# Gallbladder flush

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{{Short description|Practice in alternative medicine}}
{{more medical citations needed|date=May 2018}}

The '''gallbladder flush''' or '''liver cleanse''' is an [alternative medicine](/source/alternative_medicine) practice involving fasting, followed by the ingestion of some combination of [Epsom salt](/source/magnesium_sulfate), [olive oil](/source/olive_oil), and [grapefruit](/source/grapefruit) juice, in some cases substituted by other, similar ingredients.<ref name=AMR/> Those who advocate it claim that it is possible to remove not only the well-known [gallstone](/source/gallstone)s from the [gallbladder](/source/gallbladder), but also the so-called intra-hepatic stones from the [bile duct](/source/bile_duct)s of the [liver](/source/liver) by this procedure.

There are different sets of rules, according to which a gallbladder flush is performed. One can distinguish between "recipes" originating in traditional folk medicine<ref>P. C. Royal (1982). ''Herbally Yours: A comprehensive herbal handbook simple enough for the herbal student, complete enough for the herbal practitioner''. Hurricane (Utah). p. 117f.</ref> and those of which the author is known.

When scientifically analyzed, the "gallstones" produced by a group of patients were found to contain no cholesterol, bilirubin, or calcium, which characterizes the makeup of gallstones, but instead were 75% fatty acids.<ref name=AMR>{{cite journal|last1=Gaby|first1=Alan R.|title=Nutritional Approaches to Prevention and Treatment of Gallstones|journal=Alternative Medicine Review |pmid=19803550 |volume=14|year=2009|issue=3|pages=258–67}}</ref> In two cases, chemical analysis of supposed gallstones that were excreted in the course of a gallbladder flush showed that these were not real gallstones, but "soap stones", which are structures formed in the [gut](/source/gastrointestinal_tract) due to a reaction of the digestive juices with the ingested treatment.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 15836886 | doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66373-8 | volume=365 | title=Could these be gallstones? | year=2005 | journal=The Lancet | page=1388 | last1 = Sies | first1 = CW | last2 = Brooker | first2 = J| issue=9468 | s2cid=5317616 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 19718602 | doi=10.1055/s-0029-1234016 | volume=134 | title=Flushing stones? 'Leberreinigung' und 'Gallenspülungen' |trans-title=Flushing stones? 'Liver purging' and 'gallbladder lavage' | year=2009 | journal=Dtsch Med Wochenschr | page=1774 | last1 = Ewald | first1 = N | last2 = Hardt | first2 = PD | issue=36 | s2cid=260120867 | language = de }}</ref>

== Risks ==
People attempting this treatment often experience abdominal pain and diarrhea.<ref name=AMR/>

In one reported case, a patient suffered a biliary [pancreatitis](/source/pancreatitis) after performing a gallbladder flush.<ref>S. U. Christl, ''Biliäre Pankreatitis nach alternativmedizinischer Leberreinigung'', Die Medizinische Welt  2006; 57 12:596-598. (article in German)</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

Category:Biologically based therapies
Category:Herbalism
Category:Gallbladder

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gallbladder flush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallbladder_flush) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallbladder_flush?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.