Be forewarned: I did not do well on this protocol and decided on a gentler liver maintenance protocol instead (more info below).
When overwhelmed, the liver quarantines a lot of toxic chemicals and stores them in soft stones formed from cholesterol. Over time, these soft stones clog up the liver, leading to a variety of chronic and undesirable health conditions. As described in my book, Silent Winter: Our Chemical World & Chronic Illness, our livers are extremely important organs for the well-being our bodies, but are increasingly being taxed and damaged by toxic chemicals. Liver maintenance can help eliminate toxic chemicals that have accumulated in the liver and help the body heal chronic illness.
I started doing liver flushes this year. I saw positive results soon after my first flush. My excessive thirst and occipital migraines started to clear. The whites of my eyes became closer to white again. I had more energy. Once I did one flush, I wanted to continue doing them every month or two until I could eliminate the soft sones clogging up my liver. After I did the first flush, I felt soft stones moving toward my main bile duct that also wanted to come out. They were my motivation to do the next flush.
However, doing the flushes was tricky, as it required getting all of the stones out of my intestines after the flush. If any lingered, I would start to reabsorb toxic chemicals from the stones and get sick again. I found the process of getting the stones all out to be too much for me. After three flushes, I stopped the process and started doing regular liver maintenance instead. (Here is my article on how I adapted the concepts of the liver flush to do regular liver maintenance for myself instead).
Here’s how I did my liver flushes:
I planned for 7 days total. I got my calendar and figured out when I actually wanted to do the flush. I marked those days as #6 and #7. On day 6 I fasted after 2 pm and induced a flush at bedtime. On day 7, I purged stones. On the 5 days immediately preceding this, I sipped on a beverage throughout the day to soften the stones and prepare them to exit.
If you want to do a liver flush, please get Andreas Moritz’ book (see below) with detailed instructions. I personally avoided eating or drinking anything cold during the week. I stayed as hydrated as possible, especially on days 6 and 8. I went easy on my intake of fats and proteins, as I was saving up bile for the liver flush (bile is released by the body to help digest fats and proteins). At the end of the week, I induced a lot of bile flow, ejecting stones with it.
I had my colon emptied immediately before and after the flush by a professional hydrotherapist so that the stones, debris, and bile could successfully leave my liver and be removed from my large intestine as quickly as possible. Why did I want to get rid of this stuff ASAP? Because it contains persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic chemicals that I did not want getting reabsorbed into my blood stream through my intestines. I scheduled two colonics back to back with my hydrotherapist for days 6 and 7.
On days 1-5, I sipped on a malic acid containing beverage between meals in addition to my daily water to soften the stones. Any of the following will meet your daily malic acid requirement, but I chose to mix and match: an 8 oz glass of sour cherry juice; a teaspoon of malic acid (best dissolved in 24 oz of water); 16 oz of cranberry juice (best diluted in water) ; 3 oz of apple cider vinegar (best diluted in 24 oz of water), or 32 oz of apple juice. I found it beneficial to rinse my mouth with baking soda water after the malic acid so my teeth would not be bothered by the acidic beverage.
On day 6 I avoided all fats, oils, and protein-rich foods because I was saving up the bile in my liver for the flush in the evening. I drank all of my malic acid brew in the morning and had my last meal of the day before 2 pm. I had my first colonic that afternoon as late as I could. Counterintuitively, colonics make me quite thirsty, and I rehydrated by drinking 4-6 glasses of water within an hour afterward. They also make me quite hungry, but I was fasting so all I could do was have a teaspoon of honey to alleviate the discomfort.
During my second flush, I started my flush early because I was so hungry (this is where my second flush deviated from Andreas Mortitz’ book, but still worked). Giving myself 15 minutes since my last drink of water, I had a tablespoon of magnesium citrate (e.g. unflavored Calm drink) dissolved in 6 ounces of water. I found it beneficial to rinse my mouth with baking soda water afterward. I repeated the dose an hour later.
Within an hour after the magnesium citrate, I drank the following potion immediately before brushing my teeth and lying down in bed: the juice of two lemons and one orange mixed with 4 ounces of extra virgin olive oil. I put the juice and oil in a jar and shook vigorously and then downed the substance. Then I laid down in bed with my head propped up on a pillow. I stayed there quietly for 20 minutes, letting the potion work its magic on my liver, which began releasing large quantities of bile and stones into my intestines.
During my first flush, I took the oil/citrus mixture at 10 pm after two doses of magnesium citrate spaced two hours apart. Then I settled in and fell asleep. During my second fast, I got in the bathtub after my 20 minutes in bed and ran hot water with Epsom salts (an Epsom salt bath will help dilate the bile ducts). I stayed in the bath for an hour. The citrus/oil mixture inevitably will give you nausea, so it is best to stay horizontal. After my bath, I climbed in bed again. it was a suitable time to read a good book. Two hours later after the oil and citrus mixture I was able to drink water again.
The next morning, I took two more doses of magnesium citrate water. One dose at around 6 am soon after I woke up and hydrated, and one more dose two hours later. By 9 am I started to eat again, first just drinking juice, then avoiding fats and proteins at first, and gradually introducing more substantive foods throughout the day.
I got my second colonic in the afternoon. A lot of my stones, bile, and other debris came out during the second colonic. And I was relieved to have the appointment, as I was starting to feel the effects of the toxic substances sitting in my intestines by the afternoon (spaciness, change of mood, fatigue, etc). I felt much better after the colon hydrotherapy and the removal of all the things I had just flushed. While I had started eliminating some stones at home (they were pea sized on average and floated in my toilet), the vast majority were eliminated at the colon hydrotherapist’s office.
I took it easy for the next few days, avoiding heavy exercise that would engage my torso. If I felt I had any stuck stones or uncomfortable sensations, I drank chamomile tea to help break them up. I also took it easy on the fats and proteins, realizing I had used up a lot of bile. I took electrolytes and drank juices to replenish and hydrate. Finally, I found it beneficial to avoid caffeine, alcohol and any other substances that tax the liver.
I learned after the second liver flush that it is possible to start releasing stones before the flush or between flushes. You will know because you won’t feel very well or something will be off. If so, you need to take care of getting these stones out of your intestinal tract.
My third liver flush was a complete failure, but I learned a lot! By the time day six came along, I developed constipation with hard stools. When I went in to get my colonic, it was hard to even complete the process. I subsequently learned that hard stools means the liver is taxed and in this case because stones and debris have moved forward and blocked the bile ducts. At the time I did not know what to do, however, and other things came up in my life. I took a break from doing liver flushes, but my liver started flushing itself over time without me even trying. I moved on to a gentler liver maintenance protocol to manage this.
If you are thinking of doing a liver flush, consider reviewing the following sources for information:
Andreas Mortiz’s book, The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush
Joanna Malaczynski-Moore is the author of Silent Winter: Our Chemical World & Chronic Illness.