I tried a new mini-flush this morning…here’s what I did:

• Waited until about 10:30am to do the flush. I hadn’t eaten since last night and was pretty hungry. I did have a couple of glasses of water this morning. Waiting as long as possible allows bile to fill up your gallbladder.
• Gathered the ingredients:
• 1/2 cup of apple juice
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil (warmed it up so that it was pourable)
• 1/2 of a grapefruit
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic
• Poured them all into a glass, squeezed the grapefruit juice in, and mixed them all together.
• Took a picture for you! While it kind of looks like a glass of beer, it certainly is not. If only I had been so lucky.
• Realized that the cold apple juice hardened the coconut oil. So I microwaved everthing for 20 seconds. (It probably would be best to stick the glass in a pan of hot water, but I wanted to keep things moving this morning.)
• Gulped it all down and laid on my right side for 20 minutes with my legs pulled to my chest.

Analysis of the flush: Well, this one was different. The coconut oil tasted much better (compared to olive oil), but the garlic didn’t really help the flavor. I felt a little nausea after drinking it, but, again, not as much nausea as with my usual olive oil-Coke or olive oil-grapefruit mini-flushes. But, the good news is that I feel great. I have a clearer head than I’ve had for a while, and at least for now the tightness and pain in my gallbladder region (right side of the body, right behind your lowest ribs) has gone away.

Also, check out some of my other more tried-and-true gallbladder and gallstone flush recipes.

The most common symptoms of gallbladder problems in men are:

• Pain in his gallbladder region: Men’s gallbladders are located right below their liver, on the right side of their body half way between their throat and belly button. The pain be sharp and sudden, or a chronic ache.
• Pain in his abdominal region: Though his gallbladder may be having problems, other parts of his abdomen may hurt as well. The pain can be continual or when he presses on different parts of her abdomen.
• Pain in his right shoulder blade: Gallbladder pain can be felt in his right shoulder blade.
• Yellow eyes or skin: The whites of his eyes or skin can become slightly yellow, or jaundiced.
• Bloating, gas, or different looking stool: If his gallbladder isn’t working correctly, it can affect the rest of his digestive tract.
• Fever, nausea, and vomiting: While these symptoms can indicate other health issues, they are also tied to gallbladder problems.

Be sure to search our site to learn more about the different types of gallbladder disease, as well as how to eat a healthy gallbladder diet with our gallbladder recipes. Also, be sure to check out The Healthy Gallbladder Cookbook!

In summary, your gall blader (actually spelled “gall bladder” or “gallbladder”) is a small pear-shaped organ located directly below and behind your liver. It is a storage sack for the bile that is created by your liver. When you eat food, especially cholesterol and fat, your gall bladder contracts forcing the bile into your small intestines. This bile helps break down, or emulsify, the fat in the food you’ve eaten.

Where is my gall bladder?

Your gall bladder is located on the bottom of your liver on the right side of your rib cage. It is about 3 inches (8cm) long, 1.5 inches (4cm) in diameter when fully expanded, and has three parts: the fundus, body, and neck. Equating your gallbladder to a pear, the fundus is the “fat, bottom” part of the pear; the body is the thinner “middle” part of the pear; and neck is the “top and stem” that connects to the cystic duct. The cystic duct then flows into the common hepatic duct becoming the common bile duct.

How does my gallbladder work?

When you eat food and there are partially digested fats and proteins in your small intestine (duodenum), a hormone called cholecystokinin (or CCK, literally “to move the gallbladder”) is released. CCK causes the gallbladder to contract forcing bile into the duodenum to further digest, break up, and emulsify the food. CCK also encourages secretion of bile salts into the remainder of the biliary system.

What is bile?

Bile, or gall, is a fluid that is produced in your liver to help break down fats and lipids in your small intestine. It ranges between dark green and yellowish brown in color and is bitter.

Your liver can produce up to a liter of bile a day. Liver cells called hepatocytes produce bile which travels down several bile ducts inside your liver. Another type of cells in the liver, epithelial cells, insert bicarbonates into the bile making it more fluid and more alkaline. As bile is made it eventually flows into the gallbladder. While stored there, it can become five times more concentrated than in the liver due to absorption of water and electrolytes.

What Kinds of Problems Can I Have?

Be sure to explore our site that can explain symptoms of gallbladder problems, healthy gallbladder diets to help out, as well as some gallbladder flushes you can conduct to get gallstones out of your gallbladder!

Ingredients:

• 3 cans of white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 qt water
• Handful of Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 8 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 lb kale or spinach leaves (remove the stems), finely chopped (or 1 bag of frozen spinach)

Directions:
Cook onions and garlic in oil in an 8-quart pot over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened. Add the beans, broth, 1 quart water, cheese, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Then, simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir the carrots into the soup and simmer 5 minutes. Finally, stir in the kale or spinach and the remaining quart water. Simmer uncovered, while stirring occasionally, until the kale or spinach is tender – about 13 to 15 minutes.

This soup is best if made a day in advance. Cooled, than warmed back when it’s time to enjoy! Be sure to search for our other gallbladder recipes…

Barley is an excellent food for your gallbladder and gallstones. In several tests, it has been shown to dissolve gallstones by increasing bile acids in bile. Barley’s high fiber content is also beneficial for gallstones and optimal gallbladder health.

This site has some gallbladder recipes with barley, and you can also use it as a substitute for rice at any meal, have a bowl of cooked barley for breakfast in the morning instead of oatmeal, and be sure to put some in the soups you’re making.

Pears and pear juice are excellent for your gallbladder and gallstones. Although they have less malic acid than there apple cousins, there is still sufficient amount to help thin bile and slowly break down gallstones. They also have plenty of pectin which binds with cholesterol and helps move it out of the body; and their fiber content is also great for your health.

