3.11 The gall bladder flush

From: James Mally, N.D. <jmally.usa.net>:

I am suspicious of gallstones that dissolve or that liquefy when passing. I have done several gall bladder flushes myself using a formula from a book titled "Encyclopedia of Digestive Disorders" by ? Roberts, of Roberts formula fame. The flush involved taking divided doses of olive oil and lemon juice every fifteen minutes over a two hour period to stimulate the gall bladder to contract and release stones. The effects were very dramatic - one time causing drastic elimination out both ends simultaneously. It also made me lose my taste for olive oil for many years.

I also worked as a massage therapist in a clinic where a similar flush was used for detox and cleansing. The "stones" people would pass needed to be kept in the freezer or they would melt. I then read in a book the suggestion that these "stones" were a product of saponification, the olive oil mixing with the alkaline bile salts creating a soap (similar to mixing lye and fat).

At naturopathic college I obtained a real gallstone from the gall bladder of the cadaver we worked on in anatomy lab. It was as hard as a rock and it would not dissolve in olive oil and lemon juice, even after several months. I didn't try dissolving it in coke or ortho-phosphoric acid.

I believe it's possible that a gall bladder flush may cause stones to be eliminated, but these stones will sink to the bottom of the toilet. The "stones" that float and that are easily squashed are most likely soap. I have heard of people passing hundreds of such "stones" which would imply that they must have a huge gall bladder.

I still think there may be some benefit in the flush as it will thin the bile by removing some of the bile salts so they won't be recycled.

Several areas for conjecture: I wonder if such a loss of bile salts would cause any mineral deficiencies? Also has anyone done any blood tests for direct and indirect bilirubin and/or any lipid panels before and after a gall bladder flush? How about X-ray or diagnostic ultrasound of the gall bladder before and after?

Maybe you could get harder "gallstones" to pass by doing a flush using a more saturated oil such as coconut oil. : ) Do not try this at home.

From: Sara Klein Ridgley, PhD SaraKlein.aol.com

I tend to agree with you somewhat on the nature of the soluble stones. However, when I did the cleanse both for myself and with clients, what I found was both kinds were there. In several cases where the people were scheduled for gallbladder surgery and we did the cleanse beforehand, there was no sign of the stones upon ultrasound scan. One woman, who was 86 at the time (11 years ago), collected the stones (that were rock hard) and put them in a jar, and took them to her physician. She announced that "this doctor from America (I was visiting another country when this happened...) took my stones out". The doctor first thought that she was nuts, but when she showed him the jar, he went white in the face. Then he ordered another ultrasound and found the gallstones that were there the week before were gone. This woman is still alive and kicking happily and in good health!

Regarding your second, very valid question regarding mineral depletion following the cleanse, I have found that it CAN be the case, but not always. I have noticed, for example, that many, many people who undergo gallbaldder removal surgically, become depressed shortly thereafter. I also have thoughts and "speculations" regarding the energy/spiritual factors behind gallbladder problems, but that's another story..

I have used another flush, which is very simple, very safe, yet very dramatic, and even old people with various ailments can do it safely. However, I always like to observe, assist and take care that nothing strange goes on (My control issues? maybe, or just caution...). This one involves 5 days of preparation with eliminating all fat from the diet, and it includes epsom salts, olive oil and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. I usually do a kidney cleanse prior to the liver/gallbladder flush, which dramatically improves the body's ability to handle the flush.

From: Michael Moore <hrbmoore.primenet.com>

In the early 1980s, after recommending and teaching Robert's protocol, a PhD physiologist STRONGLY suggested that these "stones" were probably artifacts of the therapy. The next time someone passed some, I took them in a cooler to a local Santa Fe medical lab I had a working relationship with. They showed only traces of chenic and cholic bile salts, and had no discernable cholesterol content. Their educated guess was that they were saponified fatty acids...probably linoleic or oleic acid salts. They were DEFINITELY not "gallstones". I have not recommended this grim regimen since.

One of the great scams amongst 19th century medicine shows was this HUGE capsule, made out of a colored and sealed gelatin capsule. It cost $1, and was GUARANTEED to pass a tapeworm. Indeed, everyone who took one raved about this long "worm" they passed.

The capsule contained a long coiled spiral of a thin strand of gutta percha (crude rubber), dusted in Lycopodium. This was the "worm".

Robert's protocol, similarly, seems to result in the consistant passing of "stones" consisting of saponified olive oil, acted on as well as possible by the stressed digestive apparatus.

That doesn't mean that the shocked pancreas and gall bladder don't, on occasion, vomit out a small cholesterol stone. But, as anyone who has worked with cholelithiasis will vouch, this is risky stuff, since an obstruction by a REAL stone of the biliary duct or common duct from the gall bladder spasms may be just as likely. Most gallstones exist WITHOUT symptoms. Most obstructions require surgery.

I find the tapeworm "pill" a safer phenomena-inducing placebo.