Know Your Body: The Gallbladder

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Know Your Body: The Gallbladder

What Could Be Worse Than A Bad Hair Day?

http://www.mineralconnection.com/gallblad.htm

Suddenly, you feel a sharp, gripping pain in your rib cage from breastbone

clear through to shoulder blade. It eases some then worsens again.

You feel nauseas and begin to sweat. " Oh, God! I'm having a heart attack! " ,

you say to yourself. When you get to the hospital, the doctor may believe

you're having one, too. However, after exhausting all other tests, he'll

often check for a gallstone that's blocked somewhere in your bile duct and

know the truth.

Then you'll be in bed with a tube in your nose suctioning your stomach and

receiving intravenous injections of vitamins and medication for pain for it

is constant. This will continue until the internal swelling goes down

(maybe a couple of days). Usually, your doctor will tell you your only

viable option is removal of your gallbladder, called a cholestcystectomy.

If your case is not considered too severe, they may do a less radical

surgery and break up the stones but removal is considered the safe bet.

Hopefully, with surgery, you will only risk a large and very unattractive

scar, very little improvement in your ability to eat foods you enjoy and

about 10 days off work with a tube sticking out draining the bile until

your body accustoms itself to the drastic changes it has undergone. Some

people have endured much worse such as a disruption of their liver or other

ducts, wound infection, bleeding, bile leakage, and liver disease (jaundice).

Have I just presented you with a very unlikely scenario? Am I using scare

tactics? Ask any one of the over 500,000 people experiencing this nightmare

( cholecystectomy) each year. They'll tell you that there is no surgery on

earth too dangerous, no risk too great to ease this pain.

Autopsies reveal that 80 percent of all people who reach 90 have

gallstones. Estimates rank around 20 million people in the U.S. Of course,

you don't have to have a gall bladder attack to have gallstones. Most of

the symptoms of gall bladder problems are silent or are attributed to other

causes.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms include periodic pains much like the ones described

above but easing pretty quickly, chronic indigestion, intestinal gas &

cramping and often, an overall sluggish feeling. Duodenal Ulcers occur when

the gall bladder is unable to get the bile into the duodenum to neutralize

the stomach acid. Hepatitis could also be stone-related since it's

basically an inability for the liver to dump all the poisons it has cleaned

from the blood.

Also, Claude M. , D.C. reveals a symptom I've never attached to gall

bladder function: High & Low Blood Sugar. When a stone blocks the path to

the duodenum, the bile will reverse course under the pressure of the

muscular contraction and enter the pancreas' " back door " . When this

happens, the pancreas will feel irritated and produce insulin since it

doesn't realize this irritation is not a cry for insulin.

According to Dr. , after doing a gall bladder cleanse, many diabetics

have had to closely monitor their insulin intake since their need for it

drops as much as seventy-five percent! How's that for results?

Sometimes, you have gallstones but none of these symptoms. In a case like

this, you may never know it or it may hit you so suddenly. Anytime. Anywhere.

Where Is The Gall Bladder & What Does It Do?

As you can see in the picture, it is pretty well surrounded by the liver in

the upper right side of the abdomen under the rib cage and has small fluid

line called a bile duct connecting it to the liver, pancreas and duodenum.

The GB muscle which attaches to the rib cage produces powerful contraction

when irritated.

Basically, it's just a sack that holds fluid composed of water, bile salts

& cholesterol. When it comes out of the liver it is primarily water. The

Gall Bladder just stores it until 95% of the water is drained away and then

ejects it into the duodenum through the bile duct.

What Causes Gall Stones?

Interestingly, there still isn't much known in the medical community about

why a gall bladder allows the cholesterol to separate from the bile salts.

However, it is known that high cholesterol intake is not necessarily to

blame since even people fasting have been found to have high cholesterol

and stones in their gall bladders.

I learned several very interesting facts in my studies for this article.

For instance, did you know that gallstones can form in the liver even

before it is sent to the gall bladder? Basically, gall stones are made up

of cholesterol and some bile salts. Every once in a while they may have

some calcium in them but not often.

The pain is a result of the gall bladder's large, powerful muscle which is

attached to the rib cage, which is contracting in an effort to release bile

into the duodenum to neutralize the acid from the stomach. Thus, a stone

anywhere in the bile duct, from the liver's exit to the gall bladder's or

the pancreas (which shares a common bile duct). Is capable of producing

deathlike pain.

In the book ARE YOU " STONED " ?, Dr. describes the actions surrounding

the common bile duct as response to irritations. For example, the stomach

is the only part of the body made to run in an acid condition. Therefore,

when the food mixed with acid leaves the stomach, it is very irritating to

the duodenum. Well, it doesn't believe in suffering in silence so it

produces an enzyme called cholecystokinin which irritates the gall bladder

muscle into contracting and therefore expelling the bile which travels

through the common bile duct to the duodenum.

If there's a stone in there somewhere, the pain will be an intense gripping

pain. If it stops, there can be several reasons: 1) the stone was ejected

safely and is now in the duodenum, 2) it fell back into the gall bladder

after the contraction or 3) it shifted so that it's still blocking the flow

of bile but is no longer trapped by a muscle. Only the first one would be

good news. Even so, there's something you should never forget: if the

liver/gallbladder function is sluggish enough to produce one gallstone,

it's probably produced another twenty or thirty.

If the stones are allowed to remain, inflammation can set in. If the stone

blocks the passage between the gall bladder & liver or the entrance to the

liver, jaundice will occur. If sufficient bile isn't getting to your

duodenum, then you are likely constipated since bile is a natural laxative.

In cases of severe inflammation, the gall bladder can burst leading to very

serious complications and, if left untreated, to death.

