The liver is indeed an amazing organ. It is the largest organ and second only to the brain in complexity. As its name implies, the quality of our life depends in large part on the healthy functioning of our liver. The liver is located behind the right rib cage, weighs about 3.5 pounds, and is responsible for performing over 500 functions which affect every part of the body. The liver essentially masterminds the body’s fuel supply, playing a major role in the processing and distribution of nutrients to the cells and the filtration and elimination of poisonous substances from the body.
A healthy liver filters 3 pints of blood every minute to be used by rest of the body. It purifies and clears harmful chemicals, drugs, alcohol, environmental toxins, infectious organisms and undigested waste, neutralizing their detrimental effects. It produces enzymes and amino acids and metabolizes fats, proteins and carbohydrates for absorption. It synthesizes blood proteins, processes hemoglobin for iron utilization, and regulates blood clotting. It regulates and metabolizes hormones. It converts poisonous ammonia to urea, an end product of protein metabolism, so it can be excreted in the urine.
One of the major jobs of the liver is to help break down fats, preparing them for further digestion and absorption. To do this effectively, the liver must produce 1 to 1.5 quarts of bile per day which is then carried through the bile ducts into the gall bladder where it is secreted into the small intestine for further digestion. The liver also produces cholesterol and special proteins to help carry essential fats through the body for proper utilization and assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins including A, E, D and K. It also stores sugars in the form of glycogen for release of glucose into the body when needed for energy and brain function.
This amazing organ is so powerful and vital to the body, that only one sixth of your liver needs to be present for your body to stay alive. Even more astounding is the remarkable ability of the liver to regenerate itself. If as much as 80% of your liver was removed, it would grow back to full size in about 3 months!
Even when the liver is in trouble and not functioning properly it perseveres and can be 60% dysfunctional before signs of liver disease will show up on diagnostic medical tests. Specialized cells in the liver require a clean environment free of blockages to carry out their work with optimum efficiency. When blockages occur, which is more often than realized, the entire body is affected in many ways and symptoms appear which may never be correlated with liver dysfunction. Over time the congested liver may become severely damaged and serious diseases develop signaling a cry for help.
The primary and most common form of liver blockage is gallstones which clog up the network of thousands of bile ducts in the liver. Gallstones are commonly thought to occur only in the gallbladder, however most gallstones are formed in the liver with comparatively few in the gallbladder. An estimated 20% of the world’s population will develop gallstones in their gallbladder, while as many as 95% of the industrialized world will develop gallstones in their liver. Conventional medicine is able to diagnose the presence of gallstones in the gallbladder, but only if they are large enough to show up in a scan. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University do recognize liver or intrahepatic stones, however standard clinical tests almost never reveal the presence of stones in the liver and most doctors are not even aware that they exist. Liver enzymes, the common marker used in medical tests, may remain normal for many years while the liver becomes more congested with gallstones making the body sicker, before damage becomes apparent by elevated liver enzyme levels.
There is a growing awareness, particularly in the holistic community, of the very real presence of gallstones in the liver and the tremendous impact they can have on health. In fact, many believe that a liver congested with gallstones is one of the major causes of all illness and a primary obstacle to achieving optimum health, youthfulness and vitality. Most adults may carry anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of gallstones in their liver and never know it, though they will experience symptoms that are related to their presence. Even children can and often do have gallstones which affect the quality of their lives as well.
Gallstones form as a result of a diet heavy in animal protein, unhealthy fats and processed foods, overeating, alcohol, drugs, chemicals, environmental toxins, dehydration, inadequate sleep, anger and a stressful unhealthy lifestyle. This leads to poor digestion and an accumulation of toxins in the body which overburden the liver and all eliminative organs affecting the functioning and balance of the entire body.
The majority of stones in the liver are made up of congealed cholesterol, a component of bile. Bile is a bitter alkaline fluid either yellow, brown or green in color that is produced by the liver cells to assist in the digestion of fat, calcium and proteins and to maintain normal levels of fat in the blood. Bile also helps to remove toxins from the liver, maintains a balanced pH in the intestinal tract and keeps the colon from becoming a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. In a healthy internal environment, bile is secreted by the liver through the bile ducts into the gallbladder and intestines where it is then reabsorbed and sent back to the liver. A buildup of toxins and undigested matter in the intestines prevents the efficient recycling of bile back to the liver. The diminished bile salts in the bile fluid and other factors such as the presence of toxins and dehydration inhibit the liver’s ability to dissolve cholesterol causing it to congeal and form stones. This essentially mucks up the works, distorts the structure of the liver, and prevents the liver from effectively doing its many important jobs.
Gallstones block the liver bile ducts and prevent adequate amounts of bile from being secreted into the gallbladder and intestines for proper digestion of food, leading to poor absorption of nutrients and additional accumulation of toxic waste. Whereas a healthy liver unobstructed by stones will secrete 1 to 1.5 quarts of bile per day, a liver full of stones may secrete an insufficient amount of only 1 cup of bile per day. Gallstones can also contain calcium salts and harden which are typical of stones formed in the gallbladder. Pigment gallstones are brown or black stones formed when bilirubin, a waste product from the breakdown of red blood cells, increases in the bile. Gallstones often harbor poisonous substances and infectious microorganisms and parasites that have migrated to the liver. Most gallstones are green or tan in color, depending on their constituents. They can be anywhere from pea size to the size of golf balls in some cases.
