Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
Most people know someone who has had gallbladder
issues. It is a common ailment causing
many digestive problems from indigestion, heartburn and abdominal discomfort to
vomiting, diarrhea and severe pain.
The gallbladder stores bile produced by your liver, and
regulates the release of bile into the digestive tract, as needed. Bile
emulsifies the fat we eat for better absorption in the bowel. It is the same
mechanism for why we use soap detergent to clean greasy dishes. Without soap
emulsifying the fat, it would never come off the dishes, right? The same goes
for the bowel; unless the fat we eat is broken down, it is not absorbed and
used to fuel our bodies. You are wrong if you think this sounds like a good diet
plan; we need essential fats for fuel. In fact, most people should be eating
more good fats to lose weight and for better health.
As your liver produces bile, half of it goes to the small
intestine and half is stored in the gallbladder until it is needed. It measures about 3 inches by 1 inch when
full. Bile is constantly being supplied
to the bowel to some degree, which is why you can live without the
gallbladder’s storage. This is not ideal, nor is it good for your health. Every
day the liver produces about a quart of bile, and none of it is stored between
meals if you don’t have a gallbladder.
The signs of gallbladder disease are generally easy to spot.
The most common sign is pain over the gallbladder, located below the last rib
in line with the right nipple. Gall stones can be seen on an ultrasound. A longer term sign is that of greasy stools
that are loose and tend to float in the toilet bowl. This indicates improper fat absorption.
Gallbladder removal is one of the most unnecessary
operations performed over a million times each year in this country. Surgeons not only remove them unnecessarily,
they fail to give their patients the negative resulting effects of having it
removed. Most say you can live perfectly fine without it. That is a lie. If the gall bladder is removed, you should be
taking some form of bile salts with each meal for the rest of your life. But that’s
only if you want to properly digest the fats you eat and keep them from being
flushed down the toilet.
If you do not absorb the good fats, your body will have
trouble making hormones and prostaglandins. What do they do? They only help regulate inflammation,
regulate other hormones, regulate calcium, decrease intraocular pressure,
induce labor, sensitize spinal neurons to pain, constrict or dilate smooth
muscle cells, regulate fever, affect kidney filtration and more. Things you
really don’t need, right?
Many people who’ve had the gallbladder removed report no
more pain and “I feel fine.” A good
percentage has some abdominal discomfort when eating fats or spicy foods, but
has been told not to worry about it or don’t eat those foods. The truth is they
all have fat digestion and absorption issues, but it is a subtle unnoticeable
decline in health in areas they don’t connect to fat absorption.
If you have no gallbladder disease symptoms and want to keep
it that way, regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for
prevention. Unfortunately, after problems arise, it’s too late to remedy it
with exercise. A gallbladder flush can be performed if you suspect problems may
be starting. You can look up various ones, but most include some form of apple
juice, lemon juice and olive oils over a 2-3 day period. They are helpful and
do work.
Many times the gallbladder is infected, too. In which case,
heavy doses of probiotics are helpful in correcting the problem.
If you have already had the gallbladder out, you must
continue to eat high quality fats, especially omega 3 fats. In order to absorb
them you must also take the fat digestive enzyme, Lipase, or some type of liver
tonic that has lipase in it. Milk thistle, dandelion root, gentian root,
turmeric, globe artichoke, and the amino acid taurine all aid bile production.
Whole beets thin the bile like paint thinner does paint. That is very helpful
in cleaning a sludgy bile duct and bladder. Those who have gallbladder issues
must also reduce your sugar and grain intake, and drink nothing but water.
Taking the gallbladder out is a last ditch option, try
listening to your body before it gets that far.