Gallbladder Issues, Root Causes + Natural Treatments

Gallbladder removal surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures with around half a million performed every year. Most people are told they don’t need their gallbladder because it isn’t an essential organ (false). The sad part is that most practitioners (that will not hesitate to tell you to get it removed) don’t understand the benefits of the gallbladder. But they also don’t usually understand that the gallbladder doesn’t just develop problems. There are DEEPER ROOT CAUSES that if don’t get addressed will continue to become a problem.

In this post you will learn:

• Benefits of a Healthy Gallbladder
• Signs your Gallbladder and Bile Flow Needs Support
• Risk Factors for Gallbladder Issues
• How to Support your Gallbladder Naturally (even if it has been removed)

Benefits of a Healthy Gallbladder

Your gallbladder is a small organ with a big job! Its main role is to store bile and then support proper digestion by releasing that bile when you eat fat. The benefits of the gallbladder go beyond just helping with breakdown and digestion of the fat in our diets.

Bile is the body’s main way of eliminating harmful fat-soluble substances like toxins, drugs, heavy metals including copper, and excess hormones like estrogen. It’s also the main pathway for eliminating excessive cholesterol from the body. Because it dissolves fat it also helps with absorption of our fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K in the gut.

Bile is antimicrobial and also helps to stimulate the gut immune system which can protect us against harmful microbes.

So you see bile is a vital fluid the body makes and serves a lot of functions for health (not just fat digestion). Bile production begins in the liver so first and foremost we must ensure that the liver is functioning well. But having a properly functioning gallbladder is also important to the process working well! 

Related Post: Keep Your Liver Health with These 5 Support Tools

Yes sometimes the gallbladder does need removal. There are cases where things have gone on for so long that the gallbladder can’t be saved. And yes some people feel so much better when they get it taken out. But ultimately removing the gallbladder can only help a symptom, not the cause. So what can contribute to gallbladder issues?

Risk Factors for Gallbladder Issues

There are lots of possible reasons the gallbladder can become an issue. Including…

• Age
• IBD (irritable bowel disease)
• Liver disease
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Diabetes
• Certain prescription medications like diuretics, antibiotics, and statins
• Birth control pills
• Low physical activity
• Low cholesterol/ high triglycerides
• Poor immune system
• Rapid weight loss
• Poor diet (particularly high in processed foods and sugar)
• Hormone imbalances like high estrogen
• Hormone changes like during pregnancy
• Increased intestinal permeability “leaky gut”
• Dysbiosis (imbalances in gut bacteria)
• Obesity
• Low fat diet or higher intake of poor quality fats like vegetable oils
• Thyroid issues

Gallstones are not the only problem that pops up with gallbladder issues so if you haven’t been diagnosed with gallstones doesn’t mean your gallbladder is healthy. The bile that gets stored in the gallbladder can also become sludgy which also negatively impacts this important system. Ultimately it usually isn’t always enough just to take supplements to address the issues. You need to make sure you are addressing possible root causes! This is a BIG area many forget to investigate.

Now some of these things you can’t completely control but many of them you can. A nutrient dense diet is important but it isn’t the only factor.

Did you know women are more likely to develop gallstones? This is often because hormone changes and high estrogen can be a risk factor. Excess estrogen can inhibit the excretion of bile salts from the liver into the intestines.  It can increase cholesterol levels in the bile and thicken the bile which can lead to gallstones.

Inflammation in the gut is also closely related to gallbladder function.

Related Post: 4 Root Causes of Chronic Inflammation

When intestinal barrier function is compromised (“leaky gut”) our immune systems can launch an attack. This response can impact our biliary system which can contribute to bile backing up.

The gut–biliary connection is a two-way street.

A lack of bile entering the intestine can itself cause leaky gut and an alteration in gut bacteria. Bile acids can actually reduce inflammation and support our gut barrier.

So yes your gallbladder does help play a role in your gut health but also proper gut health can help protect your gallbladder.

Signs your Gallbladder and Bile Flow Needs Support

Gallstones aren’t the only sign that your gallbladder or bile is an issue. Bile and the biliary tract can become compromised long before gallstones or other gallbladder disease arise. Do you know what to look for when it comes to signs that your gallbladder or bile flow needs support?

• Weight gain
• Low energy
• Mood swings
• Digestive complications such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation
• Headaches and migraines
• Fibromyalgia
• Skin conditions like acne, eczema, rashes
• Chemical sensitivities (due to toxic buildup)
• High cholesterol
• Light color or floating stools
• Acid reflux or GERD
• Gallbladder disease
• Impaired liver function
• Steatocrit in stool as seen on a stool test
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Copper or Heavy metal toxicity
• Hormone imbalances

How to Support the Gallbladder Naturally (even if it has been removed)

There is NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach to anything in life and how you support your health. If you aren’t a client then I can’t tell you exactly what you need to do specifically as that takes much deeper investigation.

Working with a skilled practitioner can be extremely helpful for a number of reasons. But when it comes to supporting, saving, or working with no gallbladder I can’t stress enough the importance of still looking at root causes (I talked about this above). Removing the gallbladder will not fix the causes and no amount of supplements to support the gallbladder itself will address the root causes. A good practitioner will understand this.

Nutrition is also an important first step but there is no such thing as a prescriptive diet. Eating to reduce inflammation will be highly individual. What foods cause you problems will likely be different than the next person. But one thing everyone can do is eliminate things like processed foods, sugar, and even gluten. Studies suggest that a gluten sensitivity increased prevalence of gallstones (1). Drink plenty of filtered water!

For those with serious fat digestion and bile issues, they will need to introduce and increase healthy fats VERY gradually until digestion has dramatically improved, bile is flowing better, and stones have been removed.

Addressing your gut is also a MUST! Gut and gallbladder issues often go hand in hand. It is important to address both in order to break the cycle of gut inflammation.

Related Post: Beyond Probiotics: 10 Key Factors in Healing your Gut

Yes there are targeted supplements that can be very helpful but this is just a small part of a big puzzle. Supplements and foods can help support bile flow, dissolve gallstones, support the liver and replace bile as needed. Things like digestive bitters before meals such as Quicksilver Dr. Shades Bitters No.9. Foods or supplements that contain ginger, garlic, curcurmin, dandelion, beet root, taurine, phosphatidylcholine, lemon, dill, cilantro, or even bile salts. Products like UniKey Health Bile Builder, specialized Tudca from CellCore BioSciences or Beta-TCP, and Beta Plus from Biotics Research.

Have you considered ALL of these aspects when looking to support your gallbladder or even support your body without one?