GALLSTONES
Notice the Choledocholithias (gallstones in the bile duct) in the picture.
GALLSTONES OR CHOLELITHIASIS
The definition of gallstones is: solid crystalline
precipitates in the BILIARY TRACT, usually formed in the GALLBLADDER. Gallstones, derived from the BILE, consist
mainly of calcium, cholesterol, or bilirubin. (italics
are mine)
The medical term for gall stones is cholelithiasis. Chole is from the Greek meaning "bile". Lithos is "stone"
and iasis is "condition of". So it is the condition of having bile stones. The usual center of gallstones
is a mixture of cholesterol, bilirubin and calcium. These stones can be black, red, white, green, or tan-colored.
The most common found during a flush is the pea-green color which contain the highest concentration of cholesterol
and are generally soft and easy to crumble. As the stones grow and become more numerous, they clog the tubing,
creating back pressure on the liver, causing it to make less bile. The back-up of bile can cause jaundice which
gives a yellow coloring to the skin and the whites of the eyes.
SYMPTOMS OF GALLSTONES
Symptoms of a gallbladder
attack are often caused by gallbladder stones. A stone may block the neck
of the gallbladder or get stuck in a bile duct inhibiting the flow of bile or possibly causing a backing up of
bile. However, short of causing an actual attack, stones may be present for years and never cause any symptoms
at all. "Biliary pain can occur in about a third of the gallstone patients" (which leaves two thirds
NOT experiencing pain) and "sometimes the gallstone symptoms are difficult to differentiate from that of dyspepsia."
(indigestion)3 The gallstones can impair the functioning of the gallbladder, however, which can result in any of
the common gallbladder symptoms.
Gallbladder symptoms can look and feel the same with or without
stones. That is why medical testing is so necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Someone will go into the emergency
room with a gallbladder attack and be told it's because he has gallstones. The person in the bed next to him also
has a gallbladder attack and has an inflammed gallbladder but no stones. A third person has an attack but they
can find nothing. This is not an uncommon question I get. "The diagnostic tests are all negative. What do
I do now? How do I get out of pain?" People are upset because they want a diagnosis. "But what am I supposed
to do with my pain if it comes back if the medical people don't know what to do with it?" Hey, lucky you!
At least they won't be wanting to cut your gallbladder out! This person is the best candidate for turning around
a gallbladder problem with natural products, treatments and diet.
Stones or no stones, my answer is that basically you treat
almost any gallbladder problem (life-treatening complications must be considered carefully and with your MD) pretty
much the same way, with diet, with bile thinning substances, with fat emulsifiers and metabolizers. And you work
on improving your overall digestion in general.
Gallstones are considered a gallbladder disease and for any
gallbladder problem or disease the above-mentioned principals are the same. For gallbladder stones specifically,
however, there are some products and foods that more directly affect the stones which can be found in the diet section and in the extra-strength gallbladder relief kit of gallbladder
products.
CAUSE OF GALLSTONES
Stasis or stagnation of bile or incomplete emptying of the
gallbladder causes the bile to coagulate or precipitate and clump together into stones. The precurser to stones
will be what is termed "sludge".7 A more scientific explanation would be that cholesterol stones are
caused by the imbalance of cholesterol to bile salts, too much of one or not enough of the other. There can also
be too much bilirubin. So what good is that information? How can we control the too much of any of the above?
Useless, I say. The following research makes much more practical sense as far as we are concerned:
"Formation of pure cholesterol stones is
initiated by an excessive intake of highly purified carbohydrates, a large intake of animal fats and a restricted
intake of vegetable fibers. When the protein content of the lithogenic diet was reduced, mixed or combined stones
were formed in golden hamsters. These experimentally, dietarily produced gallstones had compositions and fine structures
similar to those of human gallstones. Some mentions were made on black stones which were found in the aged golden
hamsters fed with lithogenic diets." 4
Translation: Cholesterol stones are formed by eating a "white
trash diet" -- sugar, white bread, pasta, pastries, sodas, etc., lots of meat and by not eating enough vegetables.
When the protein content of diet is low and just the sugars (refined carbohydrates) are eaten, the calicified
stones began to form along with the softer cholesterol ones. The black stones that are sometimes passed during
a flush or found in a surgically-removed gallbladder, seem to be older stones that have been there for a long time.
(Lithogenic means contributing to the formation of stones).
There is also the medical opinion that some pharmaceutical
drugs may contribute to the formation of gallstones.5
MEDICAL TREATMENT OF GALLSTONES
Whether done via lithotripsy or bile acids, research shows
that 50% of the time the stones will come back.5 The same will be true for liver and gallbladder flushes too unless
dietary changes are made and fat digestion is improved. For discussion of common medical treatments for gallstones
such as gallbladder removal see links to medical sites.
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT OF GALLSTONES
Gallstones may be removed from the gallbladder by means of
a gallbladder
and liver flush. It is advisable to take natural products and dietary measures to both decrease the size of the gallstones and to soften them first. I do
not advise a flush until you have prepared for weeks (if your discomfort is severe) or months (depending on the
size and calcification of the stones). As mentioned above, dietary changes are necessary as well as improving fat
metabolism. Other treatments listed under how to prevent gallbladder attacks may also be helpful for stones since
anything that helps to thin the bile and get it moving is akin to water flowing over pebbles. The faster it is
moving, the more it wears them down.
PREVENTION OF GALLSTONES
Including Gallstone Diet
- Do not overeat
- Diet high in fiber - lots of vegetables
- Avoid refined carbohydrates (including sugar and white flour)
- Omega 3 oils and other polyunsaturated fats
- Avoid saturated and trans fats
- Eat moderate amounts of lean meats
- Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water per day
- Exercise
- Lose excess weight but slowly
- Supplemental bile salts and bile thinning agents as found
in the gallbladder products. In particular I would suggest the Bile Salts, Phos Drops, the Lemon Tea Kit and Liver
and Gallbladder Detox Tinctures.
(1)Torsoli A, Corazziari E, Habib FI, Cicala
M. Scand J
Gastroenterol Suppl. 1990;175:52-7.
(2) The physicochemical basis of cholesterol gallstone
formation in man William H. Admirand and Donald M. Small 1Boston University Medical School, Department of Medicine,
Section of Gastroenterology, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
(3) Friedman GD. Natural history of asymptomatic and symptomatic gallstones. Am J Surg 1993; 165: 399-404.
(4) Nagase M, Hikasa Y, Tanimura H, Setoyama M, Kamata T, Mukaihara S, Maruyama K., Etiology of cholesterol gallstones.,
Gastroenterol Jpn. 1979;14(1):40-7
(5) Ruppin DC, Dowling RH.Is recurrence inevitable after gallstone dissolution by bile-acid treatment? Lancet.
1982 Jan 23;1(8265):181-5.
(6) Weinstein S, Lipsitz EC, Addoniziol L, et al. Cholelithiasis in paediatric cardiac
transplant patients on cyclosporin. J Pediatr Surg 1995;30:61-4.
(7) Carey MC.,Pathogenesis of gallstones.Recenti Prog Med. 1992 Jul-Aug;83(7-8):379-91
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If you've had an attack
and you don't want another
You need to get on some natural
products that thin the bile such as will
be recommended when you submit
your questionnaire.
You need to change your diet,
especially your fats.
Order
my newsletters full of
tips that
will help you to turn your impaired fat
digestion and your gallbladder health
around.
You need to educate yourself and then
implement the concepts.
If dietary changes are difficult for you,
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products that are specifically designed
to help your body to crave healthy
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