nouveaux substrats azotés en nutrition artificielle périopératoire de l’adulte. Nutr Clin Métabole 1995;9:113 [in French].
7. Brocker P, Vellas B, Albarede JL, Poynard T. A two-centre, randomized, double-blind trial of ornithine oxoglutarate in 194 elderly, ambulatory, convalescent subjects. Age Ageing 1994;23:303–6.
8. Stauch S, Kircheis G, Adler G, et al. Oral L-ornithine-L-aspartate therapy of chronic hepatic encephalopathy: results of a placebo-controlled double-blind study. J Hepatol 1998;28:856–64.
9. Cynober L. Amino acid metabolism in thermal burns. JPEN 1989;13:196.
10. De Bandt JP, Coudray-Lucas C, Lioret N, et al. A randomized controlled trial of the influence of the mode of enteral ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate administration in burn patients. J Nutr 1998;128:563–9.
11. Zieve L. Conditional deficiencies of ornithine or arginine. J Am Coll Nutr 1986;5:167–76. [review]
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