Gallstones
and Gallbladder Disorders
Gallstones and other gallbadder disorders affect the
gallbladder, a small sac-like organ located beneath
the liver that stores bile made in the liver. The liver
sends the bile to the gallbladder through a small tube
called the cystic duct. During digestion, the gallbladder
contracts and delivers bile to the intestines to help
break down fats contained in the food. The most common
problem associated with the gallbladder is gallstones,
round-shaped stones composed of cholesterol, bile, pigments,
and lecithin.
Problems
associated with gallstones include acute cholecystitis,
an irritation and infection in the gallbladder that
is caused by a gallstone becoming trapped. Symptoms
of acute cholecystitis are the abdomen becoming extremely
painful, even to the touch, and fever. Recurrent attacks
of this are called chronic cholecystitis, which manifests
the same symptoms.
The
gallbladder rarely gets inflamed without the presence
of stones. Gallbladder cancer is another possible disorder,
but it is extremely rare, occurring in only three cases
per 100,000 people each year. Gallbladder cancer usually
causes jaundice (yellowing of skin) and pain in the
upper-right abdominal area, but it too is sometimes
present with no symptoms at all.
What To Consider
Only
about 20 percent of people who have gallstones experience
symptoms; the rest are unaware that they have any problem.
A common symptom of gallstones is pain in the
right side of the abdomen and/or pain in or near the
right shoulder or shoulder blade. Pain may also occur
in the center of the upper abdomen, over the breastbone.
In all cases, pain, wherever it manifests, is usually
constant and progresses slowly. It rises to a plateau
and then gradually decreases, usually within several
hours after a meal and especially after meals containing
large amounts of fat. Other symptoms can include nausea,
a sense of fullness, belching, heartburn, flatulence,
and vomiting.
Women
get gallstones four times as frequently as men, especially
women over 40 years old who are fair-skinned, and overweight.
Twenty percent of adults over 65 years of age get gallstones
that create problems and pain. Over half a million surgeries
are performed each year to remove gallbladders due to
gallbladder disorders, the most common being gallstones.
Constipation,
food allergies (especially to milk products and eggs),
digestive disorders (especially caused by a deficiency
of hydrochloric acid), intestinal diseases, an excessively
low-fiber diet, dental disturbances, parasites, rapid
weight loss, and stress can all cause or contribute
to gall stones and other gallbladder disorders. For
lasting relief of symptoms, all of these factors must
be addressed if they are present.
In
order to make an accurate diagnosis of gallbladder disorders,
ultrasound may be required. If surgery is required,
typically laser surgery is used, which does not need
to cut into the abdomen, and allows healing to occur
much more quickly. However, most gallbladder surgeries
can be easily avoided through nutritional and natural
intervention, with emphasis on identification, avoidance,
and treatment of food allergies.
Self-Care Tips
Diet
Identify and avoid all foods to which you are allergic
or sensitive, especially eggs, milk, and dairy products.
Also reduce your overall fat intake, keeping it below
20 percent of the total foods you eat, and eliminate
all processed and hydrogenated fats. But do not cut
eliminate fat completely, as this can actually increase
your chances of developing gallstones. Monounsaturated
fats (olive oil, coconut oil) are the best fats to include
in your diet.
Be sure to eat less, as well, since overeating places
stress on the gallbladder. At the same time, don't skip
meals, and especially make sure to eat breakfast. Also
increase your intake of dietary fiber to improve bowel
movements, and avoid refined carbohydrates, which can
cause gallstone formation. Overall, eat less animal
foods and move toward a vegetarian-oriented diet. In
addition, if you are overweight, lose the weight, but
slowly and sensibly.
Good
foods to include in your diet are black cherries, pears,
beets (raw and cooked), fresh beet tops steamed with
spinach leaves, kale, and plain organic yogurt, as well
as more raw foods in general.
Gallbladder
Flush
Flushing the gallbladder of stones is a common practice
of holistic physicians and is quite easy to do. For
your first gallbladder flush, continue to eat a whole
foods diet with almost no animal products and no processed
foods. Drink plenty of raw, fresh apple juice or eat
organic apples as much as possible, between meals, for
six days. On the afternoon of the seventh day, have
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil mixed with 1/3 cup
of fresh lemon juice. Drink all at once and skip your
evening meal. Go to bed early (no later than 10 pm),
and sleep with your right knee tucked up to your side.
In the morning, you should eliminate the gallstones,
which will appear greenish yellow.
Six
months to a year after your first gallbladder flush,
you can repeat the process.
Nutritional
Supplementation
The following supplements can help relieve gallbladder
symptoms: digestive enzymes with each meal, vitamin
B complex, vitamin C, choline, inositol, lipotrophic
factors, alfalfa tablets, acidophilus, lecithin, and
the amino acid, L-taurine.
Peppermint oil sipped in water throughout the
meal can also be helpful.
Herbs
Combine
the tinctures of wild yam, fringetree bark, milk thistle,
and balmony in equal parts and take one teaspoon of
this mixture three times a day. An infusion of chamomile
or lemon balm can also be taken regularly throughout
the day.
Hydrotherapy
Apply a hot pack to your abdomen and low back for 10-15
minutes several times daily, followed by a short period
of cold application.
Juice
Therapy
The following juice combinations can help improve gallbladder
health: carrot,
beet, cucumber, radish, and fresh dandelion roots, with
a clove of garlic, or grape, pear, grapefruit, and lemon
Topical
Treatment
Castor oil packs placed over the gallbladder can speed
relief of symptoms.
Caution
If you think you or someone you know is suffering from gall bladder disease,
seek the help of a qualified health professional immediately.
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