There are a number of different types of pears including:

• Anjou: A green pear that’s great by itself or with cheese (though keep cheese to a minimum if you have gallbladder problems!)
• Asian: A yellow to green pear that is more round than other types. This kind is ok to eat even when it’s very firm. Also called a Nashi apple, African pear, Japanese pear, Taiwan pear, and Korean pear.
• Bartlett: A green or yellow pear that’s great fresh, cooked, and in salads.
• Bosc: A yellow to reddish pear. Put them in salads, fruit baskets, or plain.
• Comice: A shorter, plumper pear that is green-yellow with occasional reddish parts. Good fresh, in salads, and in fruit baskets.
• Red Bartlett: A reddish pear that’s good to cook, put in salads or eat fresh.
• Seckel: A green to red pear that’s good for canning, eating fresh or in salads.

To help your gallbladder, work pears into your diet as often as you can, including pear juice. Feel free to browse our site for other healthy gallbladder foods and recipes.

Symptoms of gallstones can be very painful. Usually gallstones symptoms are:

• Pain in your gallbladder region: Your gallbladder is located right below your liver, on the right side of your body half way between your throat and belly button. The pain can range from a constant, dull ache to sharp, passing pain.
• Abdominal pain: Though your gallbladder may be having issues with gallstones, other parts of your abdomen may hurt as well. The pain can be continual or when your press on a certain part of your abdomen.
• Pain in your right shoulder: Pain from gallstones can radiate to your right shoulder blade.
• Jaundice: The whites of your eyes or your skin can become slightly yellow. This comes from your liver having difficulty filtering your blood when it is full of gallstones.
• Bloating, gas, or different looking stool: As your gallbladder helps with digesting fats, if your gallbladder isn’t working right due to gallstones, it can affect the rest of your digestive tract.
• Fever, nausea, and vomiting: Though these symptoms can be tied to many other health issues such as a flu or food poisoning, they can also be tied to gallstones.

What are Gallstones

Gallstones, or cholelithiasis, are small, rock-like materials that can develop in your gallbladder. Right below your liver is a small, pear-shaped organ – your gallbladder. At a high level, when bile – the fluid stored in your gallbladder – gels and eventually hardens, it becomes gallstones. The liver manufactures bile to digest fats and stores it in the nearby gallbladder.

Testing for Gallstone Symptoms

To test for gallstones, the first thing a medical professional will test is seeing if your abdomen is painful to the touch. They will likely also order blood tests (bilirubin levels, liver tests, and pancreatic enzymes), ultrasounds, CT scans, X-rays, an oral cholecystogram, endoscopic ultrasound, and/or a gallbladder radionuclide exam.

Treatment for Gallstones

If you are having severe abdominal pain, seek immediate medical attention. Often, medical professionals will advise removal of the gallbladder. However, there are many alternatives to removal that allow you to avoid surgery, keep your organs in place, and live a healthy, happy life. Please search this site for alternatives.

What To Do If You Have Gallstones

If you have gallstones, you should change to a healthy gallbladder diet. Be sure to browse our site for healthy gallbladder recipes! You can also conduct a gallbladder cleanse. They work!

Most of the time you won’t even know that you have gallbladder sludge. When it’s diagnosed, eat some gallbladder healthy foods (apples, artichokes, radishes, turmeric are all great), and conduct a gallbladder cleanse to flush it out.

It will take some time for your body to adjust to not being able to store bile – which is used to break down fats. So, the less fat you consume the better. You’ll also want foods to move through your body easily, so a hearty dose of daily fiber is optimal as well. Finally, you’ll want to minimize the load on your liver.

Generally, the diet you should follow after gallbladder surgery is the same diet that people should eat to obtain optimal gallbladder health and to get rid of gallstones. (Read more about healthy gallbladder diets, here for healthy gallbladder foods, or here for foods to avoid.)

That said, there are some additional diet changes that you can make specifically for after your cholecystectomy:

• Help your body break down fats: Acids like vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice can help emulsify any fats that you eat. Try putting a spoonful on vegetables and salads!
• Eat only the best oils and fats: While your body will have a more difficult time digesting fats, you will still need some. Hemp seed and flax seed oils are both rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and are “good fats” to be used on food directly, not as cooking oils. For light cooking, use olive oil.
• Fiber, vitamins, and minerals: Eat your veggies (and fruits). They supply high doses of fiber to keep things moving through your digestive tract, and vitamins and minerals so that your body can heal up quickly after surgery.
• Water: As with all diets, drink plenty of water.

A month after surgery you can start eating:

• Whole grains
• Low-fat meats such as fish and de-skinned poultry
• Low-fat dairy: low-fat milk, mozzarella cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt

In addition to changing what you eat, it’s wise to change how you eat after surgery:

• Smaller, more frequent meals: As your body adjusts to breaking down food, it will be a lot easier for your body to digest smaller, more frequent meals than the traditional three meals a day. Change to five or six smaller meals throughout the day.
• Regularity: Set up a schedule of regularly spaced meals and do not skip meals.
• Appreciate: Enjoy and appreciate the food you eat. This potential shift in focus to appreciation gives you the “power of positive thought” surrounding your health and the food you put into your body.

If you would be interested in ordering our soon-to-be-completed gallbladder recipe book, please click on the image below:

• Pain in your gallbladder region (which is on the right side of your body, midway between your throat and belly button)
• Pain anywhere in your upper and lower abdomen
• Pain spreading to your right shoulder
• Nausea, bloating, gas, and different looking stool.

If your having any of these issues with your gallbladder, read about the different types of gallbladder disease to see which symptoms you are having and what the problem may be.

In all cases of gallbladder issues, changing to a better gallbladder diet, doing gallbladder flushes, and preparing healthy gallbladder recipes can help bring relief.