A “fatty liver” is one that is filled with so many cholesterol stones that it appears enlarged and white on an x-ray. People with excessive amounts of cholesterol stones can develop liver cirrhosis, sickle-cell anemia or other blood disorders. Hepatitis is the result of a liver congested with stones and viral material that chronically leaks into the blood stream because the liver cannot properly cleanse itself.
Virtually all disease can result from a congested liver causing the, kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system and skin to work harder to remove the toxic load. Gallstones contribute to constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, nausea, bloating, obesity, headaches, allergies, herpes, and respiratory and urinary infections. Acne, eczema and psoriasis can manifest as the body attempts to get rid of excess toxins through the skin. Hormonal imbalance including, adrenal stress, diabetes, thyroid problems, PMS, hot flashes, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and fibroid tumors can develop. Muscle stiffness, inflammation, chronic pain in the neck, back, shoulders and joints, arthritis, scoliosis and osteoporosis can also result. Anemia, insomnia, vision problems, dental infections, pancreatitis, halitosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Crohn’s Disease all have their root cause in a congested liver. Disorders of the blood and circulatory system arise due to congested and thickened blood inadequately filtered by the liver and laden with excess proteins. These include varicose veins, damaged or blocked arteries, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, heart disease and heart attacks. The lymphatic and immune systems become overburdened with toxic waste leading to benign and malignant tumors and all forms of cancer. Emotional stress and diseases of the nervous system are also induced by a congested liver including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis.
A congested liver will give rise to irritability and anger, hence the terms “bilious nature” and “the gall of that person”. As the liver becomes weakened depression may be the dominant emotion. Taking antidepressants and any other drugs merely serves to weaken the liver further increasing its toxic load and creating yet more stones.
A “gallbladder attack” occurs when a relatively large stone becomes stuck or is released from one of the major bile ducts causing pain as it travels through to the intestines. Conventional medicine offers no safe effective way to remove gallstones from either the liver or the gallbladder. The most common medical treatment is to surgically remove the gallbladder which does nothing to address the cause which originates in the liver. In fact, if there are stones in the gallbladder, there are probably thousands present in the liver. After surgery, instead of bile being injected by the gallbladder into the small intestines when needed, it simply dribbles from the liver causing increased digestive problems. Serious complications can sometimes result from gallbladder surgery, including injury to the pancreas which can be life-threatening. After surgery the stones are still present in the body and continue to cause problems.
Fortunately, there is a very safe, natural, effective and painless way to remove gallstones from the liver and gallbladder. The liver-gallbladder flush has historically been used for this purpose. Its origin is unknown, yet because olive oil is a key ingredient in the flush, it is believed that it may have originated in the Mediterranean region where olive trees naturally grow. In his book, “The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse” Andreas Moritz brilliantly outlines the causes and signs of gallstones and liver congestion, and succinctly explains how to do the flush.
Preparation for the liver-gallbladder flush involves cleansing and supporting the liver, colon and kidneys with herbs and doing enemas or preferably colonics to facilitate the detoxification of accumulated waste and the elimination of gallstones during the flush. Hydrangea root and gold coin grass are particularly helpful for breaking down stones. A colonic is done just before and within 2 to 3 days of the flush to ensure that all stones are removed from the body.
This simple procedure involves 6 days of avoiding animal foods and drinking apple or cranberry juice to help break up the stones, followed on the seventh day by the actual flush which takes 14 hours to complete. On the day of the flush, a light breakfast and lunch is followed by fasting and drinking a solution of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) and water at 6 pm and 8 pm culminating with drinking a solution of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with olive oil at 10 pm, then immediately going to bed. The next morning more Epsom salts are ingested at 6 am and 8 am, followed by the elimination of hundreds of gallstones through a series of bowel movements induced by the Epsom salts. The Epsom salts also serve to dilate the bile ducts so that the stones can easily and comfortably move out of the liver and gallbladder into the intestines while sleeping. Taking the amino acid L-Ornithine with the oil mixture before bed can also help to facilitate the flush and aid sleep.
The liver-gallbladder flush should be repeated every 3 to 4 weeks until two flushes have been completed without any visible stones evident in the stools (approximately 6 to 12 flushes or more). It is important to do the full series of flushes to achieve optimum results, however many people feel noticeably better within a couple of days or even hours after the first flush. After the initial series, maintenance flushes can be done every 6 to 8 months, preferably in the spring and fall when the body naturally cleanses. Children can do liver-gallbladder flushes as well though they should use half the adult dosage between the ages of 10 to 15. The elderly also respond well. Even those who have had their gallbladders removed can benefit greatly from the flush.
By removing stones from the liver and gallbladder through a series of flushes and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle, these organs are restored to their original efficiency, the entire body goes back into balance, and the quality of life improves dramatically. Digestion is enhanced, allergies disappear, mood lifts, energy increases, and aches and pains go away. Gradually, over a period of six months after the last flush, overall health continues to improve, the energy circuits are restored, and the body and mind resume their natural state of wellbeing.