Have you been experiencing a lot of shoulder and neck pain that just won’t go away. If anyone has experienced this, you know that it affects every part of your life because that pain is always there. Of course, there are many reasons why this could be happening, and they should all be explored but did you know that this right-sided pain in your neck and shoulder could be from eating nuts and seeds?
If you consume too many nuts or seeds or nut butter it can be severely aggravating to the gallbladder and the ducts that connect to that gallbladder. There is a nerve called the phrenic nerve that goes right through that gallbladder to the liver and connects to the shoulder, neck and up to the head. But this little nerve can be irritated down at the gall bladder trying to process the nuts and seeds that were consumed but will refer the pain to the neck and shoulder area. Irritation of the phrenic nerve at the right shoulder and neck can cause the vertebrae to twist because there’s a spasm in that area. So, you keep going to the chiropractor or physiotherapist to fix your neck and shoulder pain, but the problem persists because the problem is in the liver or gall bladder.
Why does this happen?
If you have a fatty liver or cirrhosis of the liver then then it cannot function properly causing a back up, if you will. Also, you can have bile that is very thick and sludge-like, so the concentration of bile is not there to break down cholesterol. This can cause a back up into the liver which causes irritation because bile is like a detergent causing inflammation in the liver and will cause pain in the right neck and shoulder.
If you’ve had your gallbladder removed, then it’s more likely that you will have a problem because now you just have a little duct that’s always going to be clogged especially if you overload it with too many nuts or oils. Other symptoms of gallbladder problems would be belching, headaches, burping, acid reflux, and bloating.
One way to determine if this is the problem is to press and hold for about a minute up underneath the right rib cage right over the gallbladder and if your neck loosens up then we know this is the problem.
Solutions
One of the solutions is to take purified bile salts to loosen things up and it will start to help drain the gall bladder. If you start to feel better, you will know that there is a connection.
Some acupressure over the gallbladder will give a lot of relief. There is also another acupressure point that you can use on the left calf down by the ankle.
Changing your diet will have the greatest affect. One major culprit is unsaturated fatty acids as in omega-6 fatty acids like corn oil, canola oil, soy, cotton seed, etc. Chemicals in foods will also cause this problem so to try to eat as much organic, unrefined foods as possible, including lots of vegetables. Cutting back on refined carbs and excess fats will also help. Increasing omega 3-fatty acids and fasting is also a good idea.
If you do eat nuts, try to limit the quantity, and try to eat roasted nuts. If you eat raw nuts, you will want to germinate them first. Soak raw seeds and nuts overnight then rinse well and dry them in the oven at about 150 degrees or in a dehydrator. Eating nuts and seeds after germinating them will cause less irritation in your gall bladder because when you germinate the seeds and nuts you release certain properties called enzyme inhibitors which basically help digest the nut. These enzyme inhibitors basically block the enzyme in raw nuts which prevents digestion.
As a retired registered massage therapist, I’ve always been interested in health. I grew up loving sports so that carried into my adult life in my chosen career paths and in my personal life. I now stay active with weight training, hiking and biking. My professional life has always been in health care. This has inspired me to seek out and adopt a life of natural health and wellness.