Gall Stones

This can be a most uncomfortable condition, but there may be no need for a gall bladder removal as many people can get huge relief from a few simple steps. When there are stones present in the gall bladder it can cause much pain and distress, particularly after eating any amount of fat. This is because the gall bladder’s job is to store bile, made by the liver to use to digest fats in the diet. The stones can inhibit its use, by blocking the bile duct. Typically, this can cause sometimes severe nausea, vomiting and extreme pain.

Minimising fatty food can be helpful, but reduces the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D & E, if kept up for a long time. Only really helpful in the short term.

The most useful herbs to consider would be Oregon grape root, Milk thistle, & Peppermint to name but a few.

Oregon grape root is a fantastic herb, bitter, but very effective for maintaining good function from the gall bladder and production of bile for digestion. This can be taken as a capsule, tincture or the fluid from the simmered roots (for the hardened!).

I would always recommend carrying some emergency peppermint capsules around in your bag for first aid use if ever the tell tail signs of the pain begin. Peppermint in this form (oil capsule), can be a very useful relaxer of bile duct spasms. Such a relief and quick too.

Milk thistle is milder than the other two, but is an excellent long-term treatment of the liver and gall bladder. It has been shown to actually aid repair of the liver cells and can encourage production of the bile.

Finally, if you can’t avoid a fatty meal, or if you really fancy fish and chips, then get yourself some digestive enzymes. This will replace what you may not be able to produce for your own and make the experience enjoyable rather than awful.  Not a cure, but helps the management!