Most of us have only heard of the gallbladder in the context of an attack and then its subsequent surgical removal. Very few, particularly those that have had it removed, ever get much explanation as to why the gallbladder started having issues or what the problems will be when lacking this seemingly unimportant organ. Before the attack, usually blamed on the presence of gallstones, there was often bile sludge. A thickened bile (bile should be like soapy water). Many of my newer patients now without their gallbladders were told by their surgeons to just avoid eating fat and all will be okay.
Most continue to have digestive disorders that did not improve despite its removal. I would suggest digestion could only get worse. Not only that, but most will have considerable weight gain within the first five years following a gallbladder removal and a snow balling set of symptoms as time goes on. But many of us with gallbladder troubles do not even know it. Some people will never have an attack, which is quite painful, but only distant subtle symptoms related to the poor digestion of fat and its subsequent system-wide deficiencies.
The gallbladder is really just a pouch. And that pouch was never the problem. It just stores the bile that was actually manufactured by the liver. The gallbladder’s job is to eject the bile into the small intestines when fat is present. Bile is the digestive juice used to help in the digestion of fat made by the liver. So, was the gallbladder or the liver the true problem in making junky, sludgy bile?
Many of my patients that had their gallbladders removed prior to our meeting were told by their surgeon that their gallbladder was in fact just full of sludge, not stones. Fortunately, most of us with gallbladder problems will never experience gallbladder pain, attacks or subsequent surgery. You might have one of a myriad distant symptoms of trouble with fat digestion and metabolism. Fats (more specifically good fats, like those from wild fish, nuts and avocados, to name a few) are essential to many systems of the body. Fat is used as a backbone for hormones, which control your weight, blood pressure, mood, sugar levels, reproductive potential and cholesterol levels. Problems with fat digestion will cause shifts in these hormone systems, causing problems with any of these hormone-related events. Fats constitute the majority of the mass of the brain. Its deficiency could be seen in any number of neurological conditions, most commonly brain fog, weak memory, balance and coordination issues, as well as neuropathies (shooting pain or numbness like sciatica), the so-called carpal tunnel syndrome, and even the electrical systems of the heart (palpitations/arrhythmias). Our skin is also comprised mostly of fat cells. No wonder we slather moisturizers on daily; they are made of fats primarily. Fat is also the fuel our body needs to provide long-term energy. When I say fat and long term in this context, I’m not talking about that spare tire on our waist or energy for next winter. Long term on this scale means hours to days and is in the form of triglycerides indirectly evidenced by high “good” cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. Just like in your car, good quality fat/oil will burn clean and long with little destructive impact, while poor fat/ oil will burn dirty, cause system-wide issues and have deleterious effects.
So, there are actually two important initial factors to this whole gallbladder mediated fat digestive process and its sequelae: good quality fuel/fat and high-efficiency processing of that fat to supply and nourish the many systems requiring constant source of quality fuel.
With or without a gallbladder, many of these events could be playing out inside your body, perhaps worse without. With or without a gallbladder, there is work that could be done to improve the body’s function, efficiency and vitality. In those that still have their gallbladder, there is great hope even with attacks occurring that it can be remedied and brought back to useful pain-free function. For those without it, we can still reverse much of the damage done, clean the bile still contained in the liver, and use certain enzymes and dietary combinations to create the effect similar to bile. The body can always improve and function at a higher level.
I highly recommend everyone find out if they have clinical or subclinical issues of their gallbladder by an experienced holistic practitioner with specialty in the digestive system.
Source: Dr. David Pollack. Location: Pollack Wellness Institute (formerly Creating Wellness Center) is located at 66 Commack Rd., Commack. For more information, call 631-462-0801 or visit CreatingWellnessLI.com. See ads on pages 15 and 29.
