Does Lemon Juice Cleanse The Gallbladder?

The gallbladder, a small sac hidden under the liver, can create some very uncomfortable symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain between the shoulder blades and intolerance of high-fat foods when cholesterol levels are out of balance. Some alternative health practitioners suggest using a combination of lemon juice, olive oil and Epsom salts in carefully measured doses to remove gallstones or to decrease gallbladder inflammation. No published research study has proved that lemon juice prevents gallstone formation or dissolves gallstones after they've crystallized. As with any new diet or supplement, talk to your doctor before using lemon juice for a gallbladder cleanse.

The Gallbladder and Gallstones

The gallbladder stores and transports bile from the liver to the small intestine. When bile gets too saturated with cholesterol, the gallbladder either becomes inflamed or crystals form and gallstones ensue. Some people have gallstones without symptoms, yet others find they get nausea, vomiting, pain along the top right of their abdomen or bouts of indigestion after eating a high-fat meal.

Lemon Juice and Gallstones

Preliminary research at Swinburne University in 1999 and published by the "Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine" found that citric acid, present in lemon juice, helped to dissolve calcified gallstones. However the research study used a small sample group, and the study was not able to find conclusive evidence that citric acid helped stop gallstone formation.

Lemon Juice Cleanse Information

The most common lemon juice gallbladder cleanse requires you to drink a mixture of lemon juice, Epsom salts and olive oil up to three times a day. Yet, according to Dr. Michael Klaper, ingesting olive oil and lemon juice creates soap in the body, which mimics gallstones when expelled through the feces. Gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Picco agrees in an article written for the Mayo Clinic website, saying that olive oil may act as a laxative, but none of the other cleanse ingredients offer any medicinal benefits for people suffering from gallbladder disease.

Risk Factors and Warnings

Drs. Kleper and Picco strongly urge their patients not to perform lemon juice gallbladder cleanses as some people experience unsettling side effects such as pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Also, your body may treat drinking large quantities of olive oil similarly to eating a high-fat meal, which can trigger severe upper abdominal pain in some people. People with pre-existing gallstones should never try to remove them on their own either, as a potentially life-threatening medical emergency may occur such as bile duct blockage.