What is liver flushing?
Is it a con or another useful tool?
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Many people, including some in the carnivore community, say that liver flushing is a load of woo woo, but bear with me…
Do we even need them if we eat a proper human diet? In most cases, no, but in certain circumstances, they can be quite miraculous. Of all the hundreds of crazy things I tried back in the day when plant-based, liver flushing is the only thing that impressed me enough to still consider and occasionally recommend.
So, when would I recommend it? I have seen it be very effective if people have taken a lot of recreational drugs, alcohol or pharmaceuticals. It can be very useful if there are lung or skin issues, these organs being alternative detox pathways if the liver is compromised. It can also be very useful if people have trouble digesting fats, as this is often a bile production issue, which of course a well functioning liver and gallbladder are essential for.
When would I not recommend it? When somebody has a very leaky gut and serious autoimmunity, as the Epsom salts can be hard on the gut. At that stage, unless totally unable to digest fats, the priority would be a high fat carnivore diet to heal the gut before trying liver flushing.
Final caveat – perhaps don’t do them if you know you have calcified gallstones. This might seem a bit weird, as they are supposed to work for gallstones too, but they aren’t very reliable for the big, calcified stones, and there is also the chance of getting a stone stuck in a bile duct, which I have never personally seen happen, but if it did, it can cause major problems. If you do have significant stones, I’d say shrink them down with the ursodiol trick set out in this blog post, then move on to liver flushing when the gallbladder is clear of large, calcified stones.
https://proteinpower.com/blog/get-rid-gallstones-without-surgery/
When I was in tremendous agony with psoriatic arthritis back in 2010 to 2012, this procedure gave me five days to a week off from inflammation, and became, sadly, the highlight of my month before I learned how to eat. I have done 60-plus of them to date (very few since going low carb – maybe one per change of season since 2013 and only a couple on carnivore), so I consider myself quite experienced in them. However, I'm still not even sure that they do what they are actually supposed to do in regards to cleaning the liver. A lot of people just say it's saponification from the Epsom salts and olive oil making the "stones" that are expelled, which I don’t agree with, as sometimes you can get none, yet sometimes thousands. However, they do have a powerful effect. I got rid of fatty liver and cysts on the liver during my time experimenting with this, and my girlfriend who is Tanzanian (black skin is prone to keloid scarring), flattened out a huge lump on her Caesarean scar after about ten of them.
Okay, the originator of them, Andreas Moritz, died young at 58 years old, but I think that was because of his adherence to veganism. In many other respects, he was quite the genius. For full info, check out his book, "The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush".
So, here is the adapted protocol for low carb/carnivore that I put together with Dr. Jeremy Ayres back in 2020…
Andreas’s original advice was to drink apple juice, about two litres a day for six days, but much better, to avoid the sugar overload, take a few tablespoonfuls of apple cider vinegar in water three times a day, or malic acid tabs/powder... You're just going for the malic acid (which apples and cider vinegar contain) to soften the stones. During this time, eat a light diet, not too much fat as this 'primes' the liver to store bile so it can fire more out on the main flush day. This is the only excuse ever for low fat eating, but these days, I ignore Andreas's advice and still eat fully carnivore but just fast for a day or two before the flush day.
· On the day of the flush, don't eat after 2pm, or not at all if fasting to avoid the low fat eating.
· Mix four tablespoonfuls of food grade Epsom salts in a big jar/jug so you can split 800ml into four 200ml glasses. Or just mix a tablespoonful into each 200ml glass – up to you, but it dissolves better if you leave it to soak or mix with hot/warm water.
· Take one glass at 6pm, then one at 8pm. This will open the bile ducts in the liver and gallbladder, so now you have soft stones, and the ducts are open and ready for action.
· Then mix half a glass of the best possible extra virgin olive oil (walnut oil can be used also – the best is expensive and sold in dark glass bottles) with half a glass of squeezed lemon or grapefruit juice, shake it up and drink it quickly at 10pm (this is one hour before the Chinese Gallbladder time of 11-1pm) while standing next to your bed. This theoretically triggers the liver and gallbladder to expel the bile, and with it the stones through the open ducts, having softened them with the malic acid.
· After drinking the extra virgin olive oil blend, lie down on your right side immediately and don't move for 20 mins, then sleep if you can. You will feel all sorts of things going on, and you might feel quite nauseous in the early hours (or you might be fine).
