The myth of cleansing the liver and gallstones

There is a lot of information available that states that the body needs your help to keep its liver clean. They claim that the liver becomes toxic and that certain things must be done to detoxify it. There are even special diets that will eliminate gallstones. But, the truth is that the liver was designed to detoxify your body. There is no reason to detoxify it.

Get rid of the myth

First, let’s get rid of the gallstone diet myth. The claim here is that by using certain things in your diet, you can make your gallstones go into the gut and then down the toilet. Supposedly, if you look at your stool when using this diet, you will find gallstones.

But look at the facts. The duct between the gallbladder and the small intestine is called the bile duct. The end of the bile duct is the ampulla of Vater. The final part of the bile duct goes through the pancreas and shares a small part of the tube with the duct of the pancreas.

Vater’s ampoule is normally about the same diameter as a pencil lead. So what do you think would happen if you caused a gallstone to start traveling down the bile duct? Well, if it’s smaller in diameter than a pencil lead, it should go through without a hitch. But would it be big enough to notice on your stool? Hardly!

In fact, if you were successful in getting a larger stone out of your gallbladder and into the bile duct, you would immediately feel very uncomfortable. The pain would start under the rib cage in the right front, or sometimes in the back, and would pass to the other side under the ribs. Usually the pain would also go to the right back and cause nausea as well.

But those who push for the liver cleanse diet don’t even mention potential complications like that. In fact, there are even worse potential complications. If a stone gets stuck in the ampulla of Vater, the back pressure can also cause inflammation of the pancreas. That would result in pancreatitis, a very painful and potentially fatal condition. These people often need emergency surgery.

There are a couple of medications that cause gallstones to shrink – ursodiol (Actigall) or chenodiol (Chenix). However, these medications can take years to work and do not prevent gallstones from coming back.

So what do people see in the bathroom that look like gallstones? I have not seen any actual chemical analysis of these crystals, but I assume it would be a component of apple juice or olive oil that crystallizes in the presence of stomach acid.

Gallstone Prevention

The exact cause of many gallstones is unknown, but we do know that there are several things that contribute. These include being overweight and high in fat, heredity, and having children. Another surprising thing that seems to cause them is rapid weight loss and a very low-fat diet. Rapid weight loss contributes to gallstone formation because the liver pumps cholesterol into the bile and it becomes so concentrated that it can form stones.

The normal function of the gallbladder is to collect and concentrate bile. Bile is used to help digest fatty and oily foods. When you eat something that contains fat or oil, such as something fried, the gallbladder squeezes out the bile. So those who never eat anything with fat or oil, their gallbladder never empties. The bile becomes more and more concentrated until crystals begin to form.

Unfortunately, there may be no way to completely avoid gallstones if your ancestors had them. However, you may be able to decrease your chance of getting them through various methods.

First, try to maintain a reasonable weight. Being overweight or underweight increases your chances of developing gallstones.

Second, drink enough fluids. Each time you become dehydrated, it can cause the bile to become more concentrated and gallstones can occur.

Third, keep up with your good balanced diet. Don’t eat a lot of fat. But don’t avoid them entirely. As always, the best fats are those obtained in their natural state. The best place to get corn oil is by eating corn. The best place to get olive oil is by eating olives. If you want to avoid something, it is very refined food.

Fourth, a good exercise program will keep blood flow through the liver and gallbladder at good levels and help with any problems that may occur.

Lastly, if you develop pain that appears to be a gallbladder problem, see your doctor. If you have gallstone pain, surgery is still the best and last treatment. Hate to tell you that, but it’s still true. I can show you the scars.