A couple weeks ago I embarked on a five day liver flush that, because I had less than stellar results, I was hesitant to share with all of you. After giving it some thought, I feel like I should let you know how it went because it could help some of you out there. Or maybe some of you could help me figure out what went wrong. First off, let's address what it means to flush the liver and why in God's name would we do such a thing. Believe me, last week when I was on the bathroom floor giving myself a coffee enema, I was thinking "Why am I doing this?" We'll get back to that in a moment.
Our liver performs over 1000 different functions and considered by many holistic practitioners to be the fountain of youth. When we abuse our liver with alcohol,drugs, poor diet and a toxic environment we age faster. Ever seen Keith Richards? Enough said. As we age we accumulate small fat stones in our bile ducts that make it more difficult for a our livers to function optimally. If we leave these stones to grow they eventually move into our gallbladder where they become gallstones. A liver flush is basically a way to detoxify the liver by cleaning out the congested bile ducts that make up the organ.
People who have done a series of flushes reported clearing up of acne, allergies, back pain, improved digestion, and an increase in energy. I've done five of them in the past five years and have followed
Dr. Hulda Clark's protocol. I had a live blood cell analysis a couple months ago and was told to do a series of 6 flushes after signs that my liver was not cleaning my blood the way it should. I purchased a liver flush kit from www.loveyourliver.org. It was much more elaborate than Dr. Clark's and I was assured that it was going to have even better results. The kit contained the following:
Castor oil, cotton flannel, olive oil, hot water bottle, enema bucket, digestive enzymes, Ortho-Phos, Oxy-Mag (oxygenated magnesium), and liver support herbs. For three days prior to the flush I put a castor oil pack/hot water bottle on my liver twice a day for one hour. This was actually my favorite part of the cleanse. The hot water bottle felt really good and I fell so in love with it I started sleeping with it and threatened my husband that if he didn't shape up I could easily replace him (I kid, I kid). Castor oil contains ricinoleic acid which is a potent immune booster. It reduces inflammation, opens the bowels, liver/gallbladder ducts and increases elimination. It detoxifies the body and inhibits fungal, yeast, molds and tumorous growths. Beware if you fall asleep with your hot water bottle that the top is tightly closed. I, unfortunately, woke up in a puddle of water one night. Major bummer.
Three times a day I drank the Oxy-Mag combined with water and lemon juice. This wasn't too bad but it will make you pretty gassy. The Oxy-Mag oxygenates the gastrointestinal tract and breaks down, detoxifies and eliminates waste material. It opens up the digestive tract and gets things moving. After the Oxy-Mag, I would take the Ortho-Phos with apple cider vinegar. This was extremely astringent for me to drink. I felt like the enamel on my teeth and my entire esophagus was getting stripped. I drank water in between gulps of this concoction but it was still very difficult for me to finish. Yet, I pressed on because this was what was softening the stones in my liver and getting me ready for the big day. I also ate a little less than I usually did. Mostly blended foods and I cut down on my fats.
On the day of the flush, I ate no fat whatsover (just some fruit), did my castor oil pack, drank the Oxy-Mag, Ortho-Phos and at 1pm drank one cup of olive oil with one cup of lemon juice. It was rough but I did it. Nauseous, I quickly laid down for over an hour on my side with my castor pack. Then, following their directions, administered my very first coffee enema. I've had colonics before but this was way more awkward. I laid on my yoga mat and bashfully put a bucket full of Costa Rica's best coffee where the sun doesn't shine. I hadn't had that much coffee in me since I went raw almost three years ago. Within two minutes I had a caffeine jolt that made my heart race faster than my ecstasy filled raver days. Holy moly! I went back to bed but I was so alert and antsy I couldn't just lay there and fall asleep. I read, worked on my laptop and then to my dismay got overwhelmingly nauseous again. I felt really off but all I could do was lay on the couch and wait patiently for the flush to happen. Well, sadly nothing ever happened. I had a cup of peppermint tea and another dose of Oxy-Mag that night and then the following morning. To my dismay, no stones ever appeared. I drank 2000 calories of pure fat, gave myself an enema and passed up a free ticket to see one of my favorite bands,
Spoon, play so that I could give my liver the love it deserved. I was really bummed.
Every time I followed Dr. Hulda Clark's regimen I had great results so this was very disappointing. I'm sure the folks at loveyourliver.org have gotten great results with their clients or else they would not sell this kit so I'm not sure why it didn't work for me. What I'd like to do next time is follow their three day pre-flush but follow Hulda Clark's flush which uses Epsom salts and 1/2 cup of olive oil/grapefruit juice right before going to bed. I'm going to try the flush during one of the next new moons (yes, the new moon is a great time to flush) and hopefully will have more 'fruitful' results. Check out Hulda Clark's site for her
liver cleanse kit. Flushing the liver has helped thousands of people and may possibly take your health to the next level. Flush it if you love it!