Removing the gall bladder does not guarantee freedom from gall stones! The

bile duct itself will swell up and act as a sack for the bile (making

itself a gall bladder) and within 1 to 2 years, the stones can and often do

return. Since the stones are more or less a fact of life, regular cleansing

should also be a fact of life.

Early Detection

Iridology

If there is often no clue that there is a problem brewing inside, what can

you do to protect yourself? Well, if you remember my article a couple of

months ago about Iridology, you can look in your right eye at 7:45

(remember, looking in a mirror reverses the time). Right at the pupil is a

small band about 1/3 of the width of the iris and that represents the

intestines.

At 7:45 the beginning of the intestines, the duodenum (doo'od'inum) will be

either several shades lighter or darker if there is a problem. Generally, a

white condition would be seen at the beginning when the body is still

fighting. As it gives up to the congestion, stress, diet, or whatever else

is hurting it, it will get darker & deeper. With light & magnification, you

can see the depth of the fibers.

This darkness reflects a slowing down or sluggishness which would invite

gallstones. However, if you see white in there, it would be a good idea to

give it some assistance.

After the duodenum, comes the area reflecting gall bladder function

followed by the bile duct and, from mid way out to the edge of the iris is

the liver.

Reflexology

Another excellent way to determine the health of your liver & gallbladder

is to rub (better yet, have someone else rub) your right foot about 1-2 "

under the little toe.

Often when working this one you will feel the little crystal move around as

you're attempting to improve circulation to the area. If it's sore, some

protective health actions may be wise.

Body Reflexes

There are even reflex points in the shoulder blades on both sides to the

gall bladder which can become very sore. In fact, if you suffer from

chronic pains in your neck and shoulders, there is a very good possibility

you need either a liver or gall bladder cleanse, or both.

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself?

Since the estimates are that over 20 million people have gall bladder

trouble with 1 million new cases reported each year, I would say that a

nice gall bladder cleanse would be an excellent way to protect yourself

from the miseries described above. Many herb books contain these cleanses

but I base most of mine on the book: 'ARE YOU STONED'? I highly recommend

you read it because he goes into much more detail about gall bladder

function and has page after page of letters and comments from people who

have done his cleanse. I've done several cleanses myself over the years and

have found this one quite effective.

Diet-wise, green, leafy vegetables help both the liver and gall bladder to

cleanse toxins from the body and regular intake of virgin olive oil or

sesame oil will keep the gall bladder pumping out that bile. Especially

when you fast, a tablespoon a day of oil will go a long way to a healthy

gall bladder.

Herbally, any of the herbs that end with " doc " like Yellow Dock, Burdock,

etc. Bitter Aloe Vera, any of the bitter herbs and vegetables. Red Beet

Root is well-known in herb lore. Many herb companies have excellent

formulas for cleansing the liver but nothing really compares to a periodic

cleanse. The herbs will assist the organs in their functions every day.

Gall Bladder Cleanse

Many people have told me that they have found dramatic improvement in

digestion, energy and decreased joint pain by doing the following cleanse

(my own digestion improved):

The day of the cleanse, eat very lightly. Maybe a salad or health drink for

lunch. During the day, drink 5 glasses of water (6 ounces each) with the

juice of 1 lemon squeezed in each. It's best not to eat anything else after

6 PM so that your stomach will be empty.

Around 7:30, take 1 cup of Lemon Juice and 1-1/2 cups of Olive Oil. Stir

together and drink 3 ounces of the mixture every 15 minutes until it's

gone. Try not to drink too much of anything to wash it down so that you

don't get nauseous and throw up, thus ending the cleanse.

I find 1 to 2 teaspoons of Swedish Bitters in a glass of water makes the

mixture go down easier. Others have found Pineapple Juice or V-8 Juice work

best. I also found chewing 1 or 2 Papaya Mint Tablets helped settle my

stomach toward the last.

Stay in bed in a semi-reclining position on right side while drinking the

mixture. Excess movement may cause nausea. Go on to sleep and you will

likely wake needing to eliminate and you may find these pea shaped things

floating on the top. These are a mixture of bile salts which were

previously clogging your gallbladder. You may pass only once. Some have

reported passing these " stones " off and on for several hours.

Sometimes they even liquifiy and just look mushy or you don't notice them

at all but most people actually see the stones floating on top of the

water. The only known problem with this cleanse is if a stone is way too

big and it gets stopped up on its way out. Medical intervention would then

be advisable. If it's that big, it would have given you trouble sooner or

later anyway. For the most part, the lemon juice helps to break them down

into smaller pieces and the olive oil promotes the gall bladder's

contractions which force them out.

If you have long-standing problems in your gall bladder area, you may want

to do the cleanse again in about 2 months and maybe even once more 2 to 3

months after that. From then on, I do one or two cleanses a year. That

would probably depend upon your diet.

It's really fascinating to see all this stuff coming out of your body and

the positive results prove that it is making a step in the direction of

protecting your health. And what could be safer than lemon juice and olive

oil? If you want to examine the stones more closely, Dr. provides a

plastic net with each book to put over your commode to catch them!

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please call

Doylene or Glynda at 512/352-1001. We've both done the cleanse and can

report that it's not a pleasure to drink that stuff but it sure is good to

finish it!

References:

ARE YOU " STONED " ? by Claude M. , D.C., Edith Hiett and Leon Hiett;

REVIEW OF MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY by F. Ganong; IRIDOLOGY by Dorothy

Hall; STORIES THE FEET CAN TELL by the Ingham Institute; THE MERCK MANUAL.

[Guest guest]

That whole report on surgery, a large ugly scare, continuing pain, and an

inability to eat many and better than you could before is totally bogus.

Take it from one who knows. Yes, it certainly is scare tactics.

Debra

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[Guest guest]

>>a large ugly scare<<

scar......sorry, I'm a lousy typist.

Debra

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