The gallbladder flush or liver cleanse is an

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and ...

practice involving fasting, followed by the ingestion of some combination of

Epsom salt Epsomite, Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, is a hydrous magnesium sulfate mineral with formula MgSO4·7H2O. Epsomite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system as rarely found acicular or fibrous crystals, the normal form is as massi ...

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

, and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit i ...

juice, in some cases substituted by other, similar ingredients. Those who advocate it claim that it is possible to remove not only the well-known

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

s from the

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, althoug ...

, but also the so-called intra-hepatic stones from the

bile duct A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile, and is present in most vertebrates. Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct. It ...

s of the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

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 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. 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 Gut or guts may refer to: Anatomy * Abdomen or belly, the region of a vertebrate between the chest and pelvis * Abdominal obesity or "a gut", a large deposit of belly fat * Gastrointestinal tract or gut, the system of digestive organs * Ins ...

due to a reaction of the digestive juices with the ingested treatment.

Risks

People attempting this treatment often experience abdominal pain and diarrhea. In one reported case, a patient suffered a biliary

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic p ...

after performing a gallbladder flush.S. U. Christl, ''Biliäre Pankreatitis nach alternativmedizinischer Leberreinigung'', Die Medizinische Welt 2006; 57 12:596-598. (article in German)

References

Biologically-based therapies Herbalism Gallbladder