Gallstones can be extremely painful, particularly if you eat a
high-fat meal, and one unproven method of dealing with them is to
perform a "gallbladder" flush with lemon juice and olive oil. After
performing such a flush, patients might notice hard deposits in
their bowel movements the next day, but these might not actually be
gallstones, Dr. Klaper of VegSource.com notes. There is no
scientific evidence that performing a gallbladder flush can prevent
or treat gallstones.
Step 1
Measure out a half-cup of olive oil. Detox.net.au recommends using
unrefined extra-virgin olive oil. You can use a full cup if you
prefer, but if this is your first time doing a gallbladder cleanse,
the smaller volume might be easier for your body to handle.
Step 2
Measure out an equal amount of concentrated lemon juice. Again, if
this is your first time, a half-cup of lemon juice to go along with
your half-cup of olive oil is recommended.
Understanding Gallstones and Gallbladder Disease
Step 3
Add other herbs to the juice, as desired. LiverDoctor.com recommends
adding one to two cloves of freshly grated garlic and a
half-teaspoon of ginger.
Step 4
Mix the olive oil and juice in a blender or by stirring or shaking.
Step 5
Drink the mixture. Some people prefer to drink the entire mixture at
once, but the combination of olive oil and lemon juice can cause
nausea. You can consume the mixture slowly, spacing it out over
several minutes.
Step 6
Check your bowel movements the next day for small hard deposits.
Promoters of gallbladder cleansing claim that these are broken up
gallstones, though they also might simply be the result of a
chemical reaction caused by the body attempting to digest the oil
and acidic juice at once.
Things You'll Need
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Blender (optional)
Warnings
Talk with your doctor before attempting any home treatment for
gallstones. While the olive oil-lemon juice mixture is not
considered dangerous, it also has not been medically approved as a
treatment.
