Natural Treatment for Gallstones

Before discussing gallstones, it is necessary to know about the function of two important organs, the liver and the gallbladder. The liver located above the stomach does an important task of producing bile, a viscous liquid that promotes digestion.

The bile that flows out of the liver passes through the bile ducts and enters the gallbladder, a small organ below the liver. The gallbladder then empties itself when food enters the stomach. Then the bile mixes with the ingested food to promote breakdown of fats.

The gallbladder is the place where gallstones form over a period of time. Sudden abdominal discomfort followed by back pain are some of the common gallstones signs and symptoms. Gallstones form when the bile solidifies into a hard material.

Thus, gallstones are nothing but hardened deposits of bile. Although, gallstones can be removed through surgery, it is expensive and considered to be the last resort. Information given below elaborates on some natural treatment for gallstones.

How to treat gallstones naturally? What are the alternative therapies to prescribed medicines and surgery. It is all discussed below:

So, which are the foods to avoid with gallstones? As bile primarily consists of cholesterol, it makes sense to stay away from high cholesterol foods. One should follow a high fiber diet, which means including a variety of vegetables, fruits and whole grain foods in the daily meals.

High fiber foods help in cleansing the gallbladder, essential for eliminating gallstones. Also, discard fatty foods (red meat) from a gallstones diet as they are not easy to digest. Making these modifications in the diet can certainly help to alleviate symptoms of gallstones.

Insufficient water consumption is also one of the reasons behind gallstone formation. Increasing water intake (6-8 glasses) is a natural way to dissolve or promote elimination of gallstones. Consuming more water daily, many times, works in passing small gallstones out of the body.

Talking about gallstones home remedy and one simply cannot forget to mention about herbal supplements that can work wonders to eliminate or dissolve these cholesterol deposits. Following are the herbs used in the natural treatment for gallstones:

Milk Thistle
Milk thistle helps to improve the production of bile as well as stimulates the movement of bile from the gallbladder. Thus the increased flow of bile helps to remove the gallstones stuck up in the gallbladder. Moreover, milk thistle also aids in digestion, thus helping to reduce gallstones symptoms.

Turmeric
Curcumin, one of the main constituents of turmeric, helps to flush out the gallstones from the gallbladder. No wonder, turmeric extracts are considered as a cure for gallstones. Animal studies proved that turmeric has been effective in reducing the volume of gallstones. This in turn, increases the chances of gallstone elimination.

Artichoke
Looking for gallstones treatment without surgery? Use of artichokes are considered to be an alternative to surgery. The ingredients stimulate the liver to produce more bile and salts in it. It also stops cholesterol from forming in the liver. As production of bile fluids increases, one can expect gallstones to dissolve naturally.

This is one of the most effective natural remedies for gallstones. Gallbladder cleanse or a gallbladder detox is yet another natural treatment for gallstones. It is a safe solution to get rid of gallstones painlessly.

This natural gallstone removal method lasts for 6 days, after which the gallstones are automatically eliminated out of the body through bowel movement. This procedure primarily focuses on drinking apple juice to remove gallstones, hence it is also referred as apple juice treatment.

The apple juice contains compounds like pectin that does an excellent job of softening the gallstones. In this procedure, one is supposed to have minimum 4 glasses of apple juice daily. In case, apple juice is not available, simply having 4-5 apples everyday will also serve the purpose. Keep on drinking this juice in the required amounts for 5 days. Of course, you don't have to skip your meals in the first 5 days.

On the 6th day, skip the last meal (dinner). In the evening at around 6 pm, drink a glass of warm water containing a teaspoon of Epsom salt. After a period of 2 hours (8pm) again drink a glass of warm water mixed with Epsom salt. Epsom salt is helpful to dilate the gallbladder ducts, which ensures that no obstruction comes in the way of gallstones.

On the same day, during nighttime (10pm), drink a mixture containing half cup of fresh lemon juice and half cup of olive oil. With intake of olive oil, gallbladder responds by contracting itself, which forces the gallstones to come out of the gallbladder and enter the bile duct.

The path along which gallstones move after getting dislodged also becomes slippery due to olive oil. This ensures that the gallstones travel along their path smoothly without causing any pain.

On the 7th day, the person is likely to experience bowel movement in the morning. Bowel evacuation not only gets rid of solid waste but also the gallstones, which are distinctly visible as green stones in the fecal matter.

A point to note that the aforementioned natural gallstone remedies such as gallbladder cleanse or those involving use of herbs should be implemented under the guidance of a qualified medical practitioner. So, talk to your health care provider or a herbalist before opting for gallstones treatment at home.

Some doctor believe that intake of herbs (mentioned above) should be avoided by people who have already developed a big gallstone. This is because, once the gallstone gets dislodged from the gallbladder, it may get trapped in the bile duct, which is worrisome. However this scenario exists, only when the gallstone is extremely large in size and not otherwise.

These are some of the methods that form an integral part of natural treatment for gallstones. In case, natural remedies fail to provide relief, then going for prescribed medical treatment is recommended.