Liver and Gallbladder Flush
I guess wanting to put information about the structure and function of the liver and gallbladder comes from my high school AP biology teacher. We always learned the–in this order–structure, function, malfunction, disease and treatment of any type of organ or system in the body. I’m not going to go into too much detail but if you want to skip to the liver flush just jump below
Getting to know your hepatic-biliary system
The liver is also directly connected to the small intestine via the common hepatic duct. This tube makes a stop off along the way to a small pear shape sac called the gallbladder. The gallbladder’s main function in humans is to store up bile until a meal with fat or protein is consumed and pushed into the small intestine after the stomach is finished with it. The bile is a very alkaline and not only used to help break down oils but also used to neutralize your stomach acid when it enters the duodenum (the first part of your small intestine. You can remember the parts of the small intestine by remembering the phrase “[D]igestive [J]uices [I]nside” which stands for Duodenum, Jejunum, Ileum). The gallbladder can store almost 2 oz of bile when it and the liver are functioning properly.
Problems that can occur
With all systems of the body, balance is the key to health. If something becomes out of balance–like eating too much fat or consuming too many toxins–the flawless functioning of the system breaks down. Many diseases that involve a slowing or breakdown of liver function are accompanied by jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) because the liver is unable to flush out a byproduct of breaking down old red blood cell. Another problem that can occur is gallstones which is closely associated with a thickening of bile into biliary sludge. This thickening of bile is caused by particles precipitating out in the bile itself. Most often these precipitates are cholesterol crystals and calcium salts though the make-up is unique to each individual and cause of the problem. You can have biliary sludge and not even know it as this condition is often asymptotic. This sludge and the gallstones are what we are attempting to flush.
Liver Gallbladder Flush
Before you do the actual flush, you need to take a few things into consideration. If the thought of not eating 24-36 hours does not sound appealing to you or if you have a medical condition like diabetes that would risk further injury from not eating, this flush is not for you. Also, even though most epsom salts packaging give you a suggestion for recipes to take internally, some people are unable filter the Magnesium sulfate from their bodies and can become very ill. As always, if you are concerned about the effects on you that this flush will have, you will need to check with a licensed medical professional.
To prepare for the liver flush it is suggested that you do a colon and parasite cleanse the week before. These are not necessary if you have a healthy digestive tract but it never hurts to eat a little extra fiber and cut down on sugar–at least for a week. If don’t plan on doing either of these be sure to eat as healthy as you can–don’t over eat–before the flush so that your body is well prepared to fast.
You will need the following things to do a liver cleanse.
| Epsom salts | 4 tablespoons |
| Water and/or Apple Juice | 3 cups |
| Olive oil | 1/2 cup |
| Fresh pink/red grapefruit | 1 large or 2 small, 2/3 cup juice. |
| Plastic straw | For drinking the olive oil and grapefruit mixture. |
| Pint jar with lid | 1 jar |
| Black Walnut, Wormwood Tincture | 4 eye droppers full (about 15 drops) |
The weekend or any 2 day period you have free is best for this flush. On the first day of the flush, start your day as normal except only have maybe some apple cider for breakfast. For sure you do not want to eat anything with fat in it because you are trying to build up bile pressure. Drinking water throughout the day is encouraged as you don’t want to become dehydrated when your body starts to evacuate.
During the day you will want to prepare your epsom salts solution so that you can cool it down to make it a more tolerable drink. Combine 4 Tablespoons of epsom salts with 2 cups of warm water and 1 cup of apple juice or cider. You can use all water or all juice if you like but make sure the ratio is 4 tablespoons epsom salts to 3 cups of liquid. Mix the liquid until the epsom salts are completely dissolved. Place this solution in the refrigerator at let it get really cold.
By 2:00 pm you will want to stop all consumption of any juices (or food) you may have been drinking. You are trying to flush out your intestines and eating food only hinders this process and can make you feel ill when you start the process.
At 6:00 pm drink 3/4 of a cup of the epsom salts solution you prepared earlier in the day. There is nothing really that will completely kill the taste of epsom salts at this concentration so you are just going to have to buck up and drink it. Try to drink it within 10 to 15 min. After you have finished drinking the solution, you will want to get the olive oil and grapefruit out to allow them to warm up to room temperature.
At 8:00 pm drink another 3/4 of a cup of the epsom salts solution. After finishing off this drink you are going to want to prepare the olive oil and grapefruit drink. Pour 1/2 cup olive oil into your jar. You can add 2 drops of oregano oil if you are also looking to flush out yeast from your body but this is optional. Wash grapefruit twice in hot water and dry. Squeeze the fruit and remove any pulp from the juice. You should get at least 1/2 cup but you are really looking for 3/4 cup of juice. If you don’t make it to 3/4 of a cup top the juice off with some lemon juice. Add the juice as well as your black walnut and wormwood tincture to the olive oil. Close the jar tightly with the lid and shake hard until it emulsifies.
At 10:00 pm (notice the 2 hour intervals.. you can adjust to your schedule but make sure you leave plenty of lead time where you do not eat) drink the olive oil and grapefruit juice drink. You can take some melatonin or ornithine if you think you will have trouble sleeping. I suggest using a straw, placing the tip as far back in your mouth as possible, to drink the olive oil and grapefruit quickly. Try to get it down within 5 minutes.
As soon as you are finished go to bed and lie down flat on your back for at least 20 minutes to half an hour. Don’t get up just stay in bed and go to sleep.
On the second day of your flush (at least 8-9 hours after you drank the olive oil) in the morning drink 3/4 cup of your epsom salts solution. This will start your body flushing all the bile pebbles it has created as well as any gallstones that have been flushed out. Take this morning easy or go back to bed and rest.
2 hours after your first morning epsom salts take the last 3/4 of a cup of the solution congratulating yourself on finishing off 3 cups of that nasty tasting solution. The solution should run right through you and allow for your final voiding of bile pebbles and gallstones. If you intestines were relatively clear (they should have been) all you will see are these bile pebbles and gallstones. Most of the bile pebbles were created during the night when your liver and gallbladder shot out bile to deal with the 1/2 cup of oil you drank. Some of the pebbles will look different, they will be yellow or look harder. These are most likely real stones you have flushed from your gallbladder and hepatic duct system.
2 hours after your last epsom salts drink you can start eating again. At this point you may not feel like you need to eat and you could fast for the rest of your life. That well may be true but you should begin at least drinking water. To break your fast slowly start to add foods to what you are consuming. I suggest starting with juices as well as a good pro-biotic. Move your way up to unsweetened yogurt with active live cultures. You have just flushed most of the good, bad, and benign bacteria and yeast from your body. You will want to restore the good bacteria as soon as possible so that something else doesn’t take residence in your intestines. After your yogurt solid fruits are good to eat. Take it slow, your body needs time to readjust to eating again.
Congratulations you just finished a liver and gallbladder flush. You may feel the need to do this flush again but it is recommended that you wait at least 2 weeks between flushes. The more important thing to remember after your flush is that you want to keep your liver healthy by watching what you eat and limiting your exposure to toxins. This flush in not a cure it is merely a way to get a fresh start with your liver. The real cure will be a sustained effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle.