Gallbladder Flush Program

Plan to have some time at home during this flush, as you will spend a lot of time in the bathroom!

Day One: Throughout the day, drink one quart (32 ounces) of unsweetened pear or apple juice, or a mixture of the two. Eat at least two cups of applesauce throughout the day. Optionally, you can add pears, apples, figs, or prunes, but do not eat any fats. For best effects, eat only fruits. If this makes you too weak, take some yogurt, soup, or brown rice to get you through.
Take the following herbs at lunch, dinner, and bedtime:
Psyllium hulls: 3 (totaling 9 daily)
Cascara sagrada: 1 (totaling 3 daily)
Hydrangea: 2 (totaling 6 daily)
Lecithin: 4 (totaling 12 daily)

Day Two: Repeat the same regimen as for Day One, but at bedtime drink four ounces of olive oil mixed with four ounces of fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Day Three: By mid-morning, you should have passed little green balls known as gallstones. You can facilitate this process by giving yourself an enema.

After a cleanse or any fast, it is always wise to start back slowly into eating solid foods. If you ate only fruit for the first two days, you should eat only soup, fruit, and yogurt on the third day to ease your body back into digesting.
For occasional heartburn, an herb with a “cool, wet” energetic should be used first. The herb marshmallow (Althea officinalis) fits great into this category. This pretty little white flowering herb grows in marshy lands and is sweet to the taste. As you might guess, marshmallow was originally used to make those white, pillowish-looking candies we see around the campfires. As an herb, it has a soothing effect on body tissues and can be used instead of other herbs with the same qualities, such as slippery elm and aloe vera. If we strengthen digestion, heartburn usually ceases to be a problem. Pepsin, food enzymes, papaya, peppermint, catnip, and aloe vera all help to support digestion and will help get to the root cause of your problem.
The clinical studies of Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., suggest that heartburn is a symptom of dehydration. A special mucus lining serves to protect the inner walls of our stomach and small intestines from the damage of stomach acid. Lots of water is required in order for our body to produce this special mucus; when we don’t have enough water, we cannot create this protective barrier. Try drinking two glasses of water about 20 minutes before each meal, along with some marshmallow or food enzyme tablets. The marshmallow will help your body retain some moisture, and the enzymes will help you break down your food.

Heartburn: Putting Out the Fire with Marshmallow

Anyone who has experienced bad heartburn knows that the word “heartburn” sounds just like it feels: like a hot coal burning through your chest cavity. But heartburn is just a sign of indigestion somewhere along your digestive tract. Heartburn can indicate other more serious troubles and should be checked by your physician if it persists. About 50 percent of the population who suffer with heartburn can track the condition to a hiatal hernia, a condition where the stomach is pushed up toward the esophagus, causing a “kink” that allows stomach acid into the esophagus causing heartburn. If you have think you have a hiatal hernia, soothing herbs such as marshmallow will serve as an excellent remedy, but you will also need to consider herbs that relax the nervous system, too (see “S-T-R-E-S-S:
That’s the Way We Spell Success,”, “R and S: Remarkable Recoveries and Super Solutions”), wear loose pants, and sip on warm herbal teas to help bring the stomach back to place. Sometimes your chiropractor will be able to mechanically “adjust” the area to bring temporary relief until the problem is healed.
Sometimes heartburn can indicate gallbladder trouble or gallstones. If you eat lots of fatty foods, tend to be constipated or don’t eat enough fiber, or have a family history of gallbladder or liver trouble, you may be a good candidate for a gallbladder flush. This technique is designed to break down gallstones so your body can pass them out of the bowel. This is a three-day cleanse, but you can condense it to a single day by taking oil and lemon juice on the evening of the first day. This cleanse is for those who are not in a weakened or debilitated condition, where a cleanse would not be appropriate.

White Willow Bark: Worse Than Its Bite

As you are pinpointing the cause of your headaches, a couple of white willow bark (Salix alba) capsules will ease your head pain. The bark of the white willow tree is used as an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and pain reliever. As you may remember, we talked about white willow bark originally being used to make aspirin. White willow also eases rheumatism pains and can help lower fevers in adults. Respect this herb as you would an over-the counter aspirin, and do not exceed over 60 mg daily. Ask your physician before giving white willow to a child suffering with Reye’s syndrome, since this herb is a salicylate, as is aspirin.
A combination of white willow, valerian, and wild lettuce makes an excellent remedy for a stress or tension headache. (Valerian and wild lettuce both help relax the nervous system.) A pinch of capsicum may be added as a catalyst to this remedy to speed the pain-relieving effect.
An excellent headache remedy using essential oils was brought to my attention by a client. I have used this remedy because I like the effect it promotes, stimulating and calming at the same time.
Plus it smells terrific! Here’s all you need:

6 drops pure essential oil of lavender
4 drops pure essential oil of peppermint

Drop each into the palm of your hand. Mix together with your finger using a clockwise motion. Dab a few drops on each temple and massage in gently. Rub your hands together briskly and run your fingers through your hair while massaging rest of solution into scalp. You’ll be glad you tried this one!