Treatment of Gallstone Disease with Folk Remedies
Gallstone disease is a condition characterized by the formation of stones in the gallbladder or bile ducts. There are many factors that contribute to the formation of these stones, with the primary ones being obesity, an unbalanced diet, and congenital abnormalities.
Ultrasound (USG) can detect these stones. However, self-diagnosis is not recommended, as several conditions can present with similar symptoms to gallstone disease. These include acute appendicitis, a possible torsion of a bile duct cyst, right-sided renal colic, or peptic ulcer disease.
If you have decided to try treating gallstone disease (GSD) not only with conventional methods but also with folk medicine, you should read the following recipes. Perhaps one or two of them will appeal to you and, more importantly, help you cope with the condition.
If you are not indicated for surgical intervention, you can fully benefit from the following recommendations.
Dietary Recommendations
The first step is diet. A well-balanced diet helps prevent recurrent colic attacks. Your diet should include foods rich in magnesium, such as raisins, dried apricots, peas, buckwheat porridge, beans, and fresh fruits like apricots. It is important to limit foods that increase blood cholesterol levels. This means avoiding carbohydrate-rich foods and excessive consumption of vegetable fats.
Your diet should contain as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Drinking mineral water is allowed only if it has a high alkaline content.
You can also practice fasting days, where your daily intake consists of only one type of food. For example, you can have cottage cheese days, sour cream days, or apple days.
You will have to avoid fatty foods, such as lard, fatty meats, and organ meats. Butter can be consumed but only when added to prepared porridges, not as a spread on bread. Sandwiches, in general, are on the blacklist of foods to avoid. In medical practice, these dietary recommendations correspond to Diet Table No. 5 (according to Pevzner).
Herbal Remedies
Here is a list of medicinal plants that are used to help treat gallstone disease:
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Field horsetail
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Fringed sandwort
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Calamus root
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Pumpkin
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Canadian/ordinary goldenrod
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Common gladiolus
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Corn silk
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Common soapwort
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Wormwood
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Oats
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Mint
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Fennel
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Immortelle
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Strawberries
It is also beneficial to consume vitamin-rich foods and drink berry-based teas.
In folk medicine, beet and cabbage juices are believed to have a remarkable effect in the treatment of gallstone disease.
A Word of Caution
However, it is important to understand that failing to take any measures to treat this condition can lead to serious health consequences. If the stone is small, it may pass naturally through the bile ducts and be expelled in the stool within a few days. But if a stone remains lodged for a long time and blocks the bile ducts, fistulas may form between the gallbladder and the intestinal walls. In this case, surgery would be necessary instead of traditional treatment.
