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Your Gallbladder: Friend or Foe?

I don't know about you, but every now and then my gallbladder will yell at me in a big way. I think that perhaps my gallbladder was born cranky and that every now and again it will remind me that it is alive and perhaps not as well as it could be. Our sac-shaped gallbladder sits just below our ribcage on the right hand side of your body. It stores and concentrates bile which is produced by the liver and it helps digest fats, squirting bile into the small intestine as needed. Bile is composed mainly of cholesterol and salts and when diseased will become thick and sludgy and then may form into hard lumps called gallstones which can range in size from golf ball to tiny grains of sand. Eventually, these can block the flow of bile from the gall bladder to the small intestine... then you're in big trouble.

Just what do I mean by 'my gallbladder yells at me?' Well, every now and again, I will get this colicky feeling under my right ribcage, I will feel burpy and gassy and like food is not going down quite right; I will get nauseated if I eat a fatty meal or the wrong food and if I press deeply into that area under my right ribcage, I will go "ouch." And then I know that Mr. Cranky Pants is at it again.

I look at what I have been putting into my mouth. Have I been eating a lot of fat? Have I not taken my digestive enzymes with a fatty meal? What have I been eating that's bad for me? Too much sugar, maybe? Then I go through the major foods which are known to cause gall bladder irritation: Eggs are a culprit 93% of the time then in order of irritability there's pork, onions, fowl, milk, coffee, oranges, corn, beans, nuts, apples and tomatoes. However, it could be any food for any person: Lobster and shellfish will have me doubled over in queasy pain within an hour and I haven't touched them in years. And, I recently muscle-tested myself on all of the common foods and I discovered, much to my surprise, that one of my personal bete noirs is, believe it or not, the very healthy apple. So, the offending foods can change from year to year, too.

Food intolerances, if not honored, may cause your gall bladder to become irritated. The gall bladder can be the target organ for allergic reactions and inflammatory responses. Celiac disease and gluten intolerance is a biggie in causing gall bladder pain and even removal. In a recent trial, identification and avoidance of allergenic foods eliminated gallbladder symptoms 100% in 69 patients with gallstones or post-cholecystectomy syndrome. Oh, yes, sometimes even the removal of your gallbladder doesn't eliminate those queasy symptoms that led you to the surgeon in the first place.

What else may cause a gall bladder "attack"? 1) Obesity and worse, rapid weight loss. I had a friend, years ago, who went on a medically supervised liquid diet for two months. She lost 70 pounds and her gall bladder. 2) The over consumption of sugar, and especially sugar when combined with fat, like your beloved bear claws, or donuts or pancakes. But, that's an accident waiting to happen in more ways than one. 3) Watch your legumes. Chilean and American Indians, who eat a large amount of legumes, also have some of the highest rates of gallstones in the world. I know legumes are healthy and I eat quite a bit of beans and pulses, but I have found that they don't bother me. 4) Hypochlorhydria - the lack of the digestive enzyme, hydrochloric acid - can also promote gallstones.

Vegetarians have less gallbladder trouble than anyone. In a 20 year study of over 80,000 women, it was found that increased consumption of vegetable protein was associated with a decreased risk of having a cholecystectomy. A separate evaluation of the same cohort of women found that increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with a decreased incidence of gallstones. There's that old "eat your fruits and vegetables" thing yet again. Can't escape it can you?

Fiber will also help your gallbladder. Add some bran to your smoothie or on top of your cereal in the morning. Nuts are good, too. Caffeine, in the form of coffee especially can prevent gallstones. It seems to stimulate bile flow reducing the possibility of long term stagnation which in turn causes stones to form. Moderate consumption of alcohol may decrease your risk of gallstones as well. Eat less sugar, avoid trans fats, handle your constipation, lose weight but not too fast, identify your personal trigger foods and keep up your good oils like EVOO and the omegas as they will safely reduce inflammation and cholesterol gallstone formation.

A Cautionary Tale: A few years back I was suckered into doing a gall bladder cleanse. You know, the one with great gobs of olive oil, lemon juice and a laxative? Then the whole bit about lying on your right side clutching your stomach trying not to throw up and waiting for the "urge." Then the wonderful present, the raison d'etre of all this horror - the little green stones amidst your, um, evacuation. This cleanse not only made my gall bladder yell at me, it made it outright psychotic in a sustained screaming event that I never want to experience again. "What the bleep were you thinking, treating me like that...?" It took me a couple of months and the tender ministrations from a cranial therapist to calm my gall bladder down into it's previously quietly cranky - and acceptable - self. Never again. I don't recommend gall bladder cleanses for this reason: It's just too harsh for some of us.

If you think that you may be having gallbladder symptoms, I can help you identify the foods that irritate it. I also have wonderful products that will calm your gallbladder down, clean it out safely and keep it healthy.

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