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ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL MEDICINE
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Gallstones and the attacks of 'biliary colic' they cause can be truly horrible and, unfortunately, there are times when things have gone too far and surgery to remove the gallbladder is the only sensible option. That said, there have also been many cases where it has been possible to dissolve and pass small stones and/or prevent future attacks. The dissolving or passing was able to be confirmed with before-and-after ultrasounds. Much of what's written in this article is entirely suitable for a person to work through themselves but, especially if things are quite bad, or you just know that you need further help, then there may be a great deal of benefit to you to go to whatever lengths necessary to find a good herbalist to guide you on to a safe and strong treatment program. There's a short write-up to suggest how you might go about finding such a person here
What we are trying to do with herbal medicines for Gallstones is a twofold approach. Firstly, to increase the amount of bile created by the liver and secondly to assist the easy passage of that bile through the liver and gall-bladder. An average adult produces incredible amounts of bile in a typical day, up to 1000mls or 1 litre. Bile is an important fluid, it is constantly being made in the liver and then stored in the gall-bladder. Bile is essential for the digestion of fats and the absorption of fat soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A, D and K. It also serves as the method by which the body removes waste products from the liver, including bilirubin, a substance created when red blood cells are recycled by the liver. Gall stones are usually caused by the bile becoming too concentrated and not liquid enough which, if it happens often enough, eventually causes 'salts' within the bile to come out of solution and to start forming the nucleus of stones. Therefore, we must be sure to produce plenty of bile and that the bile keeps flowing well rather than becoming stuck and concentrating into stones. Certain herbs can bring about an increased production of bile as well as an increased flow of that bile. Doing this may be enough to help break down existing stones and then, if the stones are small and 'gravelly' enough, increasing the amount and flow of bile can carry that debris through the duct and away into the bowel to be safely and easily excreted.
The following are some key herbs that can increase both the production and the flow of bile.
To make a 200ml formula. Take 4 mls, diluted, twice a day approx 5-20 minutes before food. Add 2-4 tsps of Plantago husks once a day if a good bowel motion is not happening at least once and preferably twice a day within a few days of beginning treatment. After 2 or 3 courses, which will take 2 or 3 months, so long as there have been no symptoms, it is appropriate to stop treatment and wait and see if things get worse again. Treatment programs such as this have seen many people stop getting gall bladder attacks and avoid surgeries.
Detoxification is a big subject that has a lot of myths and misconceptions; if you want to read some more about it look here. It is essential to keep to a clean diet whilst working with the liver cleansing herbs, how to do that is written up in detail here
Two hundred and six white-skinned individuals were involved in the study and it was found that those who liked to sunbathe had on average twice the risk of getting gallstones than those who didn’t. In the people who frequently got sunburnt after long periods of sunbathing, the risk of developing gallstones was a remarkable 25.6 times greater than those who did not like to lie in the sun! This is simple conjecture but it may be something to do with how sunlight relates to the secretion of melatonin from the pineal gland. In any case it is certainly thought that a lack of melatonin might contribute to gallbladder stones, as melatonin is known to increase the conversion of saturated cholesterols to liquid bile...
People tell of passing huge stones and huge numbers of stones (upwards of a hundred is a common report) whilst doing this olive oil flush and oh if only it were true! Sadly, the truth does get in the way of a good story here. This will come as disturbing news to people that have diligently collected their ‘stones’ but those are not gallstones but rather a direct result of the treatment itself. The Olive oil and lemon juice become 'saponified' along with material in the bowel and form little pellets which eventually pass out. The consumption of such large quantities of any kind of oil by its nature can cause a major contraction of the gallbladder. That can be a serious problem if there really is a stone in there which is just big enough to get in and block the duct. In that case we are back to the agonies of biliary colic and you may have to think about getting in touch with the emergency medicine services. The following from an online discussion between professional herbalists on the olive oil flush ~ From: JM 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. ~ From: MM 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. Robert's protocol, similarly, seems to result in the consistent 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.
Finally, you might benefit from learning about your constitution to know what kind of foods, herbs, exercises etc. will work especially well for your health in general. Constitutional health is an old and fascinating way of understanding our differences. There's a brief introduction here and a more detailed section on working out which constitution you are here
I can't treat you unless I see you in person and, as you can see, there's nothing here for sale, |
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© 2011 R.J.Whelan Ltd