Is your Gallbladder Gunky? How to Know and What to Do About It
/Might you have a congested gallbladder?
In Southern folk tradition, Herbalist Phyllis Light talks about the idea that our southernisms (our speech as southerners) says a lot about our system weaknesses. If we listen to how a person describes themselves, then often we will be able to tell what organ system is struggling without having heard any symptoms. The gallbladder gives us a very clear example of this in the word 'gall' -- "Do you have the gal to stand up and say..." So, we might venture to piece together that the gallbladder represents boldness, and an ability to acknowledge and say the hard thing. This makes sense to me in the energetics of the gallbladder- it is responsible for storing and delegating the timing, amount, and strength of the bile that is released. The gallbladder is responsible for concentrating the bile which digests the most difficult energy source to break down and renders it absorbable. It is energetically correlative that to intake information and digest it, oily and greasy as it is, and then verbalize the thing that is the most difficult to say might be inhibited by a weak gallbladder.
This list is in no way comprehensive but is a good indicator of gallbladder sluggishness:
~ severe abdominal pain,
~ or pain that feels dull, sharp, or crampy,
~ tenderness in the upper left quadrant just under your ribs,
~ heart burn, indigestion, excessive gas,
~ fullness in the abdomen,
~ diarrhea or constipation or an alternation of both,
~ smell of fat makes you nauseous,
~ jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes),
~ or clay colored stools.
If you experience any of these symptoms it might be a good idea to go to your doctor, or try a gallbladder flush. Now, if you know you have gallstones it can be risky to do a gallbladder flush because the release of gallstones can cause a blockage in your common bile duck and may require the removal of your gallbladder- which is no fun.
If you are interested in trying an abbreviated gallbladder flush read on!
You should stay at home while you are doing this and be prepared for some weird bowel movements. Yikes! You will be evacuating what is commonly called “cholesterol stones” which are deposits that are in the gallbladder that have not calcified, yet. Duhn, duhn, duhn. They will be a lime green color and range in size and your movements will be loose. If you have gallstones you should approach this cleanse with caution and make sure to do the initial stages of the cleanse and see where you are. If you have any pain or discomfort discontinue the cleanse. I have adapted the flush to be more diabetic friendly because most cleanses require lots of sweet juices so if you are diabetic or sugar sensitive choose the less sugary options. I also significantly shortened the cleanse because who wants to be doing this for a whole week...not me.
I would also strongly suggest doing this on a dull Friday night into a dull Saturday morning because nobody wants to be caught out on the town with the lime green toots.
Gallbladder Flush
1.) (P.M.) Apple Juice (1 qt Nat. Org.) or 1 oz of Apple Cider Vinegar in 1 qt of water.
2.) (P.M.) Castor Oil Pack on the gallbladder and liver region (your right side, just under your rib cage) (45 min)
3.) (P.M.) Generic Magnesium Citrate or I like Natural Vitality Magnesium (Calm) 1- 2 tablespoons in 10 oz of water. Dose to bowel tolerance- the goal here is to go, go, go but we don't want a blow out.
4.)(P.M.) Olive Oil (1 oz) ~ if this causes increased pain discontinue the cleanse
5.) (A.M.) More Apple Juice~ 1/2 qt or .5 oz of Apple Cider Vinegar in 1/2 qt of water.
6.) (A.M.) 4 oz Olive Oil (I like to pour the oil into a ball jar and then add 4 oz of either pineapple or orange juice to the jar and shake until well mixed. Then chug that down as best you can).
7.) (A.M.)1 cup Chamomile Tea or Catnip/Fennel Tea
8.) Eat oranges and drink apple juice all morning
9.) 8 oz of water with 1 tablespoon of Natural Vitality Magnesium (if you haven’t had a BM)
10.) Lastly, 1-2 oz of olive oil per day for 2 weeks to seal the deal
You can also repeat the entire cleanse every two weeks until your cleanse doesn’t produce the "green globs” that are present during the cleanse. This could be one or two cleanses or up to six. Do not do more than six.
