Gall Bladder Cleanse - 28 Day Whole Food Strategy
This is not intended to be medical advice. If you are in severe pain and distress please seek medical attention immediately. Please be evaluated by a Primary Care Provider to rule out serious disease.
The following dietary approach is modified from a book I highly recommend and find to be a valuable source of information on health and nutrition: “Healing with Whole Foods” by Paul Pitchford
I have recommended the following approach to patients whom I have evaluated. These patients typically report chronic recurrent pain related to gall stones and gall bladder insufficiency. Many of my patients have been cured by this approach and even avoided surgery. The patients’ improvements were confirmed by their primary physician.
In addition to this dietary approach, I have also prescribed herbal formulas that further assist the body by improving liver health, clearing bile ducts and calming the nervous system. If you are interested in discovering how herbs can help you, I offer Telehealth Consultations for Herbal Prescriptions.
Did you know that Acupuncture is helpful in regulating digestive disturbances and cholecystitis? Combining this dietary approach with regular Acupuncture treatments over the course of 2-3 months is a highly effective intervention.
DIETARY GUIDELINES TO CLEANSE THE GALL BLADDER
DAYS 1-7
Reduce foods that are high in fats and cholesterol. These include:
Meats
Dairy
Eggs
Nuts & Seeds
Oils
Processed Foods
Begin to introduce the following “cleansing foods”:
Unrefined Grains - Gluten Free - Croix seeds (Job’s Tears), Quinoa, Black Rice, Wild Rice
Unrefined Grains - Contain Gluten - Barley, Farro
Vegetables - All of them are great. Eat lots of greens AND try to eat a “rainbow” each day. This means eating veggies of every color. But the majority must be Leafy Greens. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the color green corresponds to the Liver.
Fruits - Pears, Apples and Lemons are the best
Legumes - Beans, Lentils, Peas and Edamame
Particularly effective in cleansing the Gall Bladder and should be consumed regularly:
Turmeric Root
Radishes
Apples
Pears
Chamomile Tea
The first 7 days is a time for you to discover how to integrate the dietary guidelines at your own pace. I find it helpful to use this time to discover the foods that I enjoy the most and that can be prepared in advance to make compliance easier.
If you have never tried Job’s Tears, then I think you’re in for a pleasant surprise! This grain has a lovely light nutty flavor and can be prepared into savory warm salads with lots of greens and herbs: or into a sweet morning porridge with a selection of fruits.
DAYS 7- 28
Here are the dietary guidelines to follow for the next 21 Days:
Eat only the “cleansing foods” and prepared with clean heat - no butter and no oil. Everything is prepared with heat and water.
CLEANSING FOODS LIST
Unrefined Grains - Gluten Free - Croix seeds (Job’s Tears), Quinoa, Black Rice, Wild Rice
Unrefined Grains - Contain Gluten - Barley, Faro,
Vegetables - All of them are great. Eat lots of greens AND try to eat a “rainbow” each day. This means eating veggies of every color. But the majority must be Leafy Greens. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the color green corresponds to the Liver.
Fruits - Pears, Apples and Lemons are the best
Legumes - Beans, Lentils, Peas and Edamame
Flax Seed Oil or Hemp Seed Oil
Eat 1-2 radishes between meals.
Drink 5 cups of fresh Chamomile tea, daily (this fresh brewed tea counts toward your daily water intake). I recommend buying bulk, loose, organic Chamomile and brewing it in a French press.
Take 5 tsp of COLD PRESSED flax seed oil, 5 days per week (taken with food) . Flaxseed oil can change how your body absorbs medications, so take it at least 1–2 hours before or after taking prescription medicine and OTC drugs. must never be heated.
Do not take Protein or Whey powders - eat only whole foods on the “cleansing foods” list.
Ways to Take Cold Pressed Flax Seed Oil
Take it straight (if you can tolerate it)
Drizzle it over foods
Prepare it in Salad Dressings. If you don’t enjoy the flavor then do 1/2 and 1/2 with your preferred oil
Add it to Smoothies
Recipe Ideas
Edamame & Dip
Edamame is high in protein, fiber, isoflavanoids and choline. If you’re a member of Costco then you can get bulk frozen organic Edamame. It’s a great value! Please don’t steam them in the plastic. To steam them put them in a microwave safe dish. Eat them with a dipping sauce that you can adjust to your taste:
Dip: Whisk together (a) 3 tbs Coconut Amino Acids or Soy or Tamari (b) 1 tbs Sesame Oil (c) 1 tbs Rice Wine Vinegar (d) minced garlic (e) chopped green onions (f) sprinkle of black sesame
Breakfast Smoothies
One rule for robust health in Traditional Chinese Medicine is to never consume cold foods or beverages. The way that you “heat” a smoothy is by adding an ingredient with a “hot” property and the ingredient is Ginger. Other hot property foods are garlic, pepper corns, and chiles - but I don’t recommend those ingredients in a smoothie for obvious reasons.
My favorite smoothy blend is Apples - Beets - Ginger - Lemon - Spinach
Other Recipes to Spark Your Imagination
For the following recipes please swap out or omit ingredients that are not on the cleanse list.
Croix Seed / Job’s Tears Salad >> this recipe but minus the chicken breast and feta cheese
Classic Job’s Tears Preparation with Goji Berries and Jujube Dates
Japanese carrot and ginger Salad Dressing >> make this recipe even healthier by substituting soy with Coconut Liquid Aminos.