Gallstones in the Liver: A Major Health Risk

Think of the liver as a large city with thousands of houses and streets. There are underground pipes for delivering water, oil, and gas. Sewage systems and garbage trucks remove the city's waste products. Power lines deliver energy to the homes and businesses. Factories, transport systems, communication networks, and stores meet the daily requirements of the residents. The organization of city life is such that it can provide all that it needs for the continued existence of the population. But if a major strike, a power outage, a devastating earthquake, or a major act of terrorism, such as the one we witnessed in New York City on September 11, 2001, suddenly paralyzes city life, the population will begin to suffer serious shortcomings in all these vital sectors.

Like a city's infrastructure, the liver has hundreds of different functions and is connected with every part of the body. Every moment of the day, it is involved in manufacturing, processing, and supplying vast amounts of nutrients. These nutrients feed the 60 to 100 trillion inhabitants (cells) of the body. Each cell is, in itself, a microscopic city of immense complexity, with billions of chemical reactions per second. To sustain the incredibly diverse activities of all the cells of the body without disruption, the liver must supply them with a constant stream of nutrients, enzymes, and hormones. With its intricate labyrinth of veins, ducts, and specialized cells, the liver needs to be completely unobstructed in order to maintain a problem-free production line and frictionless distribution system throughout the body.

If you suffer any of the following symptoms, or similar conditions, you most likely have numerous gallstones in your liver and gallbladder:nn* Low appetitenn* Food cravingsnn* Digestive disordersnn* Diarrheann* Constipationnn* Clay-colored stoolnn* Herniann* Flatulencenn* Hemorrhoidsnn* Dull pain on the right sidenn* Difficulty breathingnn* Liver cirrhosisnn* Hepatitisnn* Most infectionsnn* High cholesterolnn* Pancreatitisnn* Heart diseasenn* Brain disordersnn* Duodenal ulcersnn* Nausea and vomitingnn* A "bilious" or angry personalitynn* Depressionnn* Impotencenn* Other sexual problemsnn* Prostate diseasesnn* Urinary problemsnn* Hormonal imbalancesnn* Menstrual and menopausal disordersnn* Problems with visionnn* Puffy eyesnn* Any skin disorde
n* Liver spots, especially those on the back of the hands and facial areann* Dizziness and fainting spellsnn* Loss of muscle tonenn* Excessive weight or wastingnn* Strong shoulder and back painnn* Pain at the top of a shoulder blade and/or between the shoulder bladesnn* Dark color under the eyesnn* Morbid complexionnn* Tongue that is glossy or coated in white or yellownn* Scoliosisnn* Goutnn* Frozen shoulde
n* Stiff necknn* Asthmann* Headaches and migrainesnn* Tooth and gum problemsnn* Yellowness of the eyes and skinnn* Sciaticann* Numbness and paralysis of the legsnn* Joint diseasesnn* Knee problemsnn* Osteoporosisnn* Obesitynn* Chronic fatiguenn* Kidney diseasesnn* Cance
n* Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgiann* Alzheimer's diseasenn* Cold extremitiesnn* Excessive heat and perspiration in the upper part of the bodynn* Very greasy hair and hair lossnn* Cuts or wounds that keep bleeding and don't want to healnn* Difficulty sleeping, insomniann* Nightmaresnn* Stiffness of joints and musclesnn* Hot and cold flashes

The liver is the main organ responsible for distributing and maintaining the body's "fuel" supply. Furthermore, its activities include the breaking down of complex chemicals and the synthesis of protein molecules. The liver acts as a cleansing and filtration device; it also deactivates hormones, alcohol, and medicinal drugs. Its task is to modify these biologically active substances so that they lose their potentially harmful effects -- a process known as detoxification. Specialized cells in the liver's blood vessels (Kupffer cells) mop up harmful elements and infectious organisms reaching the liver from the gut. The liver excretes the waste materials resulting from these actions via its bile duct network.

A healthy liver receives and filters 3 pints of blood per minute and produces 1 to 1.5 quarts of bile every day. This ensures that all the activities in the liver and in the rest of the body run smoothly and efficiently. Obstructive stones consisting of hardened bile (termed "intrahepatic gallstones" by Johns Hopkins University) greatly undermine the liver's ability to detoxify any exte
ally supplied and internally generated harmful substances in the blood. These stones also prevent the liver from delivering the proper amounts of nutrients and energy to the right places in the body at the right time. This upsets the delicate balance in the body, known as "homeostasis," thus leading to disruption of its systems and undue stress on its organs.

A clear example for such a disturbed balance is an increased concentration of the endocrine hormones estrogen and aldosterone in the blood. These hormones, produced in both men and women, are responsible for the correct amount of salt and water retention. When stones congest the gallbladder and the liver's bile ducts, these hormones may not be broken down and detoxified sufficiently. Hence, their concentration in the blood rises to abnormal levels, causing tissue swelling and water retention. Most oncologists consider elevated estrogen levels to be the leading cause of breast cancer among women. In men, high levels of this hormone can lead to excessive development of breast tissue and weight gain.

Over 60 percent of the American population is overweight or obese. Men, women, and children in this condition suffer mainly from fluid retention (with relatively minor fat accumulation). The retained fluids help trap and neutralize noxious substances that the liver can no longer remove from the body. This helps the overweight or obese person to survive a major, possibly fatal, toxicity crisis such as a heart attack, septic poisoning, or massive infection. The side effect of fluid retention in the tissues, however, is that it causes these toxins and other harmful waste matter (metabolic waste and dead cell material) to accumulate in various parts of the body and further congest the pathways of circulation and elimination. Wherever in the body the storage capacity for toxins and waste is exceeded, symptoms of illness begin to occur.

Cleansing the liver and gallbladder from all accumulated stones helps to restore homeostasis, balances weight, and sets the precondition for the body to heal itself. The liver flush is also one of the best precautionary measures you can take to protect yourself against nearly every kind of illness, known or unknown.