Understanding the Liver and
Gallbladder
The gallbladder, as seen in the above
diagram is not only under the liver but connected through ducts.
The liver produces a nasty substance called bile that helps metabolize
fatty foods. This substance passes through a duct into the gallbladder
which in turn forces the contents into the intestines through a
spasmodic action. When there is interference with this process,
usually due to congestion and/or blockage, there is often acute
pain on the right side of the body, under the ribs, burning sensations
as some of the bile moves up the esophagus, and often queasiness
and nausea.
This condition is called "gallbladder
disease" but unlike some diseases, there is really no outside
organism causing the problem. However, doctors are taught that
this disease is incurable and the solution is to remove the gallbladder.
There are many modern methods for treating this condition, including
laproscopic surgery and even some drugs.
Officially, no one knows why people
form gallstones but zealous dieting is one
major contributing factor. In any event, stones do form. Bile itself
is a fluid containing what are called bile salts. It is pigmented,
usually yellow to green, and when the gallbladder absorbs the moisture
from the bile, the residual tends to consist of unmetabolized cholesterol
and variously pigmented bile salts. About 80% of stones are made
of cholesterol and the rest are generally residues of bile. Some
people have other "sludge" in the gallbladder that is
very dark in color and usually associated with major illness.
As one might expect, medical statistics
on gallstone are based on male-female, age, and race. Most such
studies do not ask the obvious question: what are the hormonal
and dietary factors that contribute most to the formation of stones.
Ayurveda seems to have the answer: the kapha type, persons who
have more constitutional earth and water and less digestive fire
fail to metabolize fats. The imbalance may produce few symptoms
in earlier years but the problem does not self-correct. Therefore,
over a sufficient period of time, there is more congestion and
more distress. It is at this point that the condition is considered
to be a disease and textbooks describe the stones as "growing." It
makes it sound like they are animate whereas, in fact, they are
merely aggregations of digestive residuals.
The Flush
I first heard about the "liver
flush" in the early 70s while living in Hawaii. Always curious,
I tried it, more or less uneventfully. I was disappointed that
after struggling to hold down the olive oil and lemon juice that
nothing particularly dramatic happened. However, one person counted
232 stones and saved one for me, a particularly nice green one.
It made a believer out of me.
Over the years since then, I know
literally countless numbers of people who have done the flush,
all safely, most with astounding results. The pages on this site
devoted to this subject are visited more than 3 or 4 of my other
sites put together.
I'm not a medical doctor so I never
learned that gallbladder disease is incurable. When I was in India,
I had typhoid fever and the doctor wanted to remove my gallbladder.
I asked "why?" I mean, "Why on earth remove the
gallbladder to treat a fever?" He said he read it in a book
and had scheduled me for surgery. I said, "I'll bet there
are thousands of people in India who have had typhoid who still
have their gallbladders." He said, "You are probably
right about that." Thank goodness. I can't even regard that
as a close call. I merely saw how expendable our parts are deemed
to be. I felt I would like to stay in tact, more or less the way
God made me. I didn't believe a human being could improve on the
scheme.
Others haven't been so fortunate
so what I have seen in my years as a practitioner is that the fundamental
constitutional imbalance, i.e., the excess water, is not addressed
by removal of one of the storage depots. After taking out the gallbladder,
the uterus may become the depot or the joints or the fatty tissue
under the skin. In other words, compensating for the metabolic
weakness may be the best long-term strategy whereas clearing out
the congestion might be the best short-term measure.
This subject is ongoing. There is
a lot of discussion on the bulletin
board and more pages will be added in the days to come. To
be notified when more information and pictures are posted, use
the form below.
Back to information on
the flush
Please Note:
Roughly
5-7 bottles may be needed before the deposits
in the gallbladder are totally emulsified. Because
the formation of gallstones is generally due
to fundamental constitutional imbalances, the
tendency to form more stones will persist. This
means that periodic use of this or a similar
product as well as repeated flushes will be supportive
of good health.
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