People usually do not bother much about their gallbladder until the pain due to gallstones becomes unbearable and call for a surgery. It is found that gall bladder can lead to chronic inflammatory problems and many types of gut problems, even when you are not facing pain for the condition.
It is a fact that the gallbladder is one of the many reasons why several people suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms and problems which are often tough to treat. One reason behind this is that people do not consider gall bladder health quite seriously.
Gallbladder in our body is the storehouse of bile. Bile is secreted for the emulsification of fats present in diet.
One problem with several instances of poor gallbladder health is not gallbladder stones but due to biliary stasis. In this condition the bile gets really thick and it doesn’t secrete in its usual way which helps in digestion of fats.
Gallstones are quite obvious. These are easily diagnosed as well.
Common gallstone symptoms include:
- Shivering and Fever
- Pain in the upper right area of the abdomen, often quite severe and moving up towards the upper back area
- Vomiting and Nausea
- Jaundice ( slightly yellow eyes or skin)
- Dark urine and stools seem clay colored
Gallstones can lead to a trip to the emergency. A gallbladder surgery which removes it is the common treatment.
However, if one pays attention to the health of gallbladder, such conditions can be avoided. Unnecessary surgery which can lead to other risky health conditions can be avoided. There is a way to improve gut function and also reduce inflammation.
Often in conditions of biliary stasis, an ultrasound is done which shows how the gallstones are positioned and if they are obstructing the gallbladder. In case of many people, thick bile is often a problem. The condition can be identified with the help of some certain symptoms.
Biliary Statis Symptoms:
- Bloating right after meals
- Frequent burping
- Burps which are like fish oil
- Fatty foods which can make the condition worst
- Stools which float
- Constipation
However, these are some symptoms which can be dismissed by a conventional doctor. These can also be caused due to existence of other conditions.
Biliary stasis is quite common in women who are above the age of 40 and are obese, who had children due to hormonal shifts.
It is vital that gallbladder health is taken care of at the earliest since biliary stasis is necessary as the flow of bile is necessary for digestion of fats. If fats are not well digested, any undigested fat can lead to imbalances in the body.
Undigested fats are quite harmful and can cause problematic sphincter function. This helps in transporting bacteria from large intestine to the small intestine and the condition is known as SIBO or small intestinal bacterial growth. SIBO has several distinct symptoms and often leads to chronic constipation or chronic bacteria. Bloating is also associated with SIBO.
Biliary stasis is known to back up the detoxification pathway of the liver. Thus, the liver doesn’t function as efficiently as it should. Thus, detoxification of toxins, different metabolites and hormones doesn’t take place as it should. As a result, there is an increase in toxic burden on the system. This leads to conditions of inflammation.
Many people suffering from gallbladder problems or stasis tend to stay away from fats and also healthy fats which include avocado oil and olive oil. Such people also prefer to stay away from fish oils or fish because of ‘fishy burps’. However, this can cause many health risks, especially for brain and the different hormones. Healthy fats are quite essential for the body for the optimal functioning. This can cause different kind of deficiencies in the form of deficiency in fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, E, K and also D. In case you are having the right kind of GI supplements and following the right gut health diet, but you are not able to improve the gallbladder health, here is something which you need to seriously consider.
Improving Gall Bladder Health
The good news is that there are many nutritional compounds which offer support for gallbladder health, for liver detoxification and for fat digestion. These include dandelion roots, ginger root, milk thistle extracts, taurine and also phosphatidycholine.
Such compounds are quite helpful in case your gallbladder is removed with ox bile. If you wish to maintain and to improve your gallbladder health you need to do the following:
- You need to have 25-38 grams fiber daily
- Stay away from excessive starchy foods which includes pasta, white flour, sugar potatoes. Keep away from processed foods as well.
- You need to keep away from vegetable oils (processed) trans fats and also hydrogenated fats.
- Have lots of omega 3s and good amount of fatty acids
- You need to support autoimmune Hashimoto’s thyroidism or low thyroid function.
- Remove foods from your diet for which you have an immune response such as dairy and gluten.
Get in touch with my office for additional advice and to know how you can support the gallbladder health or the overall health in case the gallbladder is removed.