· In the morning take another glass of Epsom salts when you wake, but not earlier than 6am, then another glass two hours after that. At any time from the early hours to the morning you will start to have bowel movements or loose/watery/bilious/mucusy movements (which my friend Ben Hunt amusingly calls “arsemageddon”, so stay close to a toilet until around midday at least), which will hopefully contain lots of stones, anything from 50 or so to several hundred, of all shapes and sizes. The green ones float, as they are mostly fatty deposits, but the larger tan and hideous black ones (if you have any) will probably sink. Some people use a plastic or metal sieve over the toilet, then sieve and wash to see them all and count them to know how many they have got rid of, but you can get a pretty good idea without that sort of unpleasantness. See pic below of what to expect…
Eat lightly that day, starting with a little meal a couple of hours after the last Epsom dose.
I must put a caveat here that “experts” generally say to have a colonic or at least an enema two days after the flush to make sure the last of the stones are expelled, as the theory goes there are a lot of toxins in them, which can be a problem if they stay in the gut. I have tried both colonics and enemas, but most times haven’t bothered and have never run into any trouble. I also think that colonics and enemas can disrupt the microbiome in the bowel.
Repeat once a month until you have two flushes clear of stones, and then do three flushes a year or so as “maintenance”.
If you have abused your liver with drugs, alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs, many may find that during the flush all manner of strange symptoms can come on. These are usually chemical toxins entering the bloodstream from reabsorption. Symptoms can be:
· Clammy sweats (toxins leaving the skin).
· Extreme nausea, even vomiting (toxic bile flush, so toxic the body wants to eject it asap, hence the vomiting. If it is severe, stop, and do a mini-cleanse (half volume) each time till ready for full cleanse or stop altogether.
· Heart palpitations (toxins entering the lymph and blood causing the heart rate to increase, so as to pump the toxins through the liver 2-3 times faster, so it can be broken down and excreted).
· Feeling very unwell (this can be any number of chemicals, drugs, toxins entering the blood, all transitory during the process).
· Trippy or out of it. This is usually from pharmaceutical drugs, anaesthetic or street drugs. This is where you must be honest with yourself over what you have taken. It is possible for people to have full-blown trips who haven’t taken LSD for 10 years!
WORDS OF CAUTION:
It is ALWAYS better to be working with someone you trust, before trying these methods. Not because they are dangerous per se (unless you have a definite and serious liver issue), but because understanding your condition and state of health, at ALL levels is very important, as these effective methods can release significant toxins and emotions. In Chinese medicine, the liver is anger and control, so, we frequently see bouts of anger and tears afterwards as deeper emotions, part of the dis-ease, are released.
As for timing, there are a few rules/guidelines for best results. The best time is on or around the new moon, as this has been ancestrally recognised as when the body is better able to release. It is why women who are in circadian sync menstruate then. I would never recommend doing one on a full moon, as the body absorbs and accepts things more, hence why people get more drunk on full moons, the emergency services see more violence and suicides, and it’s the origin of lunatic (luna = moon).
As a general rule of thumb, I suggest at least three consecutive flushes, one a month at new moon (or two days either side). Many have found they need more, up to 10-12 before feeling very well and then do one or two a year at equinoxes or solstices.
If you wish to know more about the art of timing, this ancestral knowledge book is second to none, Moon Time The Art Of Harmony With Nature & Lunar Cycles.
Have fun!
Phil.
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I understand the logic of them, and have found a kinder, simpler method. The friendly microorganisms do so much, and I haven’t had a colonic (tried at home, then two professional sessions) since I worked out a simple protocol nearly twenty years ago, in which a powerful probiotic culture plays a pivotal role. I haven’t found but a few in the natural health realm who understand how eating unsprouted cereals and legumes largely suppresses the activity of these organisms, and so have never actually observed what they can do. I’m busy at the moment attempting to get some small measure of accountability for the child trafficking and other abuse I was subjected to as a child by members of a white supremacist fraternal organization (“secret society”) but did promise previously to send you a package in the post. I will finally get to it in the new year. BTW, Happy New Year! 🎊🍾🥂🥳🎉
I tried liber flush only once, not so long ago. Didn't improve much but will try again.
Best improvement for me was when fasting, like for 10 days, I don't know why but it has to be a long fast, and during a fast to do one or more saltwatet flushes (or with Epsom, or salt mix you buy to use before colonoscopy). That in combination would do wonders.
For some reason it is getting harder for me to do it and to have good out outcomes. But there are a lot of other factors. Also it is hard to plan and get time for this and don't have a stressful day at work, that messes things up, these 10 days must be without much stress.