Liver cleansing using household items

As Chuck Basford lay sprawled on his couch watching a movie 20 years ago, a sharp, searing pain surged into his stomach. It felt as though knives were being wrenched into his upper abdomen, and the excruciating pain knocked him onto the floor, he said.

Basford was experiencing a gallstone attack. In order to subside his affliction, Basford, 25 at the time, administered his own at-home liver flush by drinking a half cup of extra virgin olive oil and ingesting a tablespoon of Epsom salt dissolved in water.

Liver flushes are used in alternative medicine to treat gallstone attacks by removing fat-soluble toxins such as pesticide residues from the body. The effectiveness and safety of conducting a liver flush is debated among medical professionals and can result in serious damage when administered without consulting a doctor before beginning a regimen.

"Every person is different," said Mike Fritz, a naturopathic doctor at Alternative Health Oasis. "If done properly, liver flushes are very beneficial to the patient. When you pass the gallstones, you are passing cholesterol out of the gallstones and out of your system."

According to Fritz, olive oil stimulates the gallbladder and enables the bile duct to contract and expel its contents. While Epsom salts relax and dilate the bile duct, allowing larger particles to pass through. It is recommended that the person completing the flush drink the olive oil right before going to bed. Two days before completing a liver flush, the person should drink two glasses of organic apple juice every two hours for two days, eating only fruits (apples in particular) and vegetables. Malic acid weakens adhesion between solid globules, and apples are high in malic acid. The person should also remain sedentary after completing the flush in order to lessen the effect of nausea experienced after consuming large amounts of olive oil.

"I went right to bed and laid there until the morning. I couldn't move because I was in so much pain," Basford said. "The olive oil was disgusting, and I had to choke it down."

Gallstones are soft, gelatinous and green. Basford said he passed about 20 stones the size of grapes during his flush. The following day, his pain subsided and Basford has not experienced a gallstone attack since.

Doctors debate whether the green gelatinous balls passed during liver flushes are actually gallstones, or if they are simply complexes of mineral, olive oil and lemon juice produced within the digestive tract.

According to Fritz, there is no doubt in his mind that the green balls passed during the cleanse are gallstones.

"Laboratory tests have proven that there is cholesterol in the gallstones and that is what gallstones are," Fritz said.

Fritz said he recommends people administer one liver flush a year in order to regulate the liver and prevent gallstone attacks.

He also recommends people, especially college students, regulate their livers by completing liver cleanses. Liver cleanses differ from liver flushes. A liver cleanse is meant to clear out toxins and does not facilitate the removal of gallstones.

A liver cleanse involves eating or drinking a combination of juices, fruits and green vegetables often with selected herbs, enzymes and other components. Liver cleanse formulas vary widely by practitioner and can also be bought in kits. Cleanses can last from a week to